Date of Conferral

10-17-2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Nursing

Advisor

Mary Martin

Abstract

Despite national initiatives designed to expand healthcare programs and resources for veterans, there is a lack of knowledge about military culture and health problems specific to this demographic among registered nurses who serve in a role to impact the suicide rate among the veteran population. The purpose of this qualitative study, guided by Leininger’s culture care theory and Benner’s novice to expert model, was to understand the lived experiences of associate degree in nursing (ADN) nurse educators in non-Veterans Health Administration-affiliated programs regarding teaching undergraduate nursing students about military veteran culture. Fifteen ADN nurse educators, selected through purposeful sampling, participated in focus groups guided by open-ended questions and conducted using the Zoom platform until data saturation was reached. Thematic analysis revealed four themes to answer the research question: (a) personal experience and level of knowledge, (b) current education practices, (c) barriers to education, and (d) recommendations. Results indicated that while many of the published veteran competencies are taught within ADN nursing programs, they are not connected with the veteran's demographics. Barriers to providing veteran-centric education included faculty inexperience with veteran content and a lack of time. Future studies are needed to assess the implementation of veteran culture within nursing curricula and evaluate the impact on the cultural competence of practicing nurses. The development of veteran-centric resources and the intentional incorporation of veteran sharing of experiences related to specific concepts may affect positive social change by arming future nurses with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to provide care for this demographic.

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