Episode #176
From Patient to Provider: Col. Ed Yackel's Journey in Army Nursing
A nurse’s kindness can change a life, and sometimes it can change a career. I sit down with retired Army Colonel Ed Yackel, RN, to trace how childhood surgeries and long hospital stays became the first spark for a lifetime in the Army Nurse Corps. From commissioning as an officer to learning the rhythms of real clinical work, Ed shares the moments that shaped him as a nurse and as a leader. We also get honest about what military nursing looks like when the stakes are high. Ed explains how care works inside a combat support hospital, what “treat everyone who needs help” means in practice, and how the evacuation chain connects frontline medicine to larger facilities like Landstuhl and stateside specialty care. If you’ve ever wondered how medical teams operate during deployments to places like Iraq and how civilian casualties fit into the mission, this conversation makes it clear and human. Then we shift to the systems that keep patients safe. Ed describes why standardization across military medicine matters, from shared formularies to consistent sets, kits, and equipment, and how those choices reduce risk when teams deploy. After leaving the Army, he brings that same mindset to the Veterans Health Administration as the leader of the VA National Center for Patient Safety, where he focuses on preventing harm by designing processes that account for normal human error. We also highlight the Army Nurse Corps Association , including scholarships, research and evidence-based practice funding, conventions, and current advocacy priorities. If you’ve ever been cared for by a military nurse, consider supporting the people who supported you. Subscribe, share this episode with a nurse veteran, and leave a review. What part of Ed’s story hit home for you?
