Practice Tip of the Week | Service and Sacrifice: Two Veteran Nurse Reflections

This Veterans Day, we want to share the experience of two of TNA’s members who served, as well as their calls-to-action to improve health care and access for the people who serve and sacrifice to keep us safe. Please take a moment this Veterans Day to thank your neighbor, friend or family member for their service.

As Texas nurses, it is also important that we go a step further to be an advocate for veteran health. We need to take meaningful steps and actions to stand up for the veteran community. The veteran community asks us to notify our elected officials on a local, state and national level and let them know that:

• Mental health must be prioritized.
• Begin at the beginning of service and destigmatize mental health care by integrating a mental health program into routine preventative health checks to remove the fear of retribution or separation from service.
• Veteran’s Affairs should not have budget cuts.
• Leadership should eliminate inefficiencies and waste while maximizing outcomes and quality of care.
• Once changes are made, they should be evaluated to see if they work and modified if they do not.

Without continuous advocacy, especially from health professionals, veterans will never get the level of care they deserve for all they have given us.

Reflection by Tracey Ramsey Abbott, MPA, RN

Veterans Day, the day to honor all American service members, began as Armistice Day, the day commemorating the end of World War I and recognizing those American service members who served heroically in the “war to end all wars.” Later, after World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day to honor all military members who have served in the American armed forces.

Those who choose to serve in the United States military do so for various reasons. However, underlying the practical reasons for serving is the desire to give back to our country. Honoring our patriotic duty to give back to the country that has provided safety and security to ourselves, family and nation.

I served in the Army for 10 years, and I come from a long line of military members. My grandfather served in the Navy during WWII. His ship was torpedoed in the Pacific, and he was one of 40 survivors from a ship of over 300. One of my sons also serves in the Navy, stationed in Djibouti. I have an uncle who served in the Navy during Vietnam; my sister retired from the Air Force, and my brother and father served in the Army.

The Army taught me grit and perseverance; it gave me options. It also transitioned me from adolescence to adulthood. The Army is where I learned that nursing was my passion before it became a lifelong career.

However, the military requires sacrifices, from being separated from loved ones and missing milestones to serving in conflict areas and experiencing hardships and trauma. Our service members made these sacrifices so that our country may be a free and thriving democracy with opportunities for all people. Many families have given the ultimate sacrifice. For those, we are indebted.

We should not squander the gift of the citizen who chooses to serve their country, and we should honor our promises to them and their families. As a nation, we owe veterans our gratitude and our protection. We can meet our obligations to those who served by voting and writing letters to our elected officials demanding veterans be cared for and safeguarded. It is the minimum we should do in return for the protection they bestowed upon us.

The United States military is the backbone of our nation’s might and power, a sign of strength and unity. A symbol of our democracy. I am proud of my service and my family’s service. I am honored to have served my county. Let us all come together to remember and pay tribute to those who have fulfilled their duty this Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2020.

Reflection by Megan E Gingrich, RN, FNP-BC

This Veterans Day, I call on fellow Texas nurses to thank our Veterans with words, but more importantly, with actions. It is with a great deal of gratitude and thanks to serve TNA District 5 as a Board Member. It is also an honor to serve fellow veterans as nurse practitioner at the Veteran’s Affairs Outpatient Clinic.

I served Iraq in 2008 as an Air Force nurse at the largest and busiest level 1 trauma hospital in the country during one of the most volatile and violent times of the war. Our medical unit worked tirelessly for American soldiers and Iraqi civilians caught in the crossfire. The grit and determination of our team still puts me in awe and inspires me every time I reflect upon those days of hard work and little sleep. Even more so, the men and women we cared for who died for our country or survived and have lifelong wounds (both mentally and physically) will always be on my mind.

We need to do better for them.

As Texas nurses, we all know there is a very large Veteran population across our state. My grandfather and father served in WW II and Vietnam, respectively. My father’s platoon lost more than half their soldiers before they came home from Vietnam. Both returned with both physical and psychological wounds that needed much healing. At the time, we as a medical community were not experienced at addressing those psychological wounds.

Now, as a nurse practitioner at Austin Veteran’s Affairs, I have the honor of caring for our veterans’ physical and mental needs daily. Not a day goes by in which I don’t hear an inspirational or gut-wrenching story form one of our selfless veterans. The VA medical system is complex and confusing for both veterans and healthcare providers. However, our veterans deserve top notch health care. And while we as a country have improved VA care, it still has much room for improvement.

Let’s come together as Texas nurses to honor and treat our veterans with the excellent healthcare and respect they deserve! 

Veteran Resources:

After hours, weekends, holidays: 

1-877-WAR-VETS

Rep Chip Roy, Veteran's Affairs House Committee Member 

Texas Veteran’s Commission

Housing for Texas Heroes Grants

Texas Veteran’s Land Board

National:

Veteran’s Affairs Website (benefits, healthcare, etc.)

Vets Experiencing Homelessness

LGBTQ Veterans

AFSP Military Veteran Suicide Prevention/Advocacy

Veteran’s Crisis Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of American (IAVA)

Vietnam Veterans of America

American Legion