Veteran Care
Do you get to see a lot of interesting things with veterans in physical therapy?
Absolutely. For part of my application to PT school, I had to rack up some observation hours, a lot of which I did at a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital. At this large hospital, I got to see a substantial portion of what people working in healthcare call the continuum of care. This just means healthcare over a period of time, from your first visit with your general doctor to your last visit with your PT and everything in-between.
I got to see therapists working with people straight out of surgery, which largely consisted of a variety of amputations. The upbeat attitudes of the patients I spoke with was very humbling and they put a smile on everyone’s face any time they broke out into collective song.
With the neurology specialist at this hospital, I first witnessed physical therapy treatment for vertigo and stroke. Frequently, this therapist treated conditions I see at other facilities but they did have a bunch of neat equipment and strategies that I haven’t seen anywhere else yet.
Then, of course, there’s the “regular” therapy. People who come in for their first evaluation, their follow-ups, and get to go home between sessions. I wish I could share all their stories but that would take forever and I also don’t need the HIPAA police coming after me. But I CAN say that the military is not kind to your body. I saw people with a variety of moderate to severe conditions that I haven’t seen nearly as frequently in other facilities. I’m eager to talk about my most favorite patient ever, so keep reading below!
What do you like about veteran care?
If you’ve read my home page, you might recall that one of the biggest reasons I pursued healthcare in the first place is because of the impact my grandfather’s (lack of) proper therapy had on my family. So, veteran care holds a special place in my heart. I also enjoy the complexity that I’ve observed from PTs treating veterans. They tend to have unique physical injuries or limitations on top of difficult mental health challenges. Veteran care hits hard on two of my biggest interests, with my background in both psychology and biology.
At the VA hospital, it was also super handy for most of the patients’ info to already be entered in the computer through the VA’s system because it allows the therapists to give the patients more direct attention. And there was a wonderful closet full of things like walkers, braces, canes, and other assistive devices that could be given to patients immediately, rather than having to make them jump through insurance hoops.
This brings me to the most memorable patient I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. They were a WWII Marine veteran that fought in Iwo Jima. This person was rightfully traumatized by the extreme gore, loss, and fear they experienced. So much so that they didn’t breathe a word about what they went through for 30 years. And after 3 decades, they decided to open up. They dedicated the rest of their life to encouraging veterans to seek mental health therapy, speak about their thoughts and feelings, and get the help they truly need. This shrapnel-speckled individual that puttered around the clinic, dutifully completing the exercise regimen they memorized, carried a small plastic bag in their front pocket that was filled with small pins of Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. They gave one to anyone they could and I still keep mine where I see it frequently.
https://nvf.org/veteran-mental-health-facts-statistics/
