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Sleeping Well After Deployment
Among other problems, RAND researchers found inconsistent sleep-related policies across DoD, which could impede efforts to promote sleep health....
“I fear they do not comprehend the full weight of the burden we carry or the price we pay when we return from battle,” said ADM Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a speech several years ago. That’s one reason VA and DoD have developed a free online continuing education course to help health care providers learn more about what it’s like to serve in the military. “Understanding the influence of military culture upon health-related behaviors will help the provider appropriately plan treatment,” according to the Center for Deployment Psychology website (http://deploymentpsych.org), which supports and enhances the online course.
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The 8-hour course, “Military Culture: Core Competencies for Health Care Professionals,” uses interactive features, video vignettes, case examples, and treatment-planning scenarios. Each of the 4 modules was developed using research, surveys, and extensive interviews with service members and veterans, the VA says. The modules address (1) self-awareness and introduction to military ethos; (2) military organization and roles; (3) military-specific stressors and resources; and (4) treatment resources, prevention, and tools.
Related: Sleeping Well After Deployment
The course is offered through the VHA’s Training Finder Real-time Affiliated Integrated Network (TRAIN), which launched in April 2015. The VHA TRAIN is part of TRAIN National, a comprehensive catalog of public health learning products in a variety of areas, such as chronic diseases and HIV/AIDS.
