Page 48 - QARANC Vol 15 No 1 2017

46 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Army Nurse Academic Achievements
Introduction
In previous years the Gazette published the academic results of Army nurses and the intent is to re-establish this practice. From now on, the Gazette aims to publicise and recognise the academic achievements of Army nurses annually. This edition includes a brief outline of the role of the Academic Department of Military Nursing (ADMN) and stresses the importance of gaining military clearance to publish academic papers or present at conferences. A list of publications by Army nurses in 2015 and 2016 and academic achievements are also included.
Academic Department of Military Nursing (ADMN)
The ADMN is a sub-unit within the Medical Directorate in Birmingham and was established in 2013 when the first Defence Professor of Nursing was appointed. ADMN is established with a Defence Professor (Gp Capt Lamb), a senior research fellow (Lt Col Bernthal), a lecturer (Lt Cdr Brockie) and an Admin Assistant (Karen Nichols).
ADMN is committed to developing a culture of clinically focused research and publication amongst military and MOD nurses. This is achieved by undertaking and supporting primary research, audit, service evaluation and publications as well as providing academic support, training and education to military and MOD nurses. ADMN delivers bi- annual research and publication workshops in March and October as well as visits to Units to deliver training to support nurses undertaking research. Many more nurses are now collaborating in research, audit or service evaluation projects as a result. Also, an increasing number of military nurses are undertaking academic courses at Level 6 (BSc), 7 (MSc) and 8 (PhD). Many are being awarded with first-class honours and distinctions (see below).
A handbook of research, audit or service evaluation has been written by ADMN to act as a one-stop guide to complement the new related Joint Service Publication and is in the process of being formally ratifed. This handbook will be available via the Defence Gateway.
Communicating in public
Any material published or presented outside the MOD and released into the public domain (such as a submission for publication or to present at a conference) must receive military clearance in accordance with JSP 950 Part 1 Lft 1-2- 3 – Communicating in Public). This is obtained by submitting a CCI form to Professor of Nursing once it has been approved by the individual’s chain of command; Unit Adjutants are usually an excellent start point for advice on the process.
Defence nursing is gaining international recognition as nurses present at more and more national and international conferences. An example is the publication in the Journal of the RAMC of the first Nursing Edtion in December 2015 which provided a platform to showcase the academic and research achievements of military nurses. 2017 is an exciting year also with the 1st UK International Nursing Conference taking place on 11 September 2017 in the ExCeL, London as part of Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2017. ADMN can be followed on Twitter @Def_ADMN.
Academic achievements
Below are listed those nurses graduating in the last 12 months with the Defence School of Health Education. It is noteworthy that 88% of Army nurses in Cohort 0113 who graduated
in September 2016 achieved a first-class honours degree. Of Cohort 0114 from January 2017 the figure was still an impressive 55% receiving a first; this percentage is way above that expected in non-military circles. Nursing graduates from 2016 / 17 are listed in the tables below:
BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing Awarded Sept 2016
Cpl Elsey
Cpl McCurdy LCpl Attiwell LCpl Thomas Pte Badjie Pte Banks Pte Boersma Pte Bowen
Pte Boyd
Pte Cusworth Pte Ellis
Pte Hamaoui Pte Kimani Pte Kreczmer Pte Lewis Pte Price
Diploma in Higher Education Studies in Health Awarded Sept 2016
Pte Howell
BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing Awarded January 2017
Pte Burge Pte Cale
Pte Collier Pte Cooper Cpl Deery Cpl Wallace Pte Ellis
Pte Etheridge Pte Gibb
Pte Halliwell Pte Hannah Pte Hepworth LCpl Jackson
Pte Keilaus Cpl Kirkham Pte Matthews LCpl Menri Pte Mills
Pte Mills LCpl Moyo Cpl Murefu Pte Skipp Pte Varty
Pte Wichaisri Pte Williams
BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing Awarded January 2017
Cpl Hodgkinson
Pte Honga
Publications from December 2015 – January 2017 (including those in press)
A total of 20 published papers have been captured by ADMN. These have been authored by QAs between December 15 and January17. If you have made a contribution to a nursing publication, oral presentation at conference or poster presentation, please contact ADMN to contribute to this single reference point for a growing body of military nursing knowledge. The following publications are listed below:
Bernthal EM (2015). The challenges of undertaking (qualitative) research on a military population, Journal of Royal Army Medical Corps, 161: i3-i5.
Bernthal EM (2015). Mothers’ decision-making during times of stress as a lone parent: a qualitative study, Journal of Royal Army Medical Corps, 161: i26-i33.
Bernthal EM, Draper HJA, Henning J & Kelly JC (2016). A band of brothers’ – an exploration of the range of medical ethical issues faced by British senior military clinicians on deployment in Afghanistan: a qualitative study, Journal of Royal Army Medical Corps, doi:10.1136/ jramc-2016-00070.1
Carter C & Blake L (2015). Introducing ‘The Diverse Nature of Defence Healthcare’ university module for DMS personnel, Journal of Royal Army Medical Corps, 161: i60-i63.