I need some feedback from you great Veterans.

[Sunshine]

If you were to go into a Va facility what kind of qualifications or certifications would you expect to have the employees to have in order to be working with veterans. I really need some feedback from all you great veterans. Thank you in advance.

[iamcloudlander]

Sunshine
I have been going to a VA outpatient clinic (LA based) and have nothing but great things to say about the personell I have encountered there. They are most respectful of all the vets, offer and give help to anyone that needs it without criticism, and the medical staff is equal or better than most of their civilian hospital counterparts. They do their best to minimize wait time by keeping appointment times and always give a phone call to remind of appointments,and if for any reason they can not keep the appointment another phone call with the reason and a new appointment time. Also they are more considerent of their patients than civilians.
I realize this is probably not what you wanted but I thought I would let you know how the staff at this VA clinic treats us.

[Sunshine]

I' sunshine's husband. I have been disabled 100 % with PTSD since 1993. I have been hospitalized in 5 VA hospitals in Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Montana. I have gone through two VA PTSD programs. The Salem, Virginia VA is one of the largest VA hospitals in the US. I have seen nurses scream at veterans with PTSD, curse them and treat them like dogs. I have had good experiences also but the bad experiences are there. There is a serious problem that I see about the general understanding of PTSD. As a former physician, I even started to write a book about my life and to inform the public about PTSD from a veteran with it very bad. I am glad that some of you have had good experiences with the VA.
Semper Fi,
Rick

[thedrifter]

I can say my late husband was treated with Respected and Dignity when he went to the VA in Philadelphia, PA. and he had PTSD..with other problems.

He passed away from Agent Orange.

I went with him to his meetings and saw this first hand..

Showing Respect for those involved...gives in return Respect back.


Ellie

[chafas2531]

Sunshine. I have seen both negative and positive from both clinic and hospital. For the most part my wife and I have had good results. I do see that the clinics are far more considerate and I believe due to less stress and workload. And these vary from location to location. I really think the workload may have a bearing to all this. One quirk that really gets us that we are treated as idiots by many a healthcare worker. My wife is a CCRN and I have worked all over BAMC's lab so we are endowed with a little knowledge of ourselves and our health needs. Fortunately, I have only needed OP care and not any inpatient care(knock on wood)! I thank God for this, sometimes overlooked, benefit provided us as I would encourage anyone to visit a hospital in India. That would greatly enhance our perception and gratitude for what we have. Hope this helps.
SEMPER FIDELIS!