Marking Veterans Day 2024 - A Letter from Dean Marianne Baernholdt
Colleagues:
Monday, Nov. 11, marks Veterans Day, a day to honor the sacrifice, strength, and valor of members of our nation’s Armed Forces. Many of our students are former, current, or future military nurses who concurrently serve and attend school. Several faculty members have also served in the military, including professors Richard Ridge and Richard Westphal, who were both in the U.S. Navy, as well as Gretchen Wiersma and Terri Yost, both of whom are retired from the U.S. Army. We are lucky to have them, and I am incredibly proud to call them colleagues.
Veterans Day is a time for reflection and gratitude but also a moment to collectively re-commit to offering this special population of people the kind of care they both need and deserve. Every nurse will care for military professionals and their families across the arc of their careers—precisely why it’s so critical to understand the unique challenges veterans often face, and tailor our approach to their care accordingly.
Veterans are at unique risk for a host of health concerns: post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injuries, sexual trauma from their time in the military, and even repercussions from exposures to toxic weaponry, chemicals, debilitating stress, and infectious diseases. Military service can leave people struggling to reintegrate, isolated, and vulnerable to mental illness.
Like each of us, service members have unique stories. So do veterans’ family members. When clinicians take the time to ask about and listen to their stories—opening with the statement recommended by the American Academy of Nursing, Have you or your family members ever served?—they create trusted, non-judgmental, frank spaces for veterans.
I hope you will read and be inspired by several essays written by current School of Nursing students who are military professionals or veterans that are part of our fall VNL magazine’s NURSING NARRATIVES. I thank BSN student Sgt. (ret.) Monique Alston, U.S. Army, Capt. Jared Sangiorgi, U.S. Air Force, and a DNP student, Capt. Ross Scallan, U.S. Army, and a CNS and DNP alumnus, and Maj. Corrine Gogert, U.S. Army, an MSN and CNS graduate, DNP student, and graduate student ambassador, for importantly sharing their stories.
We are fortunate to be a destination for military nurses seeking to further their education, individuals inspired to serve our country who work to bridge divides in our country and world. No matter our politics, backgrounds, or beliefs, may we open our hearts and minds to both respectfully learn from them and care for them.
Be well,
Marianne Baernholdt
The Pew Charitable Dean and Professor, UVA School of Nursing
Dean of Professional Nursing, UVA Health
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