USD Salutes Military Nurses

As Veterans’ Day approaches, the University of San Diego’s Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science will hold its annual Salute to Military Nurses on Thursday, Nov. 8.

Nursing School Dean Sally B. Hardin will speak between 4:30 and 5 p.m. and the event will run until 7:30 p.m. The event takes place on the second floor terrace of the school, located on the west side of the campus. Attendance is by invitation but media are welcome to cover the event and should use the west USD entrance on Linda Vista Road, above Morena Blvd.

More than 60 alumni and current students, many in uniform are expected to attend. About 20 percent of the school’s 370 students in any given year are active duty or retired military.

“Our students and alumni have provided care to our military in some of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan and Iraq, served on Navy ships around the world and undertaken cutting-edge research to benefit our veterans,” said Hardin. “Our school has a long history of providing support to military nurses and we are very proud to honor them.”

Last spring, Hardin attended a national meeting led by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, where nursing educators pledged support to the nation’s veterans.

The efforts of USD’s nursing school include:

Establishing the first Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner program with options in military mental health and community mental health. With 65,000 military returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the demand is significant. The program produced its first graduates last May and enrollment grows annually.

The school also will be establishing a special laboratory for research focusing on traumatic brain injuries, post traumatic stress disorder and other medical issues confronting returning forces and veterans.

Finally, the school has joined forces with the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence on a pilot program aimed at improving the health of returning forces. Funding supported doctoral nursing students committed to advancing health care for veterans. Because of the pilot program’s success at USD, the Jonas Center will expand its funding to include other nursing schools.

About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is among the Top 20 Best Private Schools for Making an Impact according to The Princeton Review. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.