Veterans

00:00 This segment is going to be all about veterans, which is a population that I consider kind of left behind, and there's a lot of stigma associated with certain veterans.

00:15 So a lot of us respect veterans, let me say that probably most of us do.

00:20 But there is a certain degree of stigma especially depending on which war you were in, whether or not people believed in that war, what your role was in the military.

00:31 So it's very important that we understand the veteran culture, veteran subculture, and in particular veteran's health is mainly what I talk about and cultural awareness and how do we apply cultural intelligence to caring for and interacting with veterans.

00:48 So this is what we're going to talk about in this segment.

00:52 So the first question we want to cover is "What is Veteran-Centric Healthcare?" It is healthcare that focuses on the unique needs and the culture and subcultures of veterans, and it doesn't matter which branch.

01:06 And also, I often talk about it from the perspective of veterans, but also from active military personnel.

01:15 There is also some unique needs and differences in terms of the active military personnel and also with the families.

01:24 So we're going to talk about all those different things and how we can apply cultural intelligence and be more empathetic toward veterans and meet their needs in order for them to have optimal health outcomes.

01:37 In addition to those healthcare concerns that plague veterans as human beings, there are those unique things that happen as a result of serving in the military.

01:48 So we want to talk about the culture of the military at large, right.

01:52 They are bound by certain different standards and practices and then the subcultures because each branch has its own subcultures.

02:00 And when we talked about intersectionality in a previous segment, well we're going to talk about that here too because not only do you have the culture that you grew up in from your lived experience prior to the military service, but then you adapt all these different beliefs and practices based on your affiliation with the military. We have the religious affiliations.

02:23 So just all kinds of different things when we think about gender, when we think about race and ethnicity, when we think about gender identity, when we think now about the fact that people within the LGBTQ population can openly exist within the military and just acknowledging that is complex and it can be difficult for people especially those who want the traditional military service personnel, the traditional veteran, but it's also important that we acknowledge that as we've talked about thru all of these segments.

03:00 We do have to not ignore any parts of any person's identity.

03:04 And it's so important when we talk about caring for veterans.

03:08 And I also want to start this off with the importance of building rapport and a trusting relationship with the veteran.

03:15 And when I talk about this, usually people think I'm talking specifics, speaking specifically to the VA, but the majority of veterans are cared for in the civilian population or in community clinics.

03:29 And is a good thing because we only have so many VAs, right, so the partnerships with community clinics are extremely important in terms of access to care and then frequency or getting people in to care quickly.

03:43 And thinking about some of the stigma that happens not only while people are serving in the military, but that follows them after the fact.

03:50 So I'm going to try to talk about all those different things, and while we're on that I want to mention that some things in terms of standards.

04:00 A lot of times people forget in the military that people are human first and so you don't want to let down your unit and I'm speaking as the daughter of a retired veteran, and also the daughter-in-law, the wife, the sister-in-law, so I've been in close contact not to mention extended family members.

04:23 So I've seen this with my own 2 eyes and I've also had lots of conversations with veterans since I've started doing this Veteran-Centric Healthcare education.

04:33 And just how oftentimes because of the mission people will downplay physical and mental conditions because you don't want to let down your unit, you don't want to be seen as weak, you don't want to be ridiculed or stigmatized so especially the mental health issues they will hide that or go seek care outside because they don't want to get labeled or seen as a detriment to the mission because most of the ones that I have spoken to, really all of them but I'm sure all of them are committed to the mission and thus protecting the country that they serve. Right? Doing the things that they see that they are supposed to do in order to be the best military personnel that they can be.

05:17 And so when you leave that situation and you have to continue to deal with some of the stigma, when we think about again the mental health issues and when we think about the homelessness and people trying to hide that from the general public because you don't want to be further ridiculed or stigmatized.

05:35 You want to feel like you're respected.

05:37 And the biggest issue that I've seen in caring for veterans and most of that has been in the civilian world is that they don’t feel like they're seen, they don't feel respected.

05:47 So I'm going to talk about some specific ways that you can make veterans feel more comfortable when they seek healthcare, which will encourage them to continue and consistently seek healthcare whether it's physical or mental health issues.