In 2001, as a British Army Nursing Officer, I attended an RCN event and was taken aback by the lack of recognition for defence nurses. Why was this? Hadn’t we invented nursing? After all, Florence Nightingale was a military nurse who introduced the foundations for modern nursing. Trust, care and compassion being intrinsic to all duties, with nurses possessing the theoretical competencies to be safely employed within their designated scope of practice. All underpinned by academic training, ethical commitment, social accountability and ensuring that registration is maintained.
This lack of recognition was compounded when considering that the College of Nursing was established in 1916 to ensure the best care for injured troops. Yet the index list of RCN forums and interest groups was clear – military nurses were not recognised.
In part, that was "our fault". Military nursing events were introspective conferences, where military nurses talked with other military nurses. But we needed to engage, and I found strong support from RCN Council members leading to the establishment of an RCN Defence Nursing Forum.
The focus of attention is the military veteran population of over 2 million who are subsumed within an Armed Forces Community that includes their families and those still serving within the British Armed Forces. This diverse heterogenous group differ by factors such as age, gender, ethnicity and length of service, and are embedded in every layer of society.
A military career is demanding, with families exposed to frequent changes in location and spending long periods apart. Service-personnel risk their lives and may witness horrendous events including the death of friends, colleagues and civilians of all ages including children. This may result in mental health disorders including PTSD where the diagnostic levels are higher than their non-veteran counterparts.
On leaving the armed forces, the majority of veterans thrive, whilst some experience difficulty reintegrating into ‘civilian’ life, facing housing, education and employment challenges. They may be entitled to priority NHS treatment for medical and mental health disorders related to their military service. However, when they do need help, veterans are renowned for being unwilling to disclose problems associated with their former military service, often believing that ‘civilians’, including healthcare professionals, do not understand.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has proactively engaged with veterans and embedded their health as a mandated core curriculum in GP training. Furthermore, over 1,500 primary health care practices have been accredited as Veteran Friendly. The RCGP has shown significant leadership, and the RCN should also be proactively involved.
Nurses with knowledge of the specific demands associated with a military career are ideally positioned to make a significant difference. However, they need to be empowered to address these issues in a language and approach that veterans and their families understand. To achieve this, there ultimately needs to be a structured and consistent educational syllabus to meet their needs. This is sadly lacking at undergraduate level where there are no programmes to prepare student nurses to care for veterans and their families.
My own transition led to employment at the University of Chester, where my utopian dream has been to help develop a culture that permeates a military focus throughout UK universities, to give future nurses better insight into the large, diverse Armed Forces population. Thereby increasing support through partnerships, funding, access to resources, college promotion and community goodwill. A well-educated and knowledgeable clinical workforce can provide the optimum care that this population deserve.
I have scripted, designed and published a freely available online educational module titled “Introduction to the Armed Forces Community” which is being used in higher education institutes and UK NHS clinical settings. I encourage anyone interested to take a look.
This lack of recognition was compounded when considering that the College of Nursing was established in 1916 to ensure the best care for injured troops. Yet the index list of RCN forums and interest groups was clear – military nurses were not recognised.
In part, that was "our fault". Military nursing events were introspective conferences, where military nurses talked with other military nurses. But we needed to engage, and I found strong support from RCN Council members leading to the establishment of an RCN Defence Nursing Forum.
The focus of attention is the military veteran population of over 2 million who are subsumed within an Armed Forces Community that includes their families and those still serving within the British Armed Forces. This diverse heterogenous group differ by factors such as age, gender, ethnicity and length of service, and are embedded in every layer of society.
A military career is demanding, with families exposed to frequent changes in location and spending long periods apart. Service-personnel risk their lives and may witness horrendous events including the death of friends, colleagues and civilians of all ages including children. This may result in mental health disorders including PTSD where the diagnostic levels are higher than their non-veteran counterparts.
On leaving the armed forces, the majority of veterans thrive, whilst some experience difficulty reintegrating into ‘civilian’ life, facing housing, education and employment challenges. They may be entitled to priority NHS treatment for medical and mental health disorders related to their military service. However, when they do need help, veterans are renowned for being unwilling to disclose problems associated with their former military service, often believing that ‘civilians’, including healthcare professionals, do not understand.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has proactively engaged with veterans and embedded their health as a mandated core curriculum in GP training. Furthermore, over 1,500 primary health care practices have been accredited as Veteran Friendly. The RCGP has shown significant leadership, and the RCN should also be proactively involved.
Nurses with knowledge of the specific demands associated with a military career are ideally positioned to make a significant difference. However, they need to be empowered to address these issues in a language and approach that veterans and their families understand. To achieve this, there ultimately needs to be a structured and consistent educational syllabus to meet their needs. This is sadly lacking at undergraduate level where there are no programmes to prepare student nurses to care for veterans and their families.
My own transition led to employment at the University of Chester, where my utopian dream has been to help develop a culture that permeates a military focus throughout UK universities, to give future nurses better insight into the large, diverse Armed Forces population. Thereby increasing support through partnerships, funding, access to resources, college promotion and community goodwill. A well-educated and knowledgeable clinical workforce can provide the optimum care that this population deserve.
I have scripted, designed and published a freely available online educational module titled “Introduction to the Armed Forces Community” which is being used in higher education institutes and UK NHS clinical settings. I encourage anyone interested to take a look.
Share on X (formerly Twitter)
Share on Facebook
