1-12. PRACTICAL NURSING

Department of the Army practical nursing encompasses a wide range of nursing skills and military leadership responsibilities. The major duties of the practical nurse are to perform preventive, therapeutic, and emergency nursing care procedures; to manage other paraprofessional personnel; and to manage ward or unit operations. (These duties will be discussed in Lesson 3.) Specific duties performed and skills required will depend upon your rank, skill level, and current duty assignment. 91WM6s are the primary enlisted personnel performing nursing care duties at the various levels of health care. Therefore, the practical nurse must always

be proficient in providing basic practical nursing care to a variety of patients during peacetime and during mobilization. Additionally, the practical nurse must always be able to function as an effective and efficient soldier, demonstrating proficiency in the common soldier tasks and exercising the principles of military leadership. The following paragraphs discuss the health care roles filled by the M6 practical nurse.