Veterans and Culture

00:00 Thinking of military culture? We want to think about those values that we talked about.

00:11 We want to talk about customs and traditions.

00:15 We've talked about that in other segments as well.

00:18 Well, the same applies here and thinking beyond what we've covered in those other segments in general specifically learning the customs and traditions of veterans based on the branch of military that they served in.

00:31 Standards of behavior and discipline and how does that impact the way a veteran shows up.

00:39 Right? And so considering not only those standards of behavior that make me want to hide certain parts of myself that I will not show you if I don't have a trusting relationship and discipline.

00:52 So, again if I have practiced something for many many years while I was in the military when I show up to these healthcare situations, I'm not being honory, I'm not trying to buck the system.

01:06 It's something that people have practiced for years so we need to own that, accept that, and figure out how to work with that in that space.

01:14 And again it helps to, the word compliant is bad but it does help people to be more open, people meaning veterans, open to seeking care, to coming back, to consistently doing the follow-up that's necessary.

01:30 They're all about order and procedure because again especially people who have served for a very long time, it's hard to undo those things that you've practiced for years and years.

01:41 Then being deployed out, that changes everything for a person. Right? You're used to one way of being then you go into this situation and it's a whole different world for you.

01:52 Then imagine practicing that thing you've changed from what you entered the military with and you've done this for so long then you have to reintegrate back into society when you're out of the military once you're discharged from the military.

02:06 So all those things, which is a lot, it's complex, those are things that we have to consider as healthcare professionals and have conversations, open honest conversations.

02:17 I've seen people's faces light up when I sit and just listen sometimes to their stories.

02:23 Even just to ask because it shows that you really do care, you're concerned, and you do want to personalize that care and you do want to take all those cultural considerations into account.

02:36 When we think about the cultures of veterans, right, I'm just going to say me, I have never served in the military and I'm very thankful to those who have, but I have to think about all the different things that I mentioned before.

02:49 So, some of the cultures of it, it doesn't include the subcultures within the population so we do have to consider the cultures and the subcultures.

03:01 So again, I can't lump everybody into one box.

03:04 So, the culture could be "Am I a combat veteran that I actually served in a war and was I in combat?" Was I a veteran who was caring for people who were injured?" And just thinking about the impact of all those different things and how it can affect a veteran and how I can use those things to have a more positive impact on the health outcomes.