Exploring deployment experiences of Army medical department personnel.

The purpose of this study was to describe Operation Iraqi/Enduring Freedom and Operation Desert Storm/Shield deployment experiences from the perspectives of 39 Army Medical Department personnel using a qualitative method in 2004. Thematic content analysis revealed themes from data collected during twelve focus groups. The themes with the most discussion that transcended across wars, branches, echelons of care, and grade were leadership and readiness concerns, followed closely by safety issues. The majority of discussion was about deficiency needs during deployment and the data suggests that problems experienced during deployment are timeless and are not unit-specific; issues were strikingly similar across the two wars, as well as across the varying AMEDD roles and types of medical units. Therefore, the findings of this study may be generically applicable to deployed AMEDD personnel with the potential to alter current policy regarding leadership, readiness, and safety for future AMEDD deployments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]