According to Chief Nursing Officer Air Force Brig Gen. Anita Fligge, one of the top Defense Health Agency (DHA) nursing officers, “Many changes due to the pandemic are on the horizon for military nursing in today’s world.”
For instance, the pandemic has underscored the connection between health and readiness. Nurses now work in a joint environment within the integrated DHA workforce by having standardized policies, procedures, and tools available across the services used to improve efficiencies.
According to Brig. General Fligge, “The pandemic has required more precision and flexibility to be used, including virtual healthcare, remote patient monitoring, and the use of touchless medication refills to optimize care delivery.”
The future is bright for more virtual healthcare and telehealth services for certain specialties such as dermatology, behavioral health, primary care, urgent care and obstetrics, while at the same time, maintaining the focus on high quality patient care and increased access to care.
Today, not only in the military but elsewhere, more robotics and artificial intelligence are being used in the operating rooms in the civilian sector. Nurses on robotic surgical teams must demonstrate a very high level of professional knowledge and be knowledgeable about robotic technology.
The Naval Hospital Twentynine Palms at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Southern CA. have been using robotic units to pulse high energy, broad spectrum UV light to disinfect surface areas in operating rooms.
As for Artificial intelligence, AI is already being used via mobile health and provides alerts in Joint Tele-Critical Care Network (JTCCN) units. The technology can specifically track and analyze vital signs, lab results, progress notes, and other real time data.
Overall, nurses now play a key role in data collection, analyzing trends and outcomes, understanding what new technologies are able to do, how to effectively use robots, and need to be able to identify safety issues.