The Veteran's Administration

What are your thoughts regarding your ability to work with Veterans dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Substance Use Disorders (SUDS), and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?

organizations and facilities dedicated to providing care to veterans across the country. It is a

The issue that has been addressed throughout this study is veteran’s rights. The issue of veteran’s rights is still being pursued and is near and dear to me. Not only am I a veteran, but I come from a long line of men and women who have proudly worn the uniform in defense of our nation. Between the mindset of the American public, to the cases presented before Congress, this is an ongoing dilemma. Caring for our brothers and sisters in arms is the socially responsible thing to do. However, many roadblocks must be torn down before this can come to fruition.

One of the most serious problems facing all veterans today is the lack of proper healthcare. Soldiers, sailors and airmen are leaving active duty without having proper healthcare to cover their physical or mental injuries. The department responsible for veteran’s healthcare is the Department of Veterans Affairs. (VA) According to The department of Veterans Affairs website, “The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is responsible for administering programs of veterans’ benefits for veterans, their families, and survivors. The benefits provided include disability compensation, pension, education, home loans, life insurance, vocational rehabilitation, survivors’ benefits, medical benefits and burial benefits. It is administered by the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs.” The VA, who was formerly called the Veterans Administration, was established 21 July 1930, to consolidate and coordinate government activities affecting war veterans. The VA encompassed the functions of the former U.S. Veterans ' Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. On 25 October 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation creating a new federal Cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs to replace the Veterans Administration effective 15 March 1989 (V.A.)

The Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) has been tasked with providing support and benefits to Veterans after they have completed their service. However, many Veterans are reporting difficulty accessing care due to systematic barriers within the VA’s Veterans Health Administration (Oliver, 2007). Complex eligibility requirements, long wait lists and lack of providers are a few of the issues Veterans are faced with when trying to access health and mental health care. Additionally, studies indicate that veterans, predominantly those from the recent wars in Iran and Iraq, have disproportionately high amounts of mental illness (Shim & Rust, 2013). These same veterans are experiencing difficulty accessing mental health care due to issues around a backlog of healthcare eligibility applications and a shortage of mental health providers through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which operates the Nation’s largest, integrated health care delivery system (APA, 2014). In 2014, at the request of the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluated the merit of the allegations of mismanagement at the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) and the Health Eligibility Center (HEC).

To achieve the goal of ending homelessness among veterans by 2015, the VA has numerous programs. These include providing healthcare, rehabilitation services, employment assistance, and transitional housing for veterans, and supportive services for the families of veterans to help them better understand and deal with conditions the veteran spouse may have. Additionally, the VA works with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide long-term housing solutions for homeless veterans (Homeless Veterans, For Homeless Veterans).

It’s possible to distinguish higher levels of employment among female veterans than female non-veterans. In fact, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (2016) reports that around 34.2% of women

The promise that Lincoln made to the Veterans was “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” This is the motto for the VA, Veterans Administration, and has been since 1959. Lincoln's words stand as a reminder of what we and the government have to do for them since they have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

There are many ways that we can keep Lincoln’s promise to veterans and their families. First, we need to recognize that they have given us and the people of the U.S a lot to be thankful for. Like protecting us from terrorist groups that could kill people in the U.S if the Army and other people where not there. Some of them even give up their lives to protect us and do their duty and everybody should recognize that. And if they have a disability they should be getting some help from the government for protecting them. We can't be taking advantage of them either for the service they are performing like saying for example “it’s their choice that they joined and that is what happened to them” if they where hurt. Next, if they have a family and they have a disability it shouldn't be forced on the family.

There has been a scandal in a VA. Due to scandals the VA made some vets wait so long to see a doctor that they died. Some of these vets have families that they love very much that they don’t get to see because they are in war, in the hospital due to being injured , or dead. Our veterans have done so much for us, not just for the benefit of them, and for our country, yet most of us take them for granted. Our veterans deserve our love, thankfulness, and most of all, our respect. The “Marines’ Hymn” is typically sung at the position of attention as a gesture of respect. which again is what we owe our veterans and much more. In part of The “Marines’ Hymn” it says the following- “we fight our country’s battles, in the air, on land, and sea. When our veterans went out to battle they lived by what they said. Our veterans stay committed and help our country. All of our veterans and those who are currently in battle have fought for our freedom. Freedom is like a big gift you are given from our veterans and those who are currently in battle. Most of the things we want we can’t have most of the time, we have to work for it, or if you get lucky it’s given to you. We have no idea how good we have it. When our soldiers-(veterans,marines etc.) go out to battle i’m pretty sure they are scared out of

On March 4, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln promised the following, “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and for his orphan.” His promise means when veterans return from war we should care for them. If a soldier died, care for their widow and make sure they are alright. We should care and respect the people who fought in the war. Lincoln wanted us to know what these people have done for our country and for our protection. We need to care for them so they know we care for their well being.

A problem that I see in my clinical area at the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) is appropriate direct care staffing on the inpatient psychiatric unit. The current staffing model being used by the VA is staffing methodology. The Staffing methodology model was created to account for acuity of patients, their illnesses, and the task that are required to be performed by nurses (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2008). Staffing methodology has created an environment where there are either an abundance of staff which is resulting in wasting resources or too little staff which is creating risks for safety and poor patient outcomes. Current available staffing model have been created in mind for caring for medically ill patients (American Psychiatric

How do we keep Lincoln’s promise to our veterans and their families? Well think about it. You should always respect their work for our nation for thing. The work they have done for us is fighting for our lives. We should cherish them for all the things they have been through to save us and our nation. Lincoln was one of those people. I think he would love if we cherish all the veterans including him. That is only part of his promise. We need to thank the veterans for Lincoln’s promise. We should also always praise God and trust him with all your heart. He’s the one who gave us our lives. Without the veterans lives, what would have done without them fighting for our nation. What would it be like today? Probably not very good. That’s why we need

We can keep Lincoln's promise to our veterans and their families by giving our time and donating to them. Lincoln's promise is “ To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” This means if a veteran got hurt in war then someone would help them recover or take care of them. Also if a veteran dies than the Veterans Administration (VA) should help the families financially or with services like health care. We can help keep this promise by donating to the VA to help give veterans and their families money so they can recover. You could also give time to organisation that help veterans so you could help a veteran after they come back from helping our country. Another thing we could do is donate money to hospitals

A little history on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) which happens to be the largest of three administrations sections within the department. The primary mission of the VHA is to provide quality medical care and services to America’s military Veterans. VHA operates one of the largest health care systems in the world In addition they responsible for providing training to the majority of America’s medical, nursing, and allied health professionals. This account roughly for more 60 percent of all medical residents whom obtain a portion of their training at VA hospitals and our medical research programs benefit society at-large. Today’s VHA continues to meet Veterans’ changing medical, surgical, and quality of life needs. New programs provide treatment for traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide prevention, women Veterans, and more. For that reason the VA diligently seeks to bring into the administration reliable and highly motivated people. The mindset within the administration that is essential to providing quality health care. With that being said the Department of Veterans Affairs, Human Resource department is vitally important to bringing into all facets of the organization quality personnel in order to accomplish such a complex mission. During a recent interview that conducted with one of VA Human Resource Professional, the following questions were posed to her: