“Joining Forces” to Assist Veterans and Their Families

UCSF School of Nursing is a participant in the Joining Forces campaign, a commitment from nurses across the country to serve veterans and military families, announced by First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Jill Biden. The School is actively seeking ways to integrate into its curriculum information about the unique health challenges this population faces – including post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and depression – and best practices for addressing those challenges.

In February, under the leadership of former faculty member Shirley Evers-Manly, the School sponsored a joint conference with the Bay Area Black Nurses Association and UCSF Medical Center that emphasized the Joining Forces initiative. The Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nursing program at UCSF – with American Psychiatric Nurses Association President-Elect Bethany Phoenix at the helm – is recognized as a leader in developing curricula related to the psychological effects of traumatic experience.

The School is now evaluating how existing curricular resources related to combat-related trauma can be adapted for use in multiple programs. It also is building partnerships with clinical agencies serving the military community, to discuss how faculty and students can best master the clinical competencies needed to care for these “wounded warriors” and their families.

Read more at the UCSF School of Nursing website.