New incentives for Army nurses

New incentives for Army nurses
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Jan 12, 2008 13:18:41 EST

Fort Sam Houston, Texas — Of all the life-altering war wounds a soldier can come home with, burns are about as painful and disfiguring as they get.

Burns hurt intensely for a long time and rehabilitation is slow and excruciating because the skin forms thick, tight scars that freeze the simplest movements.

Working in the burn unit, where one witnesses so much suffering in the course of healing, requires its own measure of endurance.

“It’s rewarding but draining. You know that what you’re asking them to do is going to hurt them in the short term but that it’s necessary for the long term. That’s tough love, we all know they have to do it,” said Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, chief of the Army nurse corps and deputy Army surgeon general for force management.

In that position, Pollock must manage the Army’s chronic nurse shortage while continuing to ensure the standard of care that wounded soldiers require. Being short-handed adds to the workload of nurses already under stress by the demands of a job that is physically and emotionally difficult.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/army_nurse_shortage_080114w/



uhc comment: The previous thread from today's Army Times --> http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=259x9742