Lessons Learned by Army Nurses in Combat: A Historical Review
Abstract
The oft stated axiom that those who fail to heed the lessons of history are doomed to repeat its follies suggests the requirement for a formal lesson learning process. If there is a failure to effectively learn from experiences, the mistakes can be costly. Throughout the history of our nation, during war there has been a dependence on nurses to provide care to both soldiers and civilians. War placed heavy demands on nurses and brought with it a sharpened awareness of the urgent need to prepare them to meet the overall crisis at home and abroad. With each conflict experience has been gained in the art and science of military nursing. This study provides a historical review of observations and experiences of nurses during combat. A trend-line analysis covering conflicts from World War II through Operation Desert Storm is based on four categories: training, conditions, innovations, and redeployment. It is an attempt to bring to light the repetitive experiences that through the use of the lesson learning process can become institutionalized and therefore, need not be relearned with each conflict. It is incumbent on the Army Nurse Corps to master the intricacies of learning from history by integrating the resulting lessons into future policy and training efforts.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 15, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA264441
Entities
People
- Susan C. Mccall
Organizations
- United States Army War College