Issue date: 12/13/07 Section: Campus News

Media Credit: Andrea Pendergast Deanna Germain, a UW-Eau Claire nursing graduate, speaks about her experience as a chief nurse for the U.S. Army hospital at Abu Grhaib on Monday night at Fanny Hill.

When it came to saving a life as a nurse in Iraq, it didn't matter to Lt. Col. Deanna Germain who the patient was - American, Iraqi, friendly or hostile.

"We didn't pick and choose," she said. "You just had to get the job done."

Germain, who received her masters degree at UW-Eau Claire, shared her experiences and read from the book she co-authored, "Reaching Past the Wire: A Nurse at Abu Ghraib" before dozens of people Monday at Fanny Hill, 3919 Crescent Ave.

Her talk was part of the M.P. Coffman lecture series, in honor of the original dean of the School of Nursing.

Germain was a new grandmother in her 50s when she was deployed to Kuwait in 2003, then saw her duty unexpectedly extended. Her next assignment was at the hospital at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq - the infamous site of human rights violations by U.S. soldiers.

But for Germain - who said she couldn't "speculate" about the abuses, which occurred before she arrived - Abu Ghraib became the site of profound humanization.

At first, Germain tried to simply concentrate on her job and not get wrapped up in the lives of her patients.

"That didn't last very long for me," she said.

Saving lives and caring for the injured became an intimate, rewarding experience, regardless of the patient, she said.

Nursing students in attendance found Germain's talk inspirational, saying it took the reach of their career choice past what they would usually consider.

"It's so human, you know?" senior Kari Metz said. "Nursing is such a human career … Everyone has the same organs, the same hearts."

Germain's talk and the excerpts she read highlighted the fear and uncertainty of war, as well as the rewards of helping people.

In one excerpt, Germain read about feeling unprepared to serve in a combat zone as she rode on a military truck toward Abu Ghraib.

She also described what she sees as telling examples of human understanding. One was a brief connection she formed with an Iraqi man who expressed gratitude to her for medical care.

Another was the recovery of a 15-year-old Iraqi boy who was wrongly arrested in a roundup of area insurgents and then injured on his way home. Distraught and afraid, the boy would cry regularly until one of Germain's fellow nurses formed a motherly connection with him.

Elaine Wendt, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, said she hoped those in attendance would come away with a new perspective of nurses in wartime.

Nurses, she said, are patient advocates, so Germain's story is good for people to hear.

"It is such a wonderful opportunity … to meet someone who has done something significant."

Germain said she hopes her book and her talk will encourage people to consider more than the usual headlines.

"I kind of wanted to share a story of soldiers and the other side of war."

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