INTERVIEWING VA DOCTORS

In my research I found that a lot of articles were slightly impersonal so I decided to speak with a doctor that has worked in the VA and with veterans in general

In an interview with Dr. Albert Lim

A general practitioner who spent three years of his residency as well as much of med school treating veterans.

In your time working as a doctor you have treated patients at a regular hospital as well as at a VA center
Correct

Did you come across any veterans from WWII? Can you describe them - any sort of general characteristics that particularly stood out in this group?

I found that the World War II veterans were very humble. They did not speak much about their experiences in war. The one patient that told me a story was one of the soldiers during D Day. He had an amazing story about parachuting to the other side of the beach. He was such a great soldier he was invited back to Normandie France to commemorate him.

How interesting, were the veterans from other wars similar to that of WWII?
No, the soldiers of WWII were much more humble. I found that they felt less entitled.

What do you mean by less entitled?

They didn't feel like the doctors or other people owed them anything. The Vietnam War veterans seemed more entitled to recieve help.

So did you treat any patients with post traumatic stress disorder? How many of them were WWII veterans?

Yes I did, none of them were from WWII. Most of them were Vietnam Veterans.

Do you think this is partially due to the fact that ptsd was more highly diagnosed in vietnam veterans, and it was just something people weren't aware of during WWII?

Yes, probably.

How were the veterans different from your patients of the same age group that were not?
In addition to the usual problems of aging, alcoholism was much more prevalent. However at the same time the veterans seemed much more grateful to be receiving help.

Were there any sensitivities the doctors were trained for specifically in working with WWII veterans?
No, not really. I treat all my patients equally.

do you think anything could be improved in the healthcare and treatment of WWII veterans?

I think that the VA system has become more efficient than it was before. The quality of VA healthcare parallels that of general healthcare.

It was helpful to hear the point of view of a doctor. My general impression from the discussion was that WWII elderly were rather well adjusted, polite, and grateful. The doctor was content with all the treatment towards the WWII elderly. However, he did mention that this specific group of elderly were much less vocal about their experience. This was congruent with my research and how WWII soldiers were trained not to complain about their troubles. Perhaps the lack of entitlement and bitterness was also due to the fact that they returned from the war victorious and during a economically golden time. The interview left me feeling positive in the aging process of wwii elderly.