Military medicine
-
Processed nerve allograft (PNA) is an alternative to autograft for the reconstruction of peripheral nerves. We hypothesize that peripheral nerve repair with PNA in a military population will have a low rate of meaningful recovery (M ≥ 3) because of the frequency of blasting mechanisms and large zones of injury. ⋯ Therapeutic, Level III.
-
The purpose of this study was to report on the career accomplishments of Public Health Service (PHS) alumni from the Uniformed Services University (USU) School of Medicine (SOM) in several professional areas such as specialty choice, board certification rates, leadership roles, academic achievements, deployments, and length of service. ⋯ Our findings suggest that PHS alumni are likely to enter primary care specialties, engage in medical volunteering and humanitarian missions, frequently remain in uniform longer than their initial active duty commitment, and are affiliated with numerous universities and medical schools throughout their career. PHS alumni appear to be successfully meeting the mission set forth by the U.S. PHS.
-
Thousands of military personnel have suffered severe wounds and traumatic amputations in recent overseas conflicts. They face multiple surgeries and long, painful rehabilitation. Despite the tremendous stress for these servicemen and families, many appear to cope quite well and even thrive despite their devastating wounds. Hardiness is a world view or mindset marked by high levels of commitment and engagement in the world, a strong sense of control, and the tendency to see change as a challenge and opportunity to learn and improve. Previous research has shown that military personnel high in hardiness are at lower risk for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other psychiatric symptoms following combat exposure. This study evaluated the impact of personality hardiness on post-traumatic growth (PTG) and psychological well-being in severely wounded service members and their spouses. ⋯ These results suggest that seriously wounded military members and their spouses who are high in hardiness are more likely to experience PTG and psychological well-being following extremely stressful experiences. Hardiness entails positive reframing of negative experiences as opportunities and challenges to overcome, and taking action to solve problems. Training programs to increase hardiness attitudes and related coping skills may thus be beneficial in facilitating healthy adaptation for severely injured patients.