Psychological Effects of Military Service: Applying Research to Civilian & Academic Environments

Abstract

Active duty, Reserve, and National Guard nurses participate in wartime, humanitarian, and disaster relief missions. Exposure to trauma, death, violence, threats to personal safety, and ethical dilemmas places military nurses at risk for untoward psychological effects. 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. Resilience and spirituality as psychological protective factors and post-traumatic growth are discussed. However, the results and implications of military nurse research maintains usefulness beyond the confines of the military context. 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. The article explores solutions, and offers implications for civilian nursing practice and civilian and academic nurse leaders.