Special Needs Of Veterans: A Case Study

Military Pathway (2013) concluded “Military life, especially the stress of deployments or mobilizations, can present challenges to service members and their families that are both unique and difficult”. Hence, it is not surprising that soldiers returning from a stressful war environment often suffer from a psychological condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This paper provides a historical perspective of PTSD affecting soldiers, and how this illness has often been ignored. In addition, the this paper examines the cause and diagnosis of the illness, the changes of functional strengths and limitations, the overall effects this disease may have on soldiers and their families, with a conclusion of

In his article, Creamer discusses and differentiates how civilian and veteran cases of PTSD are treated. He also discusses the details of PTSD and the treatments and classifications of it. This article receives its credibility by being published in the popular medical journal called the “International Review of Psychiatry”.

The mission statement of the VA Social Workers is to eliminate significant barriers to clients in need and offer interventions for veterans and families. It is accomplished by developing and maintaining integrated, in-depth programs in patient care, research, and education (Hoffer, Elizabeth. F., Dekle, Judith. Ward., & Sheets, Carol., 2014). Its proposed 11 percent to 20 percent of Iraq, Afghanistan veterans as well as 30 percent of Vietnam vets encounter (PTSD) posttraumatic stress disorder traumatic incidents like combat can lead to PTSD, military sexual trauma of military service member, and veterans may possibly deal with depression, anxiety in addition to other mental health concerns. Vets distress from these mental health and cognitive

Guaranteeing that veterans, their families can retrieve the full range of benefits available to them fighting for the interest of injured heroes on Capitol Hill instructing the public about the great sacrifices of veterans transitioning to civilian life. Offer free professional assistance to veterans, their families in obtaining benefits, services earned through military service are prepared by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) other agencies of government. Offer outreach concerning its program services to the disabled veterans their families specifically. Signifying the interests of disabled veterans, their families, their widowed spouses, their orphans before Congress, the White House the Judicial Branch, as state local government.

Many veterans are unable to leave behind the trauma of Vietnam and psychologically return home. They struggle with a variety of extremely severe problems that neither they nor their families, friends, or communities knew how to understand

The nurses experienced so much trauma in such a little time, that most suffered from PTSD. The experiences that brought on this PTSD was the shock of conflict in Vietnam, the problematic return to a country that did not understand their participation or experiences, the denial of their work in Vietnam, and a sense of isolation from their male counterparts in Nam and their female counterparts back home as well as absence of veterans service groups upon returning to home. The nurses were not recognized for the job that they had done, which allowed many soldiers to return home to their families.

Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is a non-profit charity that provides lifetime support to veterans and their families. More than 1 million veterans a year have been helped by changing their lives in an encouraging way. Our main goal is to offer veterans with meaningful employment so that they can begin their civilian life since serving our country. There are job fairs throughout the year that provide resources that ensure the veterans a chance to take part in new jobs which is a huge goal of ours. The DAV also offers support to more than 700,000 veterans in getting them to and from medical appointments and helps more than 300,000 with benefit claims annually. There are almost 1,300 chapters and 1.3 million members across the country. This gives veterans and their families the resources they need and ensures them that our nation will keep the promises that they made when they served our country.

Because the effects of multiple deployment is a nascent topic, it is becoming increasingly important to look at how the survivors f the hostile environments can be made to feel at home and connect with the environment, the health care environment without feeling slighted or overlooked. Some of the most important nursing qualifies include autonomy, assertiveness, advocacy and accountability. Above all, it is important to look at how the veterans can be helped

Today the aging population faces many challenges, such as the effects it has on physical, psychological, and social functioning in late life. Aging veterans not only face these challenges, but they also face unique challenges because of their military experience. One unique challenge that they face, is exposure to military trauma which among aging veterans is approximately 85% (U.S Department of Veterans Affairs). This specific trauma faced by military veterans can impact physical, mental, and sociological function. According to Research on Aging Military Veterans, “Combat exposure can lead to poorer health-related and psychosocial quality of life in later years”.

I believe that it is the best interest of veterans, whom have served the military in any capacity to be afforded not just medication, but also some form of counseling. Being a veteran myself I have experienced: over medicating by the government, not receiving any form of counseling, and when I was given an appointment it was six months from the day that it was scheduled.

Historical facts reveal that veterans struggled with re-integration of life and communities they left behind and understood after the Civil War and other wars that followed. During pre-eras veterans were exposed to traumas that resemble those of the twentieth century e.g. trapped in post-war nightmares, injuries, shell shock, effects of depression, and long-term ramifications of psychological and physical health because of war experience (Martin, 2012, p. 12-15).

Hundreds of thousands of United States veterans are not able to leave the horrors of war on the battlefield (“Forever at War: Veterans Everyday Battles with PTSD” 1). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the reason why these courageous military service members cannot live a normal life when they are discharged. One out of every five military service members on combat tours—about 300,000 so far—return home with symptoms of PTSD or major depression. According to the Rand Study, almost half of these cases go untreated because of the disgrace that the military and civil society attach to mental disorders (McGirk 1). The general population of the world has to admit that they have had a nightmare before. Imagine not being able to sleep one

Once they arrived in the war zone, Army, Navy, and Air Force nurses experienced professional strains of working with young, severely wounded casualties who were often younger than them. A Navy nurse recalled,

T. Stecker, J. Fortney, F. Hamilton, and I. Ajzen, 2007, address that mental health symptoms have the likelihood to increase within post deployment for military veterans, especially for the ones who have seen combat. An estimated quarter of recent war veterans who are currently receiving care in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Health Care System have reported mental health problems. Soldiers who have served in Iraq come home suffering from depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Statistics of Iraq soldiers meeting the criteria for depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is greater than the soldiers who served in Afghanistan. The mental health symptom rates for soldiers who served in Iraq were as high as 20% for PTSD, 18% for anxiety, and 15% for depression.

Nearly ten years ago I entered the Army service. Through these years my work in the medical service as a medical laboratory technician, biomedical research, and most recently as a registered nurse has challenged me to examine my own practice and technical skills. I have learned about compassion, respect, empathy, equity, understanding, benevolence, and other attributes that contribute to being a proficient nurse. Our service members, families, and military culture present unique challenges that demand diversification, flexibility, and adaptation to sometimes overwhelming circumstances. My love for our military men and women and the families that stand behind them causes me to seek best practices, and innovation. The military has done a tremendous job at advancing battlefield trauma care, and statistics indicate that we have standard setting rates of battlefield lifesaving.