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While some, perhaps many, look back on Vietnam as a maturing experience, few were prepared for the exposure to personal danger, suffering, and death.
Veterans Administration estimates indicate that 11,000 women served in Vietnam between 1964 and 1975 (Veterans Administration, 1985). Most of these women were nurses who, like male soldiers, were rotated through Vietnam on a 12month cycle. Arriving by air with the soldiers, they were transported immediately to their units. Sometimes starting with minimal relevant experience or training, nursing staff worked 12-hour shifts, 6 days per week. During surges of incoming wounded staff were called to work around the clock. Giving emotional support to seriously wounded men near their own age took a heavy toll.
Triage responsibilities were shared by nurses and physicians. By its nature triage involved life and death decisions. Some patients with head wounds, for example, were classified as "expectant," meaning that they were expected to die. For others with a better prognosis, the units provided emergency treatment until patients were stable enough for transport to the next treatment site. When the wounded were evacuated, contact was lost and treatment outcome was unknown. Because the wounds of the soldiers were often massive, nurses had to assume that many died. Fatigued by the work and overwhelmed by the emotional impact of events, many were unable to integrate their experience and maintain psychological equilibrium.
Many military nurses were recently graduated and had very little clinical experience. Their education was sometimes paid for by a U.S.
Government stipend in return for 2 years of military service. They had little knowledge of military life and often went with idealistic patriotic attitudes anticipating an experience that would enhance their professional growth. While some, perhaps many, look back on Vietnam as a maturing experience, few were prepared for the exposure to personal danger, suffering, and death.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a syndrome that develops following a psychologically traumatic experience, one which is outside the range of usual human experi- . enee and would be expected to produce symptoms of distress in most people. It is common for individuals with this syndrome to reexperience the trauma in a variety of ways, such as recurring dreams and nightmares and intrusive recollections of the experience (DSM-III, 1980).