Women at War: The Story of Fifty Military Nurses Who Served in Vietnam

Appendix: Information on the Fifty Military Nurses

Appendix: Information on the Fifty Military Nurses Information Obtained in 1983-1986 on the Fifty Nurses Who Participated in the Study In the following table, figures for "current nursing position" do not include the three retired nurses and three women working in other fields. Variable Branch of service Current military status Category Army Navy Air Force Active duty Reserve duty Civilian or retired officer Frequency (N = 50) 33 14 3 12 15 23 Percentage of sample 66 28 6 24 30 46 170 Appendix (Continued) Variable Category Frequency (N = 50) Percentage of sample Current age Marital status Number of children Professional education Current nursing position* 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-55 55 or older Never married Married Separated or divorced None One Two Three Four or more Nursing diploma Associate degree in nursing Bachelor's degree in nursing Master's degree in nursing Master's degree in other fields Doctoral degree in nursing Doctoral degree in other fields Staff nurse Head nurse Nursing education faculty Nursing administration Other (clinical specialist, midwife, flight nurse, etc.) 26 15 1 4 4 20 22 8 30 4 6 7 3 5 2 11 20 8 3 1 9 1 4 20 10 52 30 2 8 8 40 44 16 60 8 12 14 6 10 4 22 40 16 6 2 18 9 L 8 40 20 Appendix 171 Descriptions of the Fifty Women Interviewed The information presented here was obtained in interviews in 1983 and 1984. Entries marked with an asterisk * were updated in 1989. 1. Interviewed 11/14/83 in New York City. Prior to the war, she held one nursing position in a stateside military hospital. As a navy nurse corps lieutenant in her early twenties, she served on the USS Sanctuary from March 1968 to March 1969. Assigned to work in the intensive care and surgical units. Awarded a Unit Citation. Married with two children, she accepted a commission in the navy nurse corps reserve after this interview took place.* 2. Interviewed 11/27/83 in Newark, New Jersey. Prior to the war, she had worked for less than one year in a stateside military hospital. In her early twenties she was promoted in Vietnam from lieutenant to captain in the army nurse corps. She worked at the sixty-seventh Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon from October 1970 to October 1971. Assigned to work in the emergency/ receiving unit. Awarded the Bronze Star. Married to a Vietnam veteran, she has three children and works in community health nursing.* 3. Interviewed 12/10/83in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Previous wartime nursing experience in the Korean conflict. Remained on active duty in the army nurse corps until 1953. Returned to active duty in 1959. In her forties she served as a major at the third Field Hospital in Saigon from April 1968 to April 1969. Assigned to work in nursing administration and on medicalsurgical wards. Awarded the Bronze Star. She retired from the military with the rank of colonel. 4. Interviewed 12/10/83 in Philadelphia. She had had seven years of nursing experience prior to serving on the USS Sanctuary from February 1969 to February 1970. in her late twenties she was promoted from lieutenant to lieutenant commander in the navy nurse corps at the end of her Vietnam tour. Assigned to work in the multi-trauma unit. Awarded the Navy Commendation Medal. She remains on active duty at the rank of commander . 172 Appendix 5. Interviewed 3/19/84 in Philadelphia. Prior to the war she had had six months' nursing experience. As an army nurse corps lieutenant in her early twenties, she served six months at the twelfth Evacuation Hospital in Cu Chi and six months at the twenty-fourth Evacuation Hospital in Long Binhfrom April 1970 to March 1971. Assigned to work in the recovery room and postoperative wards in both facilities. Resigned her commission one year after the war. Currently works as a nursingadministrator in a large urban hospital. 6. Interviewed 3/21/84in Toms River, New Jersey. Prior to the war she had had six months of nursing experience. In her early twenties she was promoted from lieutenant to captain at the end of her Vietnam tour. Assigned to the twenty-fourth Evacuation Hospital in Long Binh from April 1971 until May 1972 in the maxillofacial ward. Currently a major in the army nurse corps reserve, she is married with three children...