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Medicine and Health Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Mental health

Social and Behavioral Sciences

2015

University of Wollongong

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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

"Stress Wasn't A Word": Australian Nurses' Recollections Of War-Related Trauma, Kylie M. Smith, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Lorna Moxham Jan 2015

"Stress Wasn't A Word": Australian Nurses' Recollections Of War-Related Trauma, Kylie M. Smith, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Lorna Moxham

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Aim: This research explores the recollections of Australian nurses in regards to psychological injury among those who served in World War II (WWII) and the Vietnamese conflict.

Methods: Existing oral histories from WWII and Vietnam held by the Australian War Memorial were explored for recollections of issues related to psychological injury. A constant comparative method was used to allow themes to emerge across both cohorts of interviews.

Results: Findings indicate that nurses from both conflicts witnessed trauma among their patients in the field and experienced it among themselves upon their return from service. Three main themes emerged which related …