Doctors-in-training at America's medical schools will learn more about the illnesses that affect veterans returning from war, according to the Department of Defense.
Conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are often called the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Medical schools that are members of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine have committed to doing a better job of treating these war wounds as part of the Joining Forces campaign.
The Joining Forces initiative includes a commitment by the medical schools to:
-- Train their medical students as well as their current physicians, faculty and staff to better diagnose and treat veterans and military families;
-- Develop new research and clinical trials on traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder
-- Share their information and best practices with each other through a collaborative Web forum;
-- Coordinate with the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs
