What is military culture?
Military culture is the values of friendship, comradeship, partnership, selflessness, and rigorous discipline. The Army's Training and Doctrine Command defines culture as a “dynamic social system that contains shared values, beliefs, behaviors, and norms of a group” and that these are “collectively learned, shared, internalized, and changeable” by all members. It’s a shared understanding and history that has shaped our nation for centuries. Veterans put their lives on the line every single day. They continue to pave the future for our children and the next generations to come.
Military culture has three components: military branch, place of service, and occupation. The military branch includes the Navy, Army, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The place of service is defined based on the orders a service member receives, which can be in or outside the United States. Military occupation is known as the job title or rate service member works.
Did you know?
In 2019, there are about 19.3 million veterans in the USA, 10% are Female, and 90% are Male (National Center for Veterans Analysis 2020).
In 2015, most veterans lived in California, Texas, and Florida, with about 950,000 veterans (VA.gov 2015).
Why is military culture important?
Military culture is crucial because it can change the way health care providers care for them. Many veterans suffer from physical or mental conditions, which can play a significant role in their health. The experiences veterans face in healthcare is top of mind. Community providers need to take their stories and background into consideration.
Many community providers are unaware of military culture. This results in many challenges for community providers when caring for veterans, such as misdiagnoses, not using appropriate resources, and the inability to identify or prevent suicide. All providers must understand their patient's military backgrounds to care for them properly. Using the right tools to identify a physical or mental condition can make all the difference for a veteran by asking the right questions.
How can community care providers become more aware?
Health care providers must understand military culture. By becoming aware of veteran's experiences, it can improve the quality of care they receive. It all starts with community providers taking the initiative of getting involved with their patients.
Health care providers can ask veterans specific questions:
Have you served in the military?
How long did you serve for and what branch?
Did you ever serve in combat?
Have you ever been diagnosed with any health conditions?
Are there other things you would like to tell me about your military service?
When veterans complete their service, transitioning to civilian life is not as easy as it seems. Health care providers need to help guide veterans to transition to their new reality. This can be achieved by expanding their knowledge about military culture awareness. It is never too late to get involved and learn more about military service members.
QB Medical encourages community providers to get involved and learn more about veterans. Look no further; we got you covered.
Resources
US Department of Veteran Affairs [Community Provider ToolKit Page on the Internet] Screening for Military Service. US Department of Veteran Affairs; [Accessed 2 December 2020]. Available from https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/communityproviders/screening_howto.asp
US Department of Veteran Affairs [National Center for Veterans Analysis and Stats on the Internet]. (2019). US Department of Veteran Affairs; [Accessed 1 December 2020]. Available from https://www.va.gov/vetdata/veteran_population.asp