Work-Related Issues Facing Nurse Anesthetists During Deployment on Military Operation Other Than War

摘要

The purpose of this research was to describe the work-related issues facing nurse anesthetists deployed on a military operation other than war (MOOTW), and to identify strategies for improvement to formal education and training programs. Currently there is an absence of literature about the role of nurse anesthetists during a MOOTW. The study is important to the military because nurse officers will continue to be deployed not only as anesthetists, but also as leaders on humanitarian, disaster relief, and peacekeeping or peacemaking missions; which are all components of MOOTW missions. It is equally important to nurse anesthetists because they are integral to providing anesthesia and pain management to soldiers and civilians in the perioperative period. Grounded theory methods were used in this study to answer the research questions and to develop new theory. Purposive sampling with a snowball technique was used to obtain participants who had been on a MOOTW during the last five years. Data collection was done through interviews and demographic questionnaires. Analysis of interview data, using the constant comparative method, was done manually. Nine themes were extracted from the data: Communication, flexibility, environment, equipment, cultural issues, personal issues, non-anesthesia roles, training, and recommendations for future deployments.