20 R E G I S T E R E D N U R S E W W W . C A L N U R S E S . O R G O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6
W
hile PTSD is widespread among sol-
diers who fought in Vietnam, the
RNs who nursed them fared little
better: Among female veterans with PTSD, most
were registered nurses serving between 1964
and 1975. Women who reported close and sup-
portive relationships with friends and family
transitioned better after the war, with fewer
and less severe symptoms of PTSD. Those who
lived alone were less able to control sequelae.
These RNs were just a more recent example
of a phenomenon dating back to the origins of
modern nursing. In 1854, Florence Nightingale
led 38 women to Turkish battlefields of the
Crimean War to care for injured British sol-
diers—the first time the British government
permitted a woman to head such a medical mis-
sion. As is well known, today, almost all nursing
practices can be traced back to that RN's innova-
tions. Working nonstop on the frontlines,
Nightingale became not only the first modern
combat nurse, but the first documented case of
an RN with combat-related PTSD as well. Upon
her return to England, Nightingale went into
near-complete social withdrawal, suffering
from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for her
entire life. She spent the last ten years in bed.
—c.f. and d.r.
COMBAT-RELATED TRAUMA
AMONG RNS
