Integrating Veteran Healthcare into Nursing Curricula: In the students’ Words

Today in the U.S. there are more female military veterans than ever before. Female veterans report worse overall health than male veterans. Given the unique complexities of veteran healthcare issues, face-to-face experiences using simulated environments where students interact with veterans can support learning about the unique needs of veterans. The National League for Nursing Advancing Care Excellence for Veterans (ACE.V) has developed a series of case studies that can be used to train nursing students about veteran healthcare. This is a program evaluation that used qualitative analysis of students’ written responses to evaluate the effectiveness of a simulated opportunity. The simulated ACE.V case focused on Jenny Brown, a veteran of the Iraq conflict diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder, now pregnant. A presentation by a veteran prior to the simulation enhanced the training. Three themes emerged following the training with the debriefing: (a) increased knowledge and confidence, (b) empathy for veterans, and (c) appreciation for the complexities of veteran care. We successfully used one ACE.V case scenario enhanced with a veteran speaker to introduce veteran healthcare to nursing students.