U.S., Asian military nurses exchange ideas

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Erika Yepsen
  • Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --  More than 40 Air Force, Army and Navy nurses and medical professionals from the Reserve, Guard and active duty joined military nurses from seven countries for the second annual Asia Pacific Military Nursing Conference Sept. 1-5 at the Republic of Korea Armed Forces Nursing Academy in Daejeon, Republic of Korea.

U.S. Pacific Command partnered with the Republic of Korea Armed Forces to host the four-day conference, which focused on nursing education, career development and disaster management.

Brig. Gen. Soonwha Park, superintendent of the Armed Forces Nursing Academy, and Maj. Gen. Melissa Rank, Assistant U.S. Air Force Surgeon General, opened the conference by welcoming the more than 200 attendees from the United States, Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and China.

"No matter what language we speak, we are trained to save lives and provide the best care we can. Our mission and end goal are the same," said Maj. Chung Lee, Pacific Air Forces International Health Specialist and event coordinator.

The conference, titled Nursing Together - For the People, For the World, was designed for senior leadership and chief nurses to share ideas and practices and to learn from each other while building relationships between the countries of the Pacific, Major Lee said.

One of the conference's highlights was the participation of nurses from the People's Liberation Army of China, who presented a briefing about the military nursing response in rescue and relief work to the Wenchuan earthquake in May 2008.

"This conference was an excellent opportunity for military nurses from China to interact with colleagues from the U.S. and Asia-Pacific nations," said Lt Col (Dr.) John Oh, PACAF International Health Specialist. "We look forward to future military medical and nursing exchanges involving China to build mutual understanding and share information."

While conference attendees might not have spoken the same language, there was one thing they all had in common - "It is the spirit of the Nightingale that moves us," said Chinese presenter Changrong Yuan.