Most recently, more than 6,300 military nurses were actively engaged in the Global War on Terrorism (Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, and Operation Inherent Resolve between 20 ( Berry-Cabán, Rivers, Beltran, & Anderson, 2018). Historically, surges in registered nurse commissions occurred in response to United States (US) involvement in wartime missions. Since the inception of the three nurse corps, military nurses have been intimately involved in the care of service members, their families, and civilians. Key Words: military nurse, military personnel, compassion fatigue, burnout, post-traumatic stress disorder, post-traumatic stress, secondary traumatic stress, post-traumatic growth, resilience, spirituality, disaster, humanitarian The article explores solutions, and offers implications for civilian nursing practice and civilian and academic nurse leaders.Ĭitation: Chargualaf, K.A., Elliott, B., (September 30, 2019) 'Psychological Effects of Military Service: Applying Research to Civilian & Academic Environments' OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. This review of literature seeks to describe the psychological effects of military service on nurses, highlight similarities with civilian nursing practice, and explore the transferability of research findings and recommendations to civilian and academic environments. However, the results and implications of military nurse research maintains usefulness beyond the confines of the military context. Resilience and spirituality as psychological protective factors and post-traumatic growth are discussed. Compassion fatigue, burnout, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common despite robust efforts to better prepare nurses through realistic training and ongoing assessments of the psychological impacts of military service. Exposure to trauma, death, violence, threats to personal safety, and ethical dilemmas places military nurses at risk for untoward psychological effects. Active duty, Reserve, and National Guard nurses participate in wartime, humanitarian, and disaster relief missions.

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