The Role of Army Nurse Practitioners Supporting Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Family nurse practitioners are an essential member of the military medical team. They were incorporated into the Army medical system almost as soon as there was an academic program to develop the role in primary care settings. The role for nurse practitioners during deployment has not been as clear. Even though they have been around for 50 years, the specific role nurse practitioners provide is still evolving. This article explores the incorporation of nurse practitioners into Army medicine with a focus on deployed medicine. Nurse practitioners have been shown to be very versatile providers with the requisite skill sets to meet the demands of the combat environment and are able to substitute for other medical assets that are critically short due to sustained conflict. Clarifying the value a nurse practitioner brings to medical care in the combat environment is essential to insure all assets are being employed to provide the best medical care to the US fighting force.