Program to educate civilian doctors on military

Program to educate civilian doctors on military
By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Nov 8, 2011 16:19:13 EST
The Defense Department and the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare are rolling out a certification program to help civilian mental health care professionals and primary care providers better serve military veterans and their families.

The “Serving Our Veterans” behavioral health program is a 14-part, 20-hour online course that instructs doctors, social workers, psychologists, nurses and other practitioners on the military’s unique treatment needs, its culture and experiences.

The curriculum is a response to calls from DoD and Veterans Affairs Department leaders for a broader understanding among U.S. health care workers of the unique demands of military service. More than 2 million Americans have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and an additional 39,000 are expected to return from Iraq by the end of this year.

“Our members — community health and addiction service organizations — are on the frontlines of the veterans’ battlefield back home. This curriculum will prepare health providers to support veterans and their families in local communities who are dealing with the aftermath of combat and deployment,” said Jeannie Campbell, a retired Navy chief master petty officer and the council’s executive vice president.

Since the start of the Afghanistan war in 2001, roughly 220,000 service members have received a traumatic brain injury (77 percent of which were concussions, considered mild TBI), and an estimated 20 percent suffer effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.
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