Combat Nurses: The ICU

Published Jan. 30, 2008
By Tech. Sgt. D. Clare
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- The underlying goal for the Air Force Theater Hospital is to save lives and get patients safely out of the combat zone alive. Between trips to the Operating Room and the next phase of treatment, patients rely on intensive care unit nurses.

1st Lt. Johana Sierra-Nunez dedicates her life to keeping the most seriously wounded stable before their medical evacuation to the United States or Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

On this day, 1st Lt. Johana Sierra-Nunez, intensive care unit nurse, receives an injured Iraqi police officer. He's waking up from surgery and his hands are partially swathed in gauze. Confused and disheveled, he mumbles as she carefully feeds a prescribed amount of pain medication intravenously.

He looks down at his hands and realizes, likely for the first time, that more than one of his fingers is missing.

She calmly tells him the brand name of the pain medication and says, "you're going to be alright." It's the most assurance she can provide without an interpreter.

At just 30, the Puerto Rico native speaks with the aged confidence of a care provider who's been through war. And she has, twice.

On her last tour to Iraq, she was part of the medical team that saved the life of ABC News reporter Bob Woodruff. His story is just a small chapter of the book she could write about her experiences in Iraq.

She's treated and stabilized hundreds of wounded Soldiers and Marines who've narrowly survived the most severe trauma the war can offer. In addition to a famous reporter, she's cared for scores of Iraqi policemen, soldiers -- even enemy insurgents.

"The things you see here I don't think you would ever see anywhere else," she says. "In the states, it's one thing. Here, you're part of something bigger. You're here so everyone else can have their freedom and you take care of the people who provide that freedom."

Nurses in the intensive care unit are typically assigned to two or three critically wounded patients. The focus, Lieutenant Sierra-Nunez says, is on synergy and patient care. Should a patient's condition or needs change, the nurses swarm to the bedside.

"You're part of a great team here. You get a lot more training and exposure. You learn to work with your resources," the lieutenant says. "I guess you become more creative and you feel like you can give 120 percent."

The nurses lead the team of technicians who keep patients stable before they move on from the facility. The goal is to move patients out of the war zone as quickly as possible and on to more advanced care in Germany or the United States.

"As a nurse, you feel like you're giving the greatest support you can give to your country. Here, you're helping fight for our American values. You're part of something bigger."

Note: This is the fourth installment of a five part series by Tech. Sgt. D. Clare titled "Combat Nurses." The entire series is available online at www.balad.afnews.af.mil.

USAF. (U.S. Air Force Graphic by Rosario "Charo" Gutierrez)