What it takes to be the IDF’s Head Nurse

“I held a variety of positions as a clinic manager, a clinic commander, and spent time in the Home Front Command,”she said. In the Home Front Command she was responsible for everything related to preparing Israeli hospitals for disasters.

Major Oshrat

Most recently, Maj. Oshrat served as Head of the “Bira” Medical Center, which is the main military medical center in the Jerusalem area. She held the position for three years, and thanks to her work there, she was selected to become the IDF’s next Head Nurse.

What does the IDF’s Head Nurse do?

“The IDF’s Head Nurse is responsible for supporting and promoting nurses in the IDF. My job is to utilize nurses' professional potential within the IDF, and to strive for there to be a nurse position in every clinic, which is the core project of the Medical Corps, in the field and in the Headquarters.”

How does someone become an IDF nurse?

“Anyone who wants to be a nurse in the IDF is required to enlist within the framework of Academic Atuda, [which is a program that allows Israelis to defer drafting and instead get a professional degree that they will use in the army]. The Atuda track is three-years-long, and at the end they actually get a B.A. in nursing and are certified nurses. After being certified, they begin their service in the IDF in a wide range of positions.”

What do IDF nurses do?

“The nurses in the IDF serve as routine medicine providers. There really is a lot of work that has to be done in routine medicine.

There are nurses that use occupational medicine and epidemiological nurses, who follow unusual morbidity. For example, the outbreak of an infectious disease at a certain base will start with an epidemiological investigation led by epidemiologic nurse. The purpose of the investigation on one hand is to find out who spread the disease and on the other hand is to stop it from spreading. The investigation is lead by an epidemiologic nurse.”

Do some IDF nurses go on humanitarian missions? If so, what’s that like?

“In addition to their day-to-day roles, the nurses also have an electoral (emergency) role. One of these functions is to be in a field hospital. The IDF has established field hospitals in many places that were hit by disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, and so on. In a field hospital, the nurses are crucial. They also take part in Operation Good Neighbor.”

Have you ever served as a nurse on a humanitarian mission?

“I was part of the IDF delegation to India in 2001 and in 2010. I also took part in the delegation to Japan after the tsunami. As nurse, it was very emotional for me to be saving lives in India. I felt the value of saving lives as a supreme value, and it only gets stronger in such situations.

When you go to a foreign country where they have suffered many losses, whether they are dead or wounded. They were people who were left homeless and sometimes with no family. There was no one to take care of them. Suddenly, I, the nurse, was the one helping and giving these people who had experienced such a terrible tragedy hope. This experience, on a professional and personal level, as an IDF Medical Corps official was a very, very empowering one.”