Conclusion

This conclusion brings together the different elements of this book. It answers the main questions concerning the problems and ethical dilemmas for medical personnel while deployed with the armed forces, how physicians and nurses dealt and still deal with them, their experience of dual-loyalty and whether military deployments have been morally problematic to them. It demonstrates the role of professional identity in role-perception, decision-making, and while reflecting on and giving meaning to the past. From the historical analysis of military deployments and medical personnel’s experiences, it is clear that military deployment could be difficult and problematic, but that this was not uniformly the case. The experience partly depended on situational and organisational circumstances. It also depended on personal attitude in dealing with problems and ethical dilemmas, in which professional identity including norms, values, and ethics played a prominent role. The three coping patterns identified by this book demonstrate that there are multiple ways to deal with problems and ethical dilemmas and that a strong professional identity as either a medical, hybrid, or military professional provided the resilience to deal with ethical dilemmas while deployed and thereafter. It provided a feeling of purpose, of professional autonomy, and of agency.