LANDSTUHL, Germany — Landstuhl Regional Medical Center’s own Army Lt. Col. Christopher Stucky, deputy chief, Center for Nursing Science and Clinical Inquiry, was recently recognized as the Army Nurse of the Year for his contributions to Army Medicine and the nursing profession.
The recognition is presented annually by a nonprofit organization to an Army nurse with outstanding qualifications and achievements.
Stucky also recently placed first for his research in perioperative nursing as well as recognized for nursing research. While Stucky admits his recent awards are a great accomplishment, he doesn’t let them go to his head.
“My real passion is improving surgical safety and performance,” said Stucky. “The research translates to quantifiable improvements in the perioperative care environment.”
Stucky attributes his success to mentors who helped him along the way, from his start as an enlisted surgical technician to presently serving as the Perioperative Consultant to the Army Surgeon General. Stucky, a native of Winter Haven, Florida also currently serves as a faculty mentor for a scholarly writing workshop, helping over 60 nurses publish their first peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, he has established a military partnership with the Competency and Credentialing Institute to tear down barriers to lifelong learning and increase the number of certified nurses.
“What’s good about being a nurse scientist is the global impact you have on the community,” says Stucky. In his current role as the Army’s top preoperative adviser, he helped reshape the universal protocol and the Ready Reliable Care (RRC) and Safety Communication Bundle, a set of six guiding principles that are meant to help the Military Health System become a high reliability organization striving for zero harm. His research findings contributed to this initiative and have been implemented across all 721 military treatment facilities across the Defense Health Agency.
As he reflects on his 30 plus years in the military, Stucky believes his research will have a lasting impact on military medicine, helping save lives and improve patient care.
“Service to others has provided me with a profoundly rewarding and enriching career, whether caring for patients as a perioperative nurse or contributing to Army Medicine as a Nurse Scientist,” explains Stucky. “Our robust military nurse scientist community is engaged in lifesaving medical research to improve healthcare quality and safety for all those entrusted with our care and to improve warfighter readiness on the battlefield.”
Social Sharing