During the first the Military Health Research Symposium (MHSRS) since the COVID-19 pandemic, TSNRP Research Interest Group (RIG) leaders capitalized on networking opportunities, disseminated research findings, mentored colleagues, and expanded the impact of the TSNRP community. Twenty TSNRP RIG leaders attended with COL Y. John Yauger, TSNRP executive director.
Leaders across the Military Health System (MHS) presented cutting edge research, provided updates, and disseminated the most up-to-date knowledge and guidelines in military medicine. The TSNRP Military Women’s Health RIG (MWHRIG) hosted a breakout session demonstrating the importance of women’s health and clinical updates from leading experts, featuring Dr. Karen Weis and Dr. Elizabeth Kostas-Polsten. This breakout highlighted the need for and importance of ensuring equity and care of female soldiers, especially when pregnant. The MWHRIG strives to ensure all factors impacting gender-specific health are addressed for soldiers, veterans, and military family members. In 2023 all six of TSNRP RIGs will submit a breakout topic.
Another TSNRP highlight occurred during a service specialty event, wherein LT Dehussa Urbieta listened to the Navy Nurse Corps leadership presentation on readiness and took an opportunity to speak up. As a leader of the Military Family RIG and a pediatric nurse practitioner, LT Urbieta discussed the importance of trust in ensuring the readiness of solders who need assurances their families will be well cared for and not forgotten. The Navy Nurse Corp leadership received her comments and LT Urbieta aims to include the care of military families in future discussions of readiness during the MHSRS. COL Yauger acknowledged LT Urbieta’s courage to publicly address core issues facing soldiers and
shared her comments with Brig Gen Katherine Simonson, the deputy assistant director for research and engineering at the Defense Health Agency. In response LT Urbieta was awarded Brig Gen Simonson’s coin and became the only TSNRP-funded officer to enjoy that honor at MHSRS.