Essay on Nursing During the Vietnam War - 675 Words

Nursing During the Vietnam War The Vietnam War was the longest war ever fought by U.S. military forces. U.S. personnel were engaged from 1961 until 1973. Approximately 10,000 U.S. military women served in Vietnam during the war. Most were members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Nurse Corps. All of the Army nurses were volunteers who attended a six-week basic training class, and then were assigned to one-year stunts in Vietnam hospitals and mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) units. Most of these nurses were fresh out of nursing school, some with less than six months of clinical experience. These nurses were not prepared for the physical and emotional wounds that they would have to heal. Clearly the role of women stationed in†¦show more content†¦Some had barely seen an operating room, let alone worked in one (Scannell-Desch, 4). Along with the lack of experience, to make things worse, the nurses would receive 20 to more than 100 patients within a few hours. An army nurse recalled, The day I arrived in the O.R., we had a mass-cal, 185 casualties. They came in Chinooks (large helicopters). They were on the floor, all over. Every Chinook was overloaded#8230;I just remember that every ward in Nam was full. We had body bags lying around the hospital and the morgue was full (Scanell-Desch, 4). The nurses experienced so much trauma in such a little time, that most suffered from PTSD. The experiences that brought on this PTSD was the shock of conflict in Vietnam, the problematic return to a country that did not understand their participation or experiences, the denial of their work in Vietnam, and a sense of isolation from their male counterparts in Nam and their female counterparts back home as well as absence of veterans service groups upon returning to home. The nurses were not recognized for the job that they had done, which allowed many soldiers to return home to their families. Eventually, in Minneapolis, Minn., the Vietnam Womens Memorial Project was formed to acknowledge the females who had served during the war. This memorial helped nurses and women who took part in the Vietnam War to come together and help each other with the damaging memories of their experience in Vietnam. The profession ofShow MoreRelatedNurses During The Vietnam War1492 Words   |  6 Pagesserved in the Vietnam War experienced a tremendous amount of horrific tragedies and stressful events. They are commended for all of the time they served and the dedication to their country, along with the advice they brought home with them. All of the nurses who signed up for the war were volunteers. Approximately 7500 US military nurses served in Vietnam during the war (Scandell 600). Women volunteered for a number of reasons such as to begin a military career, acquire more nursing training, orRead MoreWere Women a Help or Bother During the Vietnam War?1212 Words   |  5 Pagescourse because all throughout history women have made significant contributions to America, especially the Vietnam War. The United States has been slower to include women in its military planning and actions. Men believed in saving the United States from communism, and many women believed they could make a difference in the battle. Women, military as well as civilian, volunteered to go to Vietnam for a variety of reasons, as they wanted to show love and companion to men, they wanted to show their independencyRead MoreThe War Of The Vietnam War994 Words   |  4 Pagesupon war as all glory, but boys, it is all hell!†-William Sherman. During the Vietnam War, this was the thought process for many people and college students, including Mark. Throughout his life, Mark Egli’s occupations and lifestyle has fluctuated greatly. Mark went from being an orderly at a nursing home, to a farmer, to a school teacher, to a superintendent and the reason for all of these changes had to do with one event, the Vietnam War. Mark was in college during the war, and as the war wentRead MoreThe Role Of Women During World War I845 Words   |  4 Pagesto the war effort. While women only recently have been inactive military duty on the battle field, they ve acted as factory workers, nurses, recruitment as well as many aspect as they filled in the gap that men left at war. They that kept the war going. Without the support of the women, the men on the front would not have been about to continue fighting. Wars can not be fought with out weapons and military tools. During World War One, with the inability of men to both fight in the war and produceRead MoreIm 546 Capstone Practicum : Reflective Clinical Journal991 Words   |  4 Pagesclinical duties corresponding to the care of these patients. My patients this shift were Mr. B, a 72 year-old Vietnam War veteran newly diagnosed with colon cancer, Mr. S, a 65 year-old Vietnam War veteran in the hospital for complicated urinary tract infection, Mr. R, a 90 year-old Korean and Vietnam War veteran. Caring for these patients taught me more about the humanbecoming perspective of nursing and showed me about multidisciplinary coordination with peers, colleagues, and more. My clinical dutiesRead MoreThe Vietnam Womens Memorial Foundation Essay583 Words   |  3 Pages There is little official data on female Vietnam War veterans, because the military mostly favored recording the achievements of men in the army. The Vietnam Womens Memorial Foundation estimate that approximately 11,000 women were stationed in Vietnam from 1962 to 1973. Only about ten percent of women served as soldiers. The ones who did were normally treated as second class soldiers; their role was perceived only as a helpmate instead of a soldier, and they were often put in dangerous situationsRead MoreThe Vietnam War, American Men And Women Soldiers1368 Words   |  6 PagesDuring the Vietnam War, American men and women soldiers, the majority of whom had volunteered, were sent to a place where nothing was accommodating. Not even the soldier’s issued equipment was adequate or accommodating. They were not emotionally, psychologically, or materially equipped for what they would en counter in Vietnam, or upon their return to a place where they should have been safe; home. The Vietnam environment was nasty, brutish, and dehumanizing on the soldiers. Young men and women, mostlyRead MoreGraduating Prepared Nurses Using Evidence Based Practice (EBP)946 Words   |  4 PagesBachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs strive to ready student nurses for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) that tests not only pure knowledge, but the reasoning and application of that knowledge. These programs provide student nurses with the necessary knowledge base and ability to apply knowledge in practice; especially since the introduction of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) has been integrated into didactics. EBP, along with hours of clinical placement, benefit studentRead MoreLetter For My Life Review1324 Words   |  6 Pages For my Life Review, I selected Mr. B.G. I chose him because he has experienced a great deal in his life, even serving in the Vietnam War, mak ing him an interesting interviewee. Mr. B.G was born on March 8, 1944 in New England, Arkansas. He was the youngest of eleven children, four girls and seven boys. He grew up with both of his parents; all of them lived together in a small two bedroom farm house. Although they did not have a lot of money, his parents tried to provide him with a happy childhoodRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien892 Words   |  4 PagesThe Vietnam War was a long, exhausting, and traumatic experience for all of the soldiers and those who came with them. The Things They Carried, by Tim O Brien illustrates the different affects the war had on a variety of people: Jacqueline Navarra Rhoads, a former nurse during the Vietnam war, demonstrates these effects within her own memoir in the book, The Forgotten Veterans. Both sources exemplify many tribulations, while sharing a common thread of suffering from mental unpredictability. Desensitization