Fairfield University nursing professor available to speak about nurses in the military and in Iraq | Press Releases

Image: Doris Troth Lippman Now more than ever, the global war on terrorism is placing an increased demand on the military medical community. But the military is facing a nursing shortage that constitutes a potential major problem for both the war on terror and the war in Iraq, said Doris Troth Lippman, Ed.D., A.P.R.N., C.S., a professor of nursing at Fairfield University and expert on military nurses.

The nation's nursing shortage could hit 750,000 by 2020, according to the Department of Health and Human Services and other independent studies ( http://www.navy.mil ).

"A certain part of me wants to be over there and helping like I did before," said Dr. Lippman, who served as a nurse in the Vietnam War and considers it one of her most meaningful experiences within the nursing field. "There's such a parallel for those of us who were in the Vietnam War."

The landscape for nurses serving in Iraq is quite similar to those who served in Vietnam, in that you are trying to save lives while living under the constant threat of attack, Dr. Lippman said. She remembers incidences in which Vietnamese villagers who had been friends during the day became enemies at night-often booby trapping hospital equipment and other supplies.

"They're under fire almost all the time," Dr. Lippman said. "The work hasn't changed. It's saving as many people as you can save and comforting those who lay dying "

Dr. Lippman recently gave a presentation on the importance of nurses in the military at the seventh annual Nursing Advancement Professionals Spring Conference for The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in Washington D.C. The theme of the conference was "The Treasure Trove: Discovering Opportunities in Today's School of Nursing." Ms. Noel Appel, School of Nursing Development Liaison for Fairfield University, served on the AACN Conference planning committee and in this capacity recommended Dr. Lippman as the speaker for this portion of the program.

Her presentation, "The Emergence of Nursing as a Profession of Valor and Import: Finding and Sharing the Untold Stories of Military Nurses," included the history of the nursing profession, as well as how it is integrally tied with the role of nurses in the military.

Dr. Lippman spoke of wars as early as the Crimean War in mid 1800s, to the role of nurses in the current Iraqi war. The presentation reflected that finding and sharing stories is a major and significant way to capture the magnitude and courage of the nurse's professional acts, thereby enhancing the image of nursing as a whole.

Florence Nightingale has served as one of Dr. Lippman's role models. Nightingale served as a nurse during the Crimean War and created a nursing service in the military hospital in Scurtari, Turkey. She was appalled by unsafe and unsanitary conditions and battled the military bureaucracy to provide light, ventilation, food, and medical supplies to the wounded.

"Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, has been an inspiration to me and is the reason I became a nurse," Dr. Lippman said. "She and I share a common experience serving as nurses during time of war, the Crimean War and the Vietnam War."

Dr. Lippman believes that nursing is one of the most important fields today. She said that, "For me being given the opportunity and privilege to practice and teach nursing, one of the finest arts (and sciences) is truly a dream come true."

Dr. Lippman was awarded the Cornell University School of Nursing Distinguished Alumni Award, the first Connecticut Post Woman of the Year Award and the first Women's Studies award at Fairfield University. Several years ago she was chosen to be one of seven leadership externs for Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing. She was the Vice Chair of Vietnam Women's Memorial Project, which placed a monument in Washington D.C. to honor women who served during the war in Vietnam. Lippman served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps from 1967-1968. She received her bachelor of science degree in nursing from Cornell University, a master of arts from Fairfield University, and a master's and doctorate degree in education from Columbia University.