title: U.S. Army nurses' reintegration and homecoming experiences after Iraq and Afghanistan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to understand U.S. Army nurses' reintegration and homecoming experiences after deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Employing existential phenomenology and purposive sampling, 22 U.S. Army active duty nurses were recruited from two military posts and participated in single digitally recorded interviews.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five themes emerged: (1) aspects of command support were articulated as "No one cares"; (2) fulfilling requirements for attendance at pre/postdeployment briefings were described as merely "check the blocks"; (3) readjustments from focusing strictly on duty requirements versus multitasking, such as family responsibilities and daily living, led to the "Stress of being home"; (4) nurses stated "They don't understand" when referring to anyone without deployment experience (family, friends, other soldiers); and (5) when referencing deployment experiences, nurses emphasized that, "It just changes you."
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurses in this study felt that the current reintegration process was not meeting their needs for a smoother homecoming; new or improved interventions to assist redeploying nurses with the transition to a noncombat environment would be beneficial. Educational programs to help nursing supervisors provide optimal leadership support through all phases of deployment are needed.
authors.affiliation: Womack Army Medical Center, 2817 Reilly Road, Fort Bragg, NC 28310, USA.
authors.forename: Felecia M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Rivers
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Speraw
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reese
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008888:Military Nursing; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D015279:Organizational Culture; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D035502:Trust