Murdough, Brenda MSN, RN-BC
Diana Mason's Editorial ("Anniversaries," May) did a wonderful job of explaining the role of the Navy Nurse Corps, as it celebrates its 100th anniversary, and of all nurses who serve our military and veterans.
Mason notes the challenges faced by wounded service members and those who care for them, particularly those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The traumas they are surviving-brain injury, amputation, and shrapnel wounds, among others-present new treatment challenges. Additionally, as more service members return to civilian life, their treatment poses a challenge to physicians and nurses in the United States who are even less prepared to deal with the complexity of these injuries and comorbid conditions, such as posttraumatic stress disorder.
As the coordinator of the Military-Veterans Initiative at the American Pain Foundation, I raise awareness of the issues faced by members of the military and veterans as they seek relief from pain, provide education and support for these people and their families, and promote research that examines new ways to treat pain caused by battlefield injuries. These are issues that will soon affect all nurses, not only those serving military and veteran populations, and we all need to participate in a discussion about ways to address them.
Brenda Murdough, MSN, RN-BC