Naval/Military Nursing

[SAmilnurse]

Hi Guys

Greetings from a South African military nurse, over here the Military Health Service is the fourth Arm of Service,

so we work at our own AOS facility within their units.

Im currently working in a naval environment and am researching the role and fucntions of naval nurses.

For many years nurses have not been allocated to vessels of the Navy.

I will be presenting a paper shortly on naval nursing internationally

and motivating why it is time that nurses deploy on vessels besides Operational Medics (paramedic)

and would appreciate any photos/material that would be suitable -

eg naval/military nurses in action, course programmes, etc.

Applicable recognition will be given to all contributions.

If any of you would like to share your experiences please don't hesittate to contact me.

Many thanks

[Redfoot]

Howdy.

From the USAF side of things, I am not sure how you would position an extra billet on the vessel. Our IDC's have a scope of practice which can at many times eclipse an RN (suturing, prescription of drugs, etc). To me it would not make sense to place nurses on board vessels unless it was a hospital ship. My limited knowledge of naval medicine seems to remember an IDC paired with a PA to take care of most medical needs.

Perhaps a Navy nurse or Corpsman can chime in on the matter for you.

Cheers,

-Chris