Nurses experiences in chemical emergency departments: Iran–Iraq war, 1980–1988

Professionalism of Healthcare Jobs in the War

“…In contrast, some informants noted that they did not train before entering the front. Similar findings have been reported in other studies (6,(13)(14)(15). Sarhangi et al emphasized the lack of training on chemical attacks in the early years of the war (14).…”

“…The results showed that skills and experience of medical team were of great importance that affected their performance in the war. Similar findings have been reported in another study (6). In this regard, Ghanjal et al reported that rescuers were familiar with the emergency care and resuscitation measures in the face of injuries (13).…”

“…Firouzkouhi et al have also reported at the beginning of the war, the armed forces, nurses, and medical staff had no experience of chemical attacks. Over time, they gained a lot of knowledge and experience on how to protect themselves and treat and care of chemically inflicted patients (6).…”

“…Firouzkouhi et al reported that over time and further with the use of chemical weapons by the enemy, the health staff in the care of patients gained more experience. In addition, professional training courses were held in chemical emergency departments to update their information and to learn new techniques for treatment of patients that resulted in the provision of better care to chemical attack victims (6). In contrast, some informants noted that they did not train before entering the front.…”

“…These experiences can be transferred to the managers and medical staff to be used to deal with potential crises such as future wars. Only little has been documented about the healthcare providers' experiences in the Iran-Iraq war (2,4,6,7). Some studies found that caring experience during the war had some benefits for healthcare providers.…”