Veterans have manifested significant mental or behavioral health issues and in turn, health care services have been set to respond to their needs through educating community health care providers to work with veterans, service members and their families. As Zeiss & Karlin (2008) demonstrates, health care system has partnered with national organizations, health services, resources administration and other major mental projects that target the veterans to ensure effective services to mental health concerns. There are many inter-professional roles geared towards veterans due to their wide-range of mental issues including physicians, psychologists, social workers, substance abuse professionals, licensed counselors, public health workers, therapists related to marriage and family issues, nurses, chaplains, law enforcement and occupational therapists. In the course of this discussion, the way veterans mental issues has been addressed will be constricted to nursing setting to describe the scope, severity, behavioral health issues and responses among veterans. In nursing care setting, there nursing skills are required to deal with veterans’ mental health. The process of identifying the prevailing mental health conditions and how to make interventions matters a lot in order to ensure full recovery. My desire for care had been long-established from childhood through schooling and now in the placement I found it useful and applicable in veterans’ case. In addition, I have developed awareness of mental health issues in respect to psychological problems throughout my course and I faced the need to use such skills in interventions to reassure veterans’ recovery. Nurses have effectively attended to veterans’ mental and behavioral issues. For ... ... middle of paper ... ...e who have misused drugs and alcohol significantly require support and more care even though they comprise of a small portion of the veterans with mental problems. What we actually did when placed in vet centers was to promote the veterans to assess their own needs as well as development of a plan to meet the needs. As Brancu, Straits-Tröster & Kudler (2011) points out; Individual veterans are informed about different choices for available care and support. As a professional, a nurse is regulated by wide-range of ethical consideration to ensure that the veteran’s patients are treated with respect and dignity. In turn, we were to ensure veteran autonomy in determining what to confide about and what to conceal. Confidentiality and privacy is another most important ethical aspect I found to be a consideration to avoid private information spilling to unintended persons.
Veterans have struggles with their civilian life after separating from the U.S Armed Forces. Returning to the civilian life seem to be a big challenge for veterans who have no prior job’s skills for civilian life because they had been influenced from military’s training, have physical and psychological damage.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), originally associated with combat, has always been around in some shape or form but it was not until 1980 that it was named Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and became an accredited diagnosis (Rothschild). The fact is PTSD is one of many names for an old problem; that war has always had a severe psychological impact on people in immediate and lasting ways. PTSD has a history that is as long and significant as the world’s war history - thousands of years. Although, the diagnosis has not been around for that long, different names and symptoms of PTSD always have been. Some physical symptoms include increased blood pressure, excessive heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea, diarrhea, problems with vision, speech, walking disorders, convulsive vomiting, cardiac palpitations, twitching or spasms, weakness and severe muscular cramps. The individual may also suffer from psychological symptoms, such as violent nightmares, flashbacks, melancholy, disturbed sleep or insomnia, loss of appetite, and anxieties when certain things remind them such as the anniversary date of the event (Peterson, 2009).
While John is under a great deal of stress, he is in the hands of seasoned professionals who all share the same goal, getting John better. St. Luke’s, a medical center geared towards helping veterans, has provided John a knowledgeable health care provider team to help meet his needs. John’s interprofessional team is being put together by John’s primary care physician, Dr. Jackson, and his licensed clinical social worker, Tessa. The team is kept small due to John’s reservations about opening up to people. The rest of his team will consist of a veterans affairs representative to help John seek any veterans benefits he is entitled to, as well as a mental health case manager. Lastly, a CNA assigned to help John integrate into life in a home with others while he tries to get a handle on his depression and Alzheimer’s.
Services for PTSD." Do Veterans Receive Adequate Health Care? Ed. Susan C. Hunnicutt. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Court Orders Major Overhaul of VA's Mental Health System." Los Angeles Times 11 May 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 8 June 2014.
Varcarolis, E. M., Carson, V. B., & Shoemaker, N. C. (2006). In Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (p. 283). St. Louis: Elsevier Inc.
When we picture the United States Military we regard men and women in uniform fighting for our country. However, what we do not picture is the hidden problems. Stress of the job, members returning home from war, and combat create an increased stress level that can result in abusing substances and cause behavioral problems. The military has recognized that this has become a problem and is now taking steps to ensure their members safety.
Seal, Karen H., Daniel Bertenthal, Christian R. Miner, Saunak Sen, and Charles Marmar. "Bringing the War Back Home: Mental Health Disorders Among 103 788 US Veterans Returning From Iraq and Afghanistan Seen at Department of Veterans Affairs Facilities." Archives of Internal Medicine 167.5 (2007): 476-82. Print.
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.)
Social workers in all branches of the military are helping families and military personnel prepare for, and cope with, the hardships of war. They do so through a range of preventive and clinical services provided by the Veteran Administration with many different types of programs, including family-support and mental-health counseling. 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.
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...
This review will seek to give a detailed look at the causes, treatment, and after care of homeless veterans. To analyze war history seeking the compatible link between combat service and homelessness status. Focusing on the factors that contribute to this growing population.
It seems that within the United States, today, there seem to be a concerning issue about veterans, who are homeless. These veterans are suffering from various mental health issues, drug and alcohol abuse, and other disorders. One-third of the homeless population are veterans, who cannot find or maintain housing and are unemployed. Unemployment and homelessness are the two biggest concerns for veterans in the United States. Veterans lost their homes and employment due to the prolonged tours in Iraq, Vietnam and etc. All of the wars that veterans have been involve in has ruined their health. According to National Coalition for Veterans (2011), veterans have a difficult time finding employment that will not cause any more damage to their
A person who has untreated PTSD could face many severe consequences such as substance abuse, anger management issues, loneliness, and severe depression. From the years 2000 to 2007, 14% of veterans were diagnosed with depression. Clinical depression is a serious medical illness that involves disturbances in mood, concentration, sleep, activity level, interests, appetite and social behavior. Symptoms of depression include: persistently sad mood, changes in sleeping and eating habits, difficulty thinking and concentrating, lack of interest, feelings of worthlessness, and thoughts of suicide (Duckworth). These symptoms cause the individual to alter their way of thinking and often lead them to suicide. The number of veterans committing suicide every day is 22, which accounts for 22% of national suicides (Kemp). Substance abuse and homelessness are also common among veterans with mental illnesses. Substance abuse is often a result of mental illness, as the National Alliance of Mental Illness states, “An estimated 1.2 million male veterans were identified as living with serious mental illness. Approximately 340,000 of these individuals had co-occurring substance abuse disorders. Approximately 209,000 female veterans (13.1 percent) reported serious mental illness, and 25,000 (1.6 percent) reported co-occurring substance use disorder with mental illness” (Mental Illnesses). Having co-occurring mental health problems can lead to detachment from others, problems at work, and potentially homelessness. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reported in 2011 that there is an estimate of 67,000 former service men and women homeless on a given night. Programs such as “Opening Doors: Homelessness Among Veterans” have been implemented in order to try to end the widespread homelessness of military veterans. While some aspects of this plan have seemed to work, there is still a
This bill was introduced to “enforce the Secretary of Veteran Affairs to conduct annual evaluations of mental health care and suicide prevention programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs.” In essence, it was proposed because of the high suicide rates that occur with veterans and as a way to help those individuals with increase access to better quality health care and ultimately decrease the statistics of veteran suicide. The bill wants to propose three different acts if passed. First it would like to increase health care by programs, peer community groups, and online resources to help individuals going through mental trauma. Secondly, it wants to start a program to pay the college loans of students in psychiatry in order to easier recruit
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