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Disability & Health Assessments for Veterans Flashcards

7 cards from real CVA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Disability & Health Assessments for Veterans flashcards as text

  1. Under DSM-5 criteria, how many symptom clusters must be present for a PTSD diagnosis?

    Answer: Four clusters: intrusion, avoidance, negative cognitions/mood, and hyperarousal/reactivity

    DSM-5 PTSD requires symptoms from four clusters: intrusion, persistent avoidance, negative alterations in cognition/mood, and marked alterations in arousal/reactivity.

  2. What is Military Sexual Trauma (MST) as defined by the VA, and what healthcare benefit applies to MST survivors?

    Answer: Sexual assault or harassment that occurred during military service; free VA healthcare for related conditions regardless of service period or discharge status

    The VA defines MST as sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment during military service, and veterans may receive free VA healthcare for MST-related conditions without needing a service-connected rating.

  3. Which VA rating criteria general formula is used to evaluate mental health conditions including PTSD?

    Answer: 38 C.F.R. § 4.130, General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders

    All VA mental health ratings, including PTSD, are evaluated under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders found in 38 C.F.R. § 4.130.

  4. A veteran with PTSD receives a 70% mental health rating. Which of the following best characterizes the level of occupational and social impairment that supports this rating?

    Answer: Deficiencies in most areas such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood

    A 70% rating under the General Rating Formula requires deficiencies in most areas—work, school, family, judgment, thinking, or mood—reflecting severe but not total impairment.

  5. In a VA mental health C&P exam, what does the examiner's assessment of 'Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF)' or its DSM-5 equivalent measure?

    Answer: Overall psychological, social, and occupational functioning on a scale

    The GAF (or DSM-5 WHODAS equivalent) provides a global numeric measure of psychological, social, and occupational functioning used to inform disability ratings.

  6. What is the significance of the Vet Center program for veterans undergoing health assessments?

    Answer: Vet Centers provide readjustment counseling and can document mental health symptoms relevant to claims

    Vet Centers provide readjustment counseling and mental health support, and records from Vet Centers can serve as medical evidence supporting VA disability claims.

  7. When evaluating a veteran for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which domain is NOT typically assessed in the VA's TBI residuals rating evaluation?

    Answer: Cardiovascular endurance

    VA's TBI residuals rating framework evaluates cognitive, emotional/behavioral, neurobehavioral, and physical/neurological domains—cardiovascular endurance is not a TBI residuals domain.