As a nurse for the United States, Annie was instructed to help aid both American and Vietnamese soldiers (Kindrick, Joel). Annie showed kindness and selflessness toward any soldier that went through her tent. In March of 1942, Annie started her first days in the Vietnam War as a general duty nurse. Eventually she worked her ranking up to Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, Captain, Major, and finally, she was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in June of 1966 (Kirby, Christine). Annie Graham’s assignments included general duty nurse, not on active duty nurse, army health nurse, surgical head nurse, head nurse, supervisor and head department of surgery, and chief nurse in November of 1967 (Kirby, Christine). Including the Vietnam War, Annie Ruth
…show more content…
Some of the things her superiors wrote were as follows: In this position Colonel Graham was responsible for the entire nursing service for an active four hundred bed inpatient and outpatient medical complex. She personally controlled and coordinated all nursing care, and through her diligence and close supervision, the admission, treatment and disposition of patients were handled in an expeditious and efficient manner. Through her forceful leadership, keen foresight and unrelenting determination, Lieutenant Colonel Graham contributed immeasurably to the medical support mission in the Republic of Vietnam. Her professional competence and outstanding achievements were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon herself, her unit and the United States Army. During the enemy's Tet Offensive and other mass casualty situations, she was continually present and worked tirelessly in organizing and directing all nursing activities. Her meticulous attention to detail and astute planning ensured the smooth functioning of her staff during these critical periods. (“Annie Ruth …show more content…
I had only been out of nursing school for only a year. I think probably one of the greatest challenges was feeling my comfort zone working. I spent a lot of my time working in the emergency department. I was trained by corpsmen, surgeons, and we were literally on the job training. Looking back on it now, it was a great challenge, but we were all so young. We weren’t concerned about the war aspect; we were just there taking care of the wounded. We took care of both American and Vietnamese soldiers. (Veterans Health Administration, Mikelonis, Peggy)
Young nurses during war time were pushed beyond their comfort zone, with the little training they had on real patients. Annie Ruth Graham also, at times felt overwhelmed by the stress and craziness of the war. It was difficult for young nurses to fly solo when many soldiers were depending on them. The nurses had to make-do with the tools they had and lack of experience or knowledge (Veterans Health Administration, Mikelonis, Peggy). Peggy Mikelonis in her interview, also talked about some of the men she treated during that
Some of the things her superiors wrote were as follows: In this position Colonel Graham was responsible for the entire nursing service for an active four hundred bed inpatient and outpatient medical complex. She personally controlled and coordinated all nursing care, and through her diligence and close supervision, the admission, treatment and disposition of patients were handled in an expeditious and efficient manner. Through her forceful leadership, keen foresight and unrelenting determination, Lieutenant Colonel Graham contributed immeasurably to the medical support mission in the Republic of Vietnam. Her professional competence and outstanding achievements were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon herself, her unit and the United States Army. During the enemy's Tet Offensive and other mass casualty situations, she was continually present and worked tirelessly in organizing and directing all nursing activities. Her meticulous attention to detail and astute planning ensured the smooth functioning of her staff during these critical periods. (“Annie Ruth …show more content…
I had only been out of nursing school for only a year. I think probably one of the greatest challenges was feeling my comfort zone working. I spent a lot of my time working in the emergency department. I was trained by corpsmen, surgeons, and we were literally on the job training. Looking back on it now, it was a great challenge, but we were all so young. We weren’t concerned about the war aspect; we were just there taking care of the wounded. We took care of both American and Vietnamese soldiers. (Veterans Health Administration, Mikelonis, Peggy)
Young nurses during war time were pushed beyond their comfort zone, with the little training they had on real patients. Annie Ruth Graham also, at times felt overwhelmed by the stress and craziness of the war. It was difficult for young nurses to fly solo when many soldiers were depending on them. The nurses had to make-do with the tools they had and lack of experience or knowledge (Veterans Health Administration, Mikelonis, Peggy). Peggy Mikelonis in her interview, also talked about some of the men she treated during that