Learning from History: Applying World War II Palliative Care Lessons to Future Conflicts

Because of the volume of casualties projected in future large-scale combat operations (LSCO), military nurses need to be prepared to perform palliative care and end-of-life care due to the projected lack of air superiority and resources required to rapidly evacuate patients. Much of the mental trauma experienced by military nurses who served during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom was because they felt unprepared and that they couldn't do enough. The lessons learned from WWII related to combat palliative care can inform the future needs of military nurses in preparation for LSCO. The holistic and innovative approaches employed during that era can serve as a blueprint for designing comprehensive palliative care providers equipped to address the multifaceted challenges of caring for the combat wounded during a future conflict. This paper will describe some of the issues faced by WWII nurses, lessons learned, and provide training recommendations for current military nurses who may be caring for patients in future wars.