Medical Malpractice

VA Hospitals, Rank and Etiquette?

Hello. I am a third year medical student and I will be doing my psychiatry rotation and my surgery rotation at Boston area VA Hospitals. I want to treat my patients with the utmost respect when I take care of them. - How much research should I do regarding the differences between the main branches of the armed services, including rank, etc. - Is there anything that I can do to show the vets and their family the utmost respect by acknowledging their service? My father was in the Army and my brother is going to join after he completes law school in a year. I want to seem knowledgeable and respectful to the vets and their families. Other than surfing wikipedia for several hours (which I plan to do), any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Public Comments

1. I WORK for the VA hospital in fresno ca if you like i can get you in contact with some doctors here that work in psych. dept . send me an email through answers and i will give you the hookup
2. You treat them the same as you would treat any patient. At that point in their lives they are civilians and rank is NOT an issue. Check in at the JP VA Medical Center and see if Dr.(phd) Joe La Castro is still there, a few years ago he was running a program for students at the facility. Hell of a nice guy, one of the programs he ran involved a group of us that had strokes or heart attacks, we the patients taught the students quite a bit. E-Mail me and I will give you my name and if you do get to meet Dr. Joe you can give him my best.
3. Congrats...my wife just finished her Boards in Psychiatry a little while back. I am a Psychologist, former USAF Psychologist. Don't sweat the rank thing. Start out your interviews by addressing the patient as Mr./Ms. When the rapport gets going, ask if it is OK to call them by their first names...most will say yes. Just like any other intake in the civilian world. Don't feign knowledge you don't have...they will see right through it. It is OK not to be a vet in your professional capacity. Learn from them, always respecting them as people. Sadly, most of what you will be doing is med.checks in Shrinkology...and pre-op. physicals and question forms in surgery, coupled with pre-op. educational stuff. Just relax and be the best future Doc you can be. Good luck.