1. Teaching Undergraduate Student Nurses about Veteran Family Care Needs
College of Nursing
Dallas Campus, Texas
Teaching Undergraduate Student Nurses about Veteran Family Care Needs
Sharon A. Denham, PhD, RN, CNE
Professor & Houston & Florence A. Doswell Endowed Chair in Nursing for Teaching Excellence
Introduction
VANAP Project
Barriers to Program Success
Care of the Veteran Family
In July of 2014, a 5-year VA Nursing Academic Partnership (VANAP)
was awarded by the Office for Academic Affairs (OAA) to the Veterans Administration of North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS) and Texas Woman’s University (TWU) College of Nursing at the Dallas Campus. The partnership allows for the additional hires of project faculty at both VANTHCS and TWU.
A primary purpose of this project is the recruitment and retention of new baccalaureate prepared nurses. The VANAP program has several other goals that include:
Increase the numbers of nursing students that have clinical practice opportunities at VANTHCS,
Increase knowledge of undergraduate nursing students’ knowledge about Veteran care,
Establish a Post-Baccalaureate Nurse Residence (PBNR) program, and obtain accreditation of the program,
Enhance nursing students’ understandings about interprofessional health care.
Faculty lack awareness and education about military culture and critical Veteran care needs.
Courses are already established and nursing faculty can be resistant to change.
Negative media reports about Veteran Administration can cause hesitance on nursing faculty and undergraduate students’ interest.
Nursing students uncertain about committing all learning experiences to a VANTHCS clinical setting.
VANTHCS is a distant location limits for some undergraduate students’ and transportation and traffic can be a problem.
Two credit hour fully online undergraduate elective course:
Fulfills the undergraduate students’ elective curricular requirement.
5 course Modules: Veterans & the Military, Veterans & Their Families, Cultural Context, Complex Care Concerns, and Family - Focused Nursing Care.
The U.S. veteran population numbers about 22 million people, but nursing students are rarely introduced to specific health and illness care content relevant to veterans and their family members during their formal education. Nurses are often unaware of the complex aging veteran needs, caregiver concerns linked with polytrauma, psychosocial risks associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), or the challenges families face following multiple military deployments and combat injuries. While many veteran injuries are visible, others, also severe, may be less easily perceived. Veterans are eligible to receive Veterans Administration care services, but many receive care at community hospitals, clinics, and from other diverse medical care providers. Nurses often give care to Veterans but may not consider their physical or psychological needs. All nurses need to be aware of the long-term medical costs of war and the best care practices, social actions, and policies for mitigating them.
While World War II veterans are rapidly decreasing in numbers, Veterans from other wars (e.g., Korean, Vietnam, Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan) might have other special needs. Military service personnel involved in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), Operations Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn saw fewer battle deaths and fewer were wounded in action than prior wars. However, their survival has come with the cost of profound injuries and numerous mental, familial, and social threats. Many of these Veterans experienced polytrauma and traumatic brain injuries. Others have multiple co-morbidities, but some have undiagnosed conditions that manifest later. All nurses need to be aware of the risks associated with military combat and the consequences Veterans and Veteran families experience.
Conclusions
There is no significant relationship between the dietary intake of obese Hispanic toddlers and body mass index (BMI).
Hispanic obese toddlers have percent fat intakes (32%) greater than the recommended intake of less than 30% of total calories.
Hispanic obese toddlers have saturated fat intakes (13%) greater than the recommended intake of less than 10% of total calories.
There is a significant negative relationship between a child’s percent fat intake and the number of family visits with WIC High-Risk dietitians.
Medical & Disability Needs
** Medical and disability costs aligned with military battle injuries can
have consequences lasting decades after the conflict has ended.
** Some Veterans have secondary and tertiary consequences resulting
from the original injuries.
** Knowledge of the modifiable behavioral risks aligned with BMI, elevated B/P, smoking, alcohol abuse, depression and PTSD when providing interventions is needed.
Veteran Family Care
See a Veteran - ‘Think Family’
Contextualize Veteran & family care concerns
Identify a continuum of care needs over time
Consider roles of an interprofessional collaborative team
Emphasis can be on health, health maintenance, & enablement
Focus on costs & risks of chronic conditions
Family roles in care self-management
Compare care delivery in acute setting, clinics, & home
Various Education Methods
This poster describes several methods being used and/or planned to provide Veteran-centric education to undergraduate nursing students and involve educators.
Online 2 hour elective course - Care of the Veteran Family
Multi-generational standardized veteran family project
Simulations involving Veteran families
CEU Education for nursing faculty
Developing Veteran family scholarship.
Undergraduate curriculum revision
Student: The veteran’s family is also affected by the things they have experienced and these
should be addressed by the health care provider as an important part of their ongoing care.
A good home ife and healthy family is necessary for the best possible return to civilian
life for a veteran.