OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Choosing an Organization Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Identify an organization and situation you want to study over the remainder of the course.
2. Describe the organization and the situation

Complete the following making sure to support your ideas and cite from the textbook and other
course materials per APA guidelines. After the peer review, you have a chance to update this and
format for your Electronic Portfolio due in Module 6.

1) Name and describe your organization.

The organization I would like to conduct my PCA on is the office of Veteran Affairs. The
Office of Veterans Affairs is also Known as the VA. They are a government office that
facilitates the care of Veterans after they separate from military service. They provide
services like medical, dental, vocational rehabilitation, education, and Housing assistance
to name a few. I have interacted with the VA in many aspects such as housing, medical,
and Vocational Rehabilitation. They are a great asset to be used by all veterans, but as a
government office, they do have their drawbacks.

2) Describe your role in the organization (it can be an internal or external role).

As a Veteran I began using the VA immediately after separating from the Marines in
2020. I have used them as a way of obtaining a home loan, and Education Assistance in
the form of My GI Bill. I have also attended medical appointments with them.
Unfortunately, this is what makes the VA synonyms for bureaucracy and bad patient
care. The VA medical system must make appointments that are months out due to lack of
funding and possibly mismanagement when a patient may need to see them urgently.

3) Describe the situation, including information you think will help the reader
understand the most essential elements of the situation. (This will require selectivity:
part of the art of case writing is separating the essential facts from the mass of
information that might be included).

I would like to understand what is causing the VA to get this reputation for bad service. I
have experienced lengthy delays in making appointments with the VA. I have had my
case manager for my education benefits changed without notice three times. There are
many bureaucratic and time-consuming vague rules and instructions to follow to utilize
the VA. This has proven to inspire me to feel under excited to utilize the services offered

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 by the VA. I find this to be an unnecessary inconvenience when our Veterans deserve the
best services possible.

An example of a situation I have experienced with the VA that would lead me to feel this
way is when I was separating from the Marines, and I submitted my paperwork to start
utilizing my benefits. There is a program the VA uses that allows members that are
separating to submit their paperwork while still separating from the military that would
allow them to start utilizing benefits upon their separation. This, like all VA paperwork,
took much time and resources. When I finally submitted everything, I was told due to
Covid there would be no one available to process my paperwork. So, because Covid was
happening the VA failed to have the foresight to have a representative available to ensure
that veterans that were separating were being taken care of. This led to an almost two-
year delay in receiving my benefits and undue hardship on me and my family. It is
because of this experience and multiple similar ones that I no longer trust the VA to do
their job correctly.

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 Reference or References
(Choose appropriate Title if Applicable and Delete the Rest)