Photos

Bremerton, WA

A sustainment sign of the training times…Lt. j.g. Meryn Holtslander gives the passport stamp of completion after imparting instruction in Naval Hospital Bremerton’s Skill Fair Wound Care module, which featured such instruction as burn wound care, wound cleaning and irrigation of traumatic wound(s), and dealing with pressure injuries. The skills fair provided five clinical sustainment training modules – also including an Airway module which went over oxygen therapy with nasal cannula and oxygen mask, cervical collar management and electrocardiogram use; a Lines and Specimen Collection module discussed such needs as urinary catheter use, blood product administration and intravenous therapy; Postmortem Care module covered grief support, operational stress control and peer debriefing and a What’s Wrong with the Room module encompassing medication administration, errors with the patient and errors with the inpatient room setting. Each participant was provided a passport, designed as a guide for each of the training modules. Upon completion of each instructional session, their passport would be stamped as having completed that module. The clinical sustainment is vital for mission readiness and is in keeping with the Navy surgeon general’s priority of being a ready medical force able to support a medically ready force (Official Navy photo by Douglas H Stutz, NHB/NMRTC Bremerton public affairs officer). Share

Bremerton, WA

Making an inpatient point…Lt. Barbara Kent, Pediatric Clinic department head and Navy Nurse Corps officer, guides staff nurses through the What’s Wrong with the Room training module during Naval Hospital Bremerton’s Skills Fair, designed for critical multidisciplinary skill sustainment. Nurse Corps officers assigned to the main hospital, from the branch health clinics located on Naval Base Kitsap and Naval Base Everett, civilian registered nurses and hospital corpsmen were provided five training modules, Feb. 11, 2025, designed to refresh their proficiency levels which in an ambulatory care setting like NHB they might not use as much as they used to (Official Navy photo by Douglas H Stutz, NHB/NMRTC Bremerton public affairs officer). Share

Camp Pendleton, CA

Ensign Jimmy Manikhong receives his Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton Nurse Residency Program completion certificate from Navy Capt. Sara Naczas, director for nursing services, during a graduation ceremony held in the NHCP galley meeting room aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Jan. 27, 2025. “Many of the nurses assigned to Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton have recently graduated from their respective nursing programs and passed state licensure exams,” said Naczas. “They come to us directly from their initial officer training. We transition them into practice by providing a 12-week orientation through our intensive care unit, emergency department, mother-infant services departments, and our multi-service ward.” For 250 years, Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian healthcare professionals – has delivered quality healthcare and enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore. Share

Camp Pendleton, CA

Ensign Izabela Marasco receives her Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton Nurse Residency Program completion certificate from Navy Capt. Sara Naczas, director for nursing services, during a graduation ceremony held in the NHCP galley meeting room aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Jan. 27, 2025. “Many of the nurses assigned to Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton have recently graduated from their respective nursing programs and passed state licensure exams,” said Naczas. “They come to us directly from their initial officer training. We transition them into practice by providing a 12-week orientation through our intensive care unit, emergency department, mother-infant services departments, and our multi-service ward.” For 250 years, Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian healthcare professionals – has delivered quality healthcare and enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore. Share

Camp Pendleton, CA

Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton graduated six nurses from the Nurse Residency Program during a graduation ceremony held Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in the hospital galley meeting room aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. “Our Nurse Residency Program is 12 weeks long with rotations and cross-training to several departments across the hospital including laboratory, post-anesthesia care unit, ambulatory procedure unit, intensive care unit; and the emergency department,” said Lt. Cmdr. Samantha Knight, a clinical nurse specialist in the hospital’s intensive care unit. Shown are Lt. Kendra Arias, former program co-chair; Lt. Cmdr. Samantha Knight, program co-chair; Navy Capt. Sara Naczas, director of nursing services; Ensign Izabela Marasco, graduate; Ensign Jimmy Manikhong, graduate; Ensign Madison Harrison, graduate; Ensign Raquel Kauthen, graduate; Ensign Luciana Poka, graduate; Lt. jg. Princess Ekudi, graduate; Navy Capt. Jenny Burkett, NHCP director, and Lt. Mary Hinson, program co-chair. For 250 years, Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian healthcare professionals – has delivered quality healthcare and enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore. Share

Camp Pendleton, CA

Ensign Madison Harrison receives her Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton Nurse Residency Program completion certificate from Navy Capt. Sara Naczas, director for nursing services, during a graduation ceremony held in the NHCP galley meeting room aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Jan. 27, 2025. “Many of the nurses assigned to Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton have recently graduated from their respective nursing programs and passed state licensure exams,” said Naczas. “They come to us directly from their initial officer training. We transition them into practice by providing a 12-week orientation through our intensive care unit, emergency department, mother-infant services departments, and our multi-service ward.” For 250 years, Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian healthcare professionals – has delivered quality healthcare and enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore. Share

Camp Pendleton, CA

Ensign Raquel Kauthen receives her Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton Nurse Residency Program completion certificate from Navy Capt. Sara Naczas, director for nursing services, during a graduation ceremony held in the NHCP galley meeting room aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Jan. 27, 2025. “Many of the nurses assigned to Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton have recently graduated from their respective nursing programs and passed state licensure exams,” said Naczas. “They come to us directly from their initial officer training. We transition them into practice by providing a 12-week orientation through our intensive care unit, emergency department, mother-infant services departments, and our multi-service ward.” For 250 years, Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian healthcare professionals – has delivered quality healthcare and enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore. Share

Camp Pendleton, CA

Ensign Luciana Poka receives her Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton Nurse Residency Program completion certificate from Navy Capt. Sara Naczas, director for nursing services, during a graduation ceremony held in the NHCP galley meeting room aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Jan. 27, 2025. “Many of the nurses assigned to Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton have recently graduated from their respective nursing programs and passed state licensure exams,” said Naczas. “They come to us directly from their initial officer training. We transition them into practice by providing a 12-week orientation through our intensive care unit, emergency department, mother-infant services departments, and our multi-service ward.” For 250 years, Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian healthcare professionals – has delivered quality healthcare and enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore. Share

Camp Pendleton, CA

Lt. jg. Princess Ekudi receives her Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton Nurse Residency Program completion certificate from Navy Capt. Sara Naczas, director for nursing services, during a graduation ceremony held in the NHCP galley meeting room aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Jan. 27, 2025. “Many of the nurses assigned to Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton have recently graduated from their respective nursing programs and passed state licensure exams,” said Naczas. “They come to us directly from their initial officer training. We transition them into practice by providing a 12-week orientation through our intensive care unit, emergency department, mother-infant services departments, and our multi-service ward.” For 250 years, Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian healthcare professionals – has delivered quality healthcare and enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore. Share

Sigonella, Italy

This is Lt.Kristin Shafer with her two Australian Shepards – Oy and Nova Dr. Shafer is one of four emergency physicians at USNMRTC Sigonella. From the emergency department, she treats everyone with injuries and illnesses needing acute care. When not seeing patients, she is training with her team to respond to emergencies experienced by young, old, active duty, dependent, and everyone in between. You can also find Dr. Shafer at the DoDEA school or surrounded by students, where her role as school liaison allows her and the rest of the hospital to inspire the next generation of doctors, scientists, and engineers. “In emergency medicine, we need to be ready for whatever comes in the door at any time. Military medicine lets me practice that medicine and be comfortable providing care not just at any time, but any place in the world and to a population that is dedicated to serving others and making a difference.” Dr. Kristin Shafer Share

Sigonella, Italy

Commander Sakai is a native of Louisiana and she is one of our fantastic Emergency Medicine physicians at USNMRTC Sigonella. She commissioned in the Navy in 2005 under the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program prior to starting medical school at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, LA. “I earned my first my degree in Marine Biology and presented environmental research to the Senate on USVI fisheries and the impact of hotel expansion, which helped me realize that I preferred talking and educating people one-to-one, and speaking to rooms and presenting posters wasn’t going to make me happy. I had volunteered at the local Emergency Department, and the variety and the mental challenge of solving a puzzle on every patient kept me coming back. I decided to turn it into a career, but I also hated to stay in one place (there was a big wide world to explore), so I joined the Navy and never looked back. I did a General Surgery internship, and the Chaplain and I were the only Naval Officers in my first duty assignment with the Marines in Iwakuni, Japan. Being part of the Marines for 3 years to start my career really shaped and prepared me for all my subsequent OCONUS tours. My husband was an Ombudsman and found a great career as a financial educator that allows him to work virtually. My husband and I have lived in mainland Japan, Korea, Okinawa, and Guantanamo Bay, and I have a great love for Navy Medicine and am happy to share my experiences with anyone that is interested!” Dr. Brandi Sakai Share

Williamsburg, VA

Robert Goodson Jr., a U.S. Navy civilian employee from Crestview, Florida, was recently promoted to a leadership position at Naval Medical Readiness Logistics Command (NMRLC), Williamsburg, Virginia. Share