Military Nursing Research by Students at the Graduate School of Nursing Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Military Medicine, Mar 2005 by Abdellah, Faye G, Levine, Eugene, Sylvia, Barbara, Kelley, Patricia W, Et al

Nearly two-thirds of the GSN students' projects fall into one priority category: military clinical practice and outcomes management. These projects range over a wide variety of topics and subject matter. Examples include a study entitled "Use of Ottawa Ankle Decision Rules to Evaluate Blunt Ankle Trauma case Studies by Air Force Health Care Providers" in which the student used case study scenarios to measure a sample of nurse practitioners' and physician assistants' diagnostic accuracy. Only a 1% difference in accuracy was found, although both groups of providers generally lacked awareness of the Ottawa Ankle Decision Rules. Another study in this priority area was entitled "A Double Blind Randomized Placebo Controlled Trial of Magnesium Oxide for Alleviation of Low Back Pain." Thirty adult patients in a free-standing pain center received a magnesium oxide supplement and 30 received an oral placebo for a 2-month trial period. Although no significant differences in pain alleviation were found between the two groups, important guidance for further research was obtained. In addition, several studies in this priority category examined alternative therapies in clinical practice, as in the studies, "Nurse Practitioners' Experiences with Herbal Therapy" and "Preanesthetic Assessment of Herbal Dietary Supplement Use."

CRNA students conducted a number of studies that dealt with determining ways to improve the delivery of anesthesia in the military setting. Examples include "Epidural Analgesia during the Post Operative Period" and "Choice of Intravenous Agents" and "Intubation Neuromuscular Blockers by Anesthesia Providers."

The second largest priority category for students' projects was deployment health. Approximately 15% of the 150 projects were concerned with one or more aspects of military readiness and health issues relating to deployment. Examples of projects in this category include "The Operational Preparedness of United States Air Force CRNAs to Provide Trauma Anesthesia, Determining the Level of Care Provided by Family Nurse Practitioners During a Deployment Situation," "Medical Readiness of Air Force Members for Shortfall Deployments," and "Military Nurses Perception of Autonomy in Fixed Vs. Deployed Facilities."

Research Areas

The TSRNP research areas consist of eight categories that provide further description of the subject matter of the research projects. The categories are health promotion, population health, access to care, women's health issues, professional roles, systems, ethics and values, and equipment. Approximately 30% of the 150 projects are in the category health promotion. These projects, conducted mainly by FNPs, include studies of exercise, weight control, and smoking cessation therapies in promoting health. Two examples of these projects include "A Descriptive Study of Health Promotion Activities Related to Tobacco Cessation" and "Weight Loss Behaviors Used by Active Duty Air Force Personnel to Maintain Compliance with Weight Control Standards."