Military nursing is an ever-evolving profession. Since the 1700s there have been nurses in the United States military, tending to the injured and providing comfort to those in their care.
Within the Nurse Corps, responsibilities can range from serving as a practicing clinician to a health care administrator. Nurses are often asked to handle a wide variety of non-nursing tasks while still maintaining their clinical skills.
For Army Col. Vince Myers, an Army nurse serving as the chief of staff for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, this diversity and flexibility is what makes nurses a critical element of the medical team.
The impact of military nurses goes well beyond the hospital or clinic. They can be found evaluating informatics or performing analyses, in research labs, classrooms, and various leadership positions. Each area of expertise contributes to advancing the mission of the Military Health System.
Myers has served in a variety of traditional and non-traditional nursing roles over the course of his 20-year career, but he remains connected to the community.
"Regardless of my role in the Army or the Military Health System (MHS), I remain focused on supporting and mentoring Army nurses across the globe," Myers said. "Even after you move into roles at higher levels, you must remain proficient in your skills as a nurse and a leader."
As the Military Health System changes under the Defense Health Agency (DHA), Myers said, there are many things that Army nurses are doing, not just supporting Army nursing, but military medicine across the board. He sees these non-traditional roles as opportunities to support the wider mission.
"It all comes down to using everything you've learned from your first assignment to pave the way for opportunities to advance military medicine, whether that's a policy role, a congressional role or even a traditional nursing leadership role," said Myers.
Although Myers is a member of the Army Nurse Corps, he said National Nurses Week, which takes place from May 6-12, is a reminder that military nurses are all working toward the same goal.
"When you talk about the Nurse Corps, this year's theme, "Unified. Reliable. Ready." is really fitting. As Army nurses, it is critical that we're unified and supportive of each other and the other corps, whether it be Navy or Air Force," Myers said. "As we share our experience, lessons learned and opportunities to support an array of things within nursing, not just within our own services, that unity is extremely important. Across the services, even though we have our unique capabilities and skills, there are many opportunities to work together in the current setting to advance military nursing as a whole."
Myers said that civilian nurses at military medical treatment facilities (MTFs) throughout the MHS play a vital role in developing military nurses.