Nursing America's Veterans
In 2020, Alana Glaser, a medical anthropologist at St. John's University in Queens, New York, received an Archie Green Fellowship to document nurses' experiences of working as care providers for the United States Veterans Health Administration (VA). Drawing on her substantial experience and contacts in the world of nursing, Dr. Glaser interviewed nurses working at different VA facilities and in different medical specialties. The nurses describe their daily routines, reflect on their career paths and what led them into nursing, and recount their experiences of working for America's largest direct-care health provider. This project was conducted during the COVID-19 epidemic, so interviewees also talk about the impact of the epidemic on their jobs, their patients, and their personal lives.