Heavy Burdens: Ethical Issues Faced by Military Nurses during a War

Abstract

American nurses have faced hardship and challenges in every war period in the relatively short history of the United States. This study was an in-depth reanalysis of a two-phase larger study of uniformed service nurses caring for service members injured in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this second phase, a qualitative descriptive study, 235 nurses and 67 wounded service members were interviewed in face-to-face discussions about their caring and care experiences. The article offers background information, discussion of the study methods, and presents some of the ethical issues faced by deployed nurses who were caring for the injured service members and injured/ill civilians during conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Study findings revealed six themes that emerged directly from the data, providing a comprehensive picture of the many issues faced by these nurses. The stories of the nurses are used to illustrate many of their ethical dilemmas. We offer discussion with implications and recommendations for training and subsequent post-deployment care of these nurses. This article adds to the growing body of literature in the field of military nursing ethics.