Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA) is rapidly gaining recognition for its effectiveness in alleviating acute and chronic pain, as well as anxiety. When we heard Angel Jaap, CRNA speak about this at the AANA Spring Symposium, we wanted to bring her on to learn more about this alternative therapy. You’ll understand why she wants more nurses to learn this protocol after you hear some of the applications and success stories she shares today. For those that aren’t familiar with BFA, patients undergo insertion of five auricular semi-permanent (ASP) needles to the following traditional ear acupuncture points bilaterally: Cingulate Gyrus, Thalamus, Omega 2, Point Zero and Shenmen. Angel learned about this over the past few years and has instituted a Pilot program through Whole Health within VISN 4 which allows RNs to perform BFA for veterans thereby increasing veterans access to this safe, effective pain management therapy. You’ll learn more about that and have a much better understanding of BFA after listening to our conversation during our trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania. Here are some of the things you’ll learn on this show: How therapeutic touch works and why it makes you feel the way it does. How BFA was developed and why the VA began incorporating this into patient care. What does a day at work look like for Angel? Angel shares a wonderful success story about treating a veteran and PTSD. The smaller needles used in BFA have been effective for people scared of needles. Visit us online: http://beyondthemaskpodcast.com Get the CE certificate here: https://beyondthemaskpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Beyond-the-Mask-CE-Cert-FILLABLE.pdf

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