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

4. The Rewards of Wartime Nursing in Vietnam

4 The Rewards of Wartime Nursing in Vietnam In Vietnam, nurses could easily become overwhelmed by work demands, fears, loneliness, and losses. But the same stress-filled world that produced so much strain also provided a balance. There was a rewarding side to the work and life in a war zone. The soldiers they helped heal, the feelings of being needed and appreciated, and, most importantly, the camaraderie that developed between nurses and other Americans helped individuals survive their wartime journeys. The great majority of the patients, or course, recovered and their recoveries gave the nurses' tour a balance. Helping to save lives was the basic reason most nurses volunteered to go to Vietnam and, working with other medical personnel, they were very successful in achieving this objective. Ninety-eightpercent of the wounded patients who entered military hospitals in Vietnam survived.1 Nurses felt appreciated by the soldiers who seemed so grateful to have American women caring for them and their comrades. Nurses symbolized the protective, orderly way of life of the home the men yearned for. Watching the nurses 46 Women at War work took some of the fear away from the patients who waited on a triage line for an operation or who rested in a bunk on a hospital ship that was rolling in the waves of the South China Sea. Soldiers even used a nickname—"round eyes"—to differentiate American and Vietnamese women. Personal satisfaction was heightened by the knowledge that nurses were respected not only for their technical skills but for their clinical judgments as well. During the time of the war, nurses back home were just beginning to establish themselves as an autonomous group.2 Hospital and medical paternalism had a strong grip on the profession . Nurses took commands from physiciansand were expected to do only as they were told. Vietnam was a different story. At war, there was little time for politics or sexist roles. If there was a decision to be made, it was taken for granted that the nurse would make it. Their skills were appreciated, their judgments about treatments and patients care were respected by their medical colleagues. "I never felt I was alone," said a nurse who recalled the decisions she had made as a twenty-three-year-oldlieutenant in the receiving ward of a small surgical hospital south of Saigon. "I always knew I had support and a physician was nearby that I could count on." One nurse said, "I'm not sure I've ever enjoyed nursing as much as I did that year. It was the most exciting, the most challenging, the most stressful, and the most important nursing practice I've ever done." This professional equality, however, did not continue once they returned home. Many nurses missed it and spent years searching for a clinical position where they could work as they had in Vietnam. There were times when patients who were not expected to live overcame the odds and went home to recuperate among family and friends. Memories of unusualand dramatic recoveries remain vivid. Nurses learned that unanticipated events need not always be "bad." Charlie and John (pseudonyms)were patients who provided two memories. Charlie was a blond nineteen-year-old soldier who had fractured both his femurs. The femur (or thigh bone) is the largest straight bone in the body. One of the complications that can occur after a large bone fracture is the release of fat emboli (or Rewards of Wartime Nursing in Vietnam 47 clots) from the broken bone into the blood stream. If these clots travel to the lungs and brain they result in a coma and death.3 Recovery is uncertain. Charlie had a fat embolus. He was in a coma. The army nurse assigned to care for him was new to Vietnam. She was enthusiastic and anxious to prove her competence . "I wouldn't give up on him," she said. "Everyday I'd say 'Wake up Charlie, wake up.' Gradually, he came around and started talking to me. I felt like saying 'See, we can do it.' We shipped him home. I remember he had such clear blue eyes." Charlie taught this nurse a lesson she needed: that she was professionally competent and could handle the rigors of the work. He also showed her, and the other people who worked on her ward, that the human spirit was unpredictable and that her perseverance and patience with...