Fight for Veterans’ Quality Health Care
Veterans risk their lives for the country’s safety and return home with a multitude of health problems. Among 22 million veterans, only 8.92 million are currently in Veterans Administration (VA) Health Care System due to eligibility criteria and access to care issues. VA health care system has longer wait times and sub-standard care for this small segment of the veteran population itself. VA currently has 52,085 nurses working in their system, and this vast group of nurses can impact the quality of health care of veterans by practicing and advocating best evidence-based practices (Weber & Clark, 2016).
Military Sexual Trauma Nearly eight percent of 22.2 million veterans are women in 2011 and expected to increase to eleven percent by 2020.
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Veterans are given opioids for pain management by their regular physicians which are not yet proven effective for chronic pain and benzodiazepines for PTSD in the mental health clinics (Outcalt, Yu, Hoen, Pennington, & Krebs, 2014). Management of PTSD and chronic pain needs to be integrated into the primary care clinics so that the patient’s medical management is …show more content…
Every nurse is obligated to protect patient’s privacy and safety thus ensuring the provision of quality care to all people irrespective of their gender, race or culture. Nurses should contribute to their profession through advancement in their education and participation in legislation and research to ensure standards for both nurses and patients. Advocating for increasing freedom of practice for nurse practitioners in VA primary care clinics is an example that will ensure both quality care for the veterans and promotes nursing standards in the
Nurses everywhere face problems and challenges in practice. Most of the challenges occur due to a struggle with the use of ethical principles in patient care. Ethical principles are “basic and obvious moral truths that guide deliberation and action,” (Burkhardt, Nathaniel, 2014). Ethical principles that are used in nursing practice include autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, veracity, confidentiality, justice, and fidelity. These challenges not only affect them, but the quality of care they provide as well. According to the article, some of the most frequently occurring and most stressful ethical issues were protecting patient rights, autonomy and informed consent to treatment, staffing problems, advanced care planning, and surrogate decision making (Ulrich et. al, 2013). The ethical issue of inadequate staffing conflicts with the principle of non-maleficence.
The first provision of the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) “Code of Ethics” states, “ The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems.” The second provision states, “The nurse’s primary commitment is the patient, whether the patient is an individual, family, group, or community” (Fowler, 2010). As nurses we need to respect the autonomy and allow for the patient to express their choices and concerns. We also need to provide them with support by giving them knowledge and understanding so they
The DVA provides the highest quality ensuring that all veterans and families receive the care and support they deserve by using people-centric, result-driv...
Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder need to receive better care, because post traumatic stress disorder is curable, damages relationships, and veterans made many dramatic sacrifices. The health care for veterans needs to be more easily accessible.
According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), (2010) “the nurse promotes, advocates for and strives to protect the health, safety and rights of the patient” (p. 6). Nursing responsibilities should be acted upon at the highest standard and must be based on legal and ethical obligations. Healthcare provider’s perception and judgment of the patient’s well being, as well as taking into account the rights of the patient in every action, is one of the key elements in nursing practice. International Council of Nurses (ICN) (2006) states “The nurse at all times maintains standards of personal conduct which reflect well on the profession and enhance public confidence” (p. 3).
The healthcare system can be difficult for clients to navigate and they are often unsure how to access information which puts them at the mercy of others and can lead to feelings of helplessness (Erlen, 2006). Nurses can provide resources to educate patients when they becomes dependent on a health care provider and no longer feel in control of their own body which can lead to fear, hopelessness, helplessness and loss of control (Cousley et al., 2014). The change in roles individuals face can further increase their stress and feelings of powerlessness (Scanlon & Lee, 2006). According to the CNA code of ethics, nurses are responsible for protecting patients from objective risks that place them in an increased level of vulnerability (Carel, 2009). They can do this by providing the resources necessary for patients to educate themselves and be better able to cope with the health challenges they
A survey of OEF/OIF Veterans identified major rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, alcohol-related problems, social and family problems, and suicidal behavior. However the most alarming statistic is not about deployment rates or rates of diagnoses, the most alarming fact is that fewer than 10% of those diagnosed with PTSD or depression have received the recommended the mental health treatment upon re-integration into society. The dropout rate at the Veterans Association (VA) PTSD clinics is distressingly high as well when looking into VA records it was found that 68% of OEF/OIF Veterans dropped out of their prescribed counseling and programs prior to completion (Garcia et al., 2014). Because most of these men were deployed mul...
The American Nurses Association (ANA) developed a foundation for which all nurses are expected to perform their basic duties in order to meet the needs of the society we serve. The ANA “has long been instrumental in the development of three foundational documents for professional nursing; its code of ethics, its scope and standards of practice, ands statement of social policy.” (ANA, 2010, p. 87) The ANA defined nursing as “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” and used to create the scope and standards of nursing practice. (ANA, 2010, p. 1) These “outline the steps that nurses must take to meet client healthcare needs.” () The nursing process, for example, is one of the things I use daily. Other examples include communicating and collaborating with my patient, their families, and my peers, and being a lifelong learner. I continually research new diagnoses, medications, and treatments for my patients. As a nurse of ...
Nardin, Rachel “Healthcare for vets - and all others” The Boston Globe. 11 NOV 2007: N. Pag. Boston.com. WEB. 10 Nov 2009.
It is understandable that some people may disagree on improvement of veteran care due to simple things like the fact that “veterans were getting addicted….even dying, from over prescription,” when they asked for assistance with their PTSD, but when all things are considered, veterans risked their lives for freedom. People should be able to take the time to take care of those who were willing to give their lives for freedom. Colby Buzzel says “if you want to know what the price of freedom looks like, go to a V.A. waiting room- wheelchairs, missing limbs, walking wounded.” These are all things that veterans have to go through to ensure freedom. And that is added to their struggle of PTSD. So, before people say that veteran care for PTSD does not need improvement, they need to think about whether or not they are willing to pay the same price that these veterans were willing to
The VA (Veterans Affair) Health Care System is one of the largest, most advanced health care networks in the U.S. The VA Health Care System is the provider for veterans, retirees and their dependents and manages all their health care. The VA Health Care is actually one part of the Department of Veterans Affairs. There is also VA Benefits Administration which has to do with compensations and pensions. Then the other part of the VA is the National Cemetery Administration which is in charge of the cemeteries and providing burial and memorial benefits. All these parts make up the Department of Veterans Affairs. (VA History)
With the passage of the ACA, the Federal government in collaboration with the states, reformed the “healthcare system by giving more Americans access to quality, affordable health insurance” (Obama Care Facts, Summary, n.d.). Thus, the ANA Agenda for Reform had been partly achieved. In addition, the Agenda also served as a wake-up call that brought key nursing and patients’ issues to the fore, e.g., Safe Staffing, Safe Patient Handling, and Title VIII (Nursing Workforce Development) Funding (ANA, 2016), just to mention a
Nursing may be seen as very independent work even though there will be situations that will require others. Friendships may be formed; however, to have professional interactions is something that is not always followed. In terms of patient confidentiality, we may not realize that a HIPPA violation has occurred due to friendly conversation with coworkers. If a patient were to overhear their nurse discussing their information in an unprofessional manner then it may cause issues with a patient’s dignity and their rights. If a patient’s right is violated then it can lead to a patient’s mistrust in their caregiver, leading to mistrust in the facilities, and can end with a patient’s health being compromised. The patient is the reason for this career; if the needs of the patient are being unmet or violated then the purpose of our occupation will be unsuccessful and
The American Nurses Association created guidelines for the profession including, a set clear rules to be followed by individuals within the profession, Code of Ethics for Nurses. Written in 1893, by Lystra Gretter, and adopted by the ANA in 1926, The Code of Ethics for Nurses details the role metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics have within the field (ANA, 2015). Moral obligation for an individual differs within professions than it does within an individual’s personal life, so the code of ethics was written to establish rules within the profession. The moral obligation to provide quality care include the fundamental principles of respect for persons, integrity, autonomy, advocacy, accountability, beneficence, and non-maleficence. The document itself contains nine provisions with subtext, all of which cannot be addressed within this paper however, core principals related to the ethical responsibilities nurses have will be
My future nursing practice is now changed because I understand the importance of patient advocacy. I need to trust in myself that I know when I am seeing something wrong, so I can speak up before it is too late. Because of this reflection I can see how trivial it was to be worried about my own professional risk over my patient’s quality of care. I am sure that I will never make that mistake again. As a health care provider, the well-being of patients should be a top priority,