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

The second largest research area (25%) is equipment. Nearly all of these studies were conducted by FNP students. One study, later replicated in different hospitals, applied the experimental method to test for the presence of blood on utensils and equipment that had been used and washed and were "ready for use" on another patient. In the study, "Prevalence of Visible and/or Occult Blood on Anesthesia and Monitoring Equipment," less than 1% of the observations found visible blood on the utensils. However, more than 25% of the observations revealed occult blood on the utensils that had been declared "ready for use."

A number of recent projects examined equipment used to enhance patient education. In an experimental study entitled, "The Effectiveness of the Human Patient Simulator in Teaching Anesthetic Pharmacology to First Year Students," the student measured the potential benefits of knowledge assimilation and retention using the human patient simulator in an anesthesia pharmacology course as compared with the traditional classroom approach. Several projects also investigated the effectiveness of the human patient simulator in teaching patient assessment skills to students. In a study that was later published, entitled "Personal Digital Assistant as an Educational Tool," a student evaluated the use of personal digital assistants as a learning aid.

Approximately 20% of the 150 projects were in three research area categories: professional roles, women's health issues, and ethics and values. Examples of studies in these areas include "Air Force Family Nurse Practitioner and Air Force Family Physician Perception of the FNP Role in Military Operations" and "Ethical Issues of Air Force Nurse Practitioners in Clinical Practice."

Research Setting

The 150 scholarly projects were conducted in a variety of settings. These include inpatient and outpatient military health facilities, laboratories, classrooms, and simulated environments. A number of studies were conducted in the operating rooms of inpatient facilities, including several studies that examined the physical environment such as noise levels. Laboratory studies were mostly conducted within the facilities of the USUHS medical school. GSN students have continuously been afforded opportunities by USUHS faculty to participate in their research, thus demonstrating a productive and commendable interdisciplinary cooperation between the GSN and the USUHS School of Medicine.

Data for many projects were collected at military sites while students were pursuing their clinical practice. This was especially true for CRNA students who are required to engage in actual anesthesia cases to meet certification requirements. The sites have included the medical facilities at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Travis Air Force Base, California, The National Naval Medical Centers at San Diego, California, and Bethesda, Maryland, and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. Collecting data at distant sites generally required students to seek IRB approval at USUHS and the clinical site. This gave students considerable experience in addressing the IRB process but added to the students' workloads and time requirements in conducting their research.