Shatina McCurtis has a saying she repeats to every veteran who walks through her door: “If you served, you earned.” As a nurse practitioner who specializes in disability claims examinations, she’s spent the last five years proving that motto right.
McCurtis works as a CNP examiner — one of those medical professionals who reviews veteran disability claims and conducts the examinations that can make or break a case. And she’s gotten good at it. Really good. Veterans come to her with 0% disability ratings and walk away with approvals for 100% compensation.
“I’ve had veterans come in and they will be at 0% and never filed,” she says. “They may come in to me with one claim from a VSO, and if I can have access to their medical records, I can look at their problem lists, their outside treatment records, and I have gotten people to 100% more often than not.”
That’s not an idle boast. McCurtis has worked cases across all 50 states through her contracting company, and she’s seen the patterns that trip up claims, the documentation gaps that cost veterans their benefits, and the small details that can change everything.
The COVID pivot
McCurtis never planned to work in veteran claims. She was doing hospital nursing in 2019 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then COVID hit while she was still recovering.
“I was a cancer patient at the time, a breast cancer survivor,” she explains. “I didn’t want to continue in the hospital setting because I wanted to make sure I was safe and could take care of myself, but I still wanted to continue providing for patients.”
She found a job doing medical reviews and discovered something unexpected. “I just fell in love with the work. I’ve been in love with it ever since because I am able to provide care for patients and veterans and their families.”
Personal ties outweigh professional ones. Her father served in the Army — went in so his family could have benefits when McCurtis was born. She had wanted to serve herself, but it didn’t work out. “I just, it just didn’t go according to plan. So I was like, you know, what else can I do? And I found medicine and this has been a godsend.”
That experience as a patient changed how she approaches veteran examinations. “I just put myself in their shoes because I have been in those shoes with illness when I needed things and people were able to provide for me.”
Reading between the lines
McCurtis brings something most medical reviewers don’t: 12 years of hands-on nursing experience across multiple specialties. She has experience working in CVICU, open heart recovery, oncology, and medical surgery. “I’ve done a lot of things and so it helps me read between the lines when patients come in with claims that are not standard.”
That breadth of experience matters when you’re dealing with complex cases that don’t fit neat categories. “You need to have great assessment skills,” she says. “You need to have some expertise to walk in this field.”
But the technical skills are only half the job. Working with veterans requires a completely different approach than typical medical encounters.
“You need to have a great bedside manner because you’re working with a special population,” McCurtis explains. “A lot of them are traumatized from the military, so you need to be kind. Our population is just a special population, and they need a softer hand. They need to know that you care.”
She’s learned to be careful about everything — lighting, room temperature, tone of voice. “Some of these topics that we talk about, they have not talked about in a while, so you’re kind of ripping off the Band-Aid of old wounds and you have to be careful with that.”
Many of the veterans she sees are dealing with PTSD, sexual trauma, or other service-connected mental health conditions. “This population, they’re not used to talking about these things with people, especially with strangers. So, I try to bring myself down to their level so they can feel comfortable and open up.”
McCurtis prepares for these encounters by reading each veteran’s complete file before they arrive. “When I look at the file, I look at the whole file to see exactly what I’m dealing with,” she explains. She’s not a psychiatrist, but most veterans she examines have mental health components to their claims. “Most of the veterans we see have some mental health — they have had a mental health evaluation, and they have a diagnosis. More than half of them, at least.”
This preparation helps her understand potential triggers and adjust her approach accordingly. Whether someone is 25 or 85, if they have PTSD, “you have to be a gentle spirit at all times,” she says. “You need to treat them with compassion. Veterans are patients first and foremost, so you just have to be careful.”
The documentation problem
The primary challenge faced by McCurtis is administrative rather than medical in nature. Veterans get out of the military, life happens, they get new jobs with different insurance, and they start seeing private doctors. Those medical records from civilian providers often never make it into VA files.
“We need to make sure that we are able to provide continuity with their care from the day they exit the military,” she says. “A lot of times they just don’t know how to do that. That’s where we come in to try to let them know that we need to get that information.”
This gap can be devastating for claims. A veteran might have surgery or receive treatment that directly relates to their military service, but if the VA doesn’t have those records, the evidence disappears.
“It’s frustrating for them, especially if they’ve been out for 20 or 30 years,” McCurtis acknowledges. She’s gotten creative about working around missing documentation. “We try to streamline the process as much as we can. We can get those records or just anything to simplify it. Not all the records, maybe just history and physical or progress notes.”
Sometimes she has to work with almost nothing. “I’ve worked cases where they have no medical records. If I can get statements and the DD 214, I can turn water into wine.”
The impossible cases
McCurtis’s reputation comes from taking cases other people have given up on. Veterans who’ve been denied multiple times. Cases with minimal documentation. People who’ve been told they don’t qualify.
“When they say ‘more likely than not,’ it’s more likely than not I can get you to 100% or what’s closest to your goal as we can,” she says. “I do this every day. It is my absolute goal to try to get a veteran as much as I can get, provided that they have documentation and we can show continuity to the VA.”
The process requires detective work. McCurtis goes through medical records carefully, looking for connections that others might miss. She reviews lists of medical issues from civilian physicians, examines treatment trends, and notes symptoms that may be linked to military service, even if veterans are unaware of the connection.
“When I see the effect that it has on veterans and their families and what they’re able to do and how they feel once they receive their compensation — that they’re able to provide for themselves and their families after they’ve provided for us and our country — it’s just an amazing thing.”
She pauses when talking about the impact. “I think about this every day.”
Working with Warren Flowers
McCurtis collaborates closely with veteran attorney Warren Flowers, and their partnership shows how medical expertise and legal advocacy can amplify each other. “We work together very, very closely,” she says. “He provides the law, and I provide the pathology, and that’s how we reach our clinical decisions.”
The collaboration is intensive and immediate. “Text messages, five-minute phone calls. Sometimes a little bit of stress, but we get through it because we’re serving.”
When they win a case, the response is visceral. “At first, I’m excited, but I thank God because I know that families need this. I mean, it’s part of what people need to survive and provide for their families.”
But McCurtis doesn’t dwell on victories. “I always go back and look at cases and it pushes me to the next win.”
Changing the atmosphere
Many veterans approach their disability examinations with dread. They’ve heard horror stories or had bad experiences with previous examiners who seemed rushed or dismissive.
McCurtis works deliberately to change that dynamic. “A lot of people come in and they’re so afraid of the process. They’re so afraid of the examiner because they’ve had a bad experience or they’ve heard about people having bad experiences.”
Word has gotten around about her approach. “My veterans say, ‘No, go to her. She’s really nice.’ So, I try to make that environment comfortable for them because I don’t ever want them to walk away feeling unheard or unseen.”
She wants them to be honest. “I want them to be comfortable because I want them to be vulnerable. I want them to let me know everything that’s hurting or helping so we can get what we need.”
What she sees at the VA
McCurtis works with VA agents, VSOs, and contractors across all 50 states, giving her a broad view of how the system operates from the inside. Her observations don’t always match what veterans experience from the outside.
When asked directly whether she thinks the VA wants to deny veterans their benefits, her answer is measured: “They want it to make sense. I think that they want to help people. I honestly do.”
“I work closely with VA agents and VSOs and a lot of contractors, and they really do want to give people what they need,” she explains.
But she also sees the structural problems that create delays and frustration. “Their system is overwhelmed. You have people retiring, and this is not something that mid-levels or people think about when they think of medicine or caring for patients. So I think the lack of examiners and support staff that they need to get these things done just kind of slows things down.”
From her perspective as a contractor, she hasn’t encountered institutional resistance. “They definitely want to help. I’ve never sensed that they didn’t want to help.” But she acknowledges that her experience working within the system may differ from what individual veterans encounter when navigating claims on their own.
Living the work
McCurtis lives near Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City. Veterans are everywhere. Her family has gotten into the habit of giving out her phone number to veterans they meet at the grocery store, at Walmart, wherever.
“They give my phone number out,” she says, laughing. “I sometimes don’t even know who’s calling me. I get calls and texts, and they’re like, ‘Your mom gave me your number.’ And I’m like, ‘Where were you?’ ‘Oh, we were at the grocery store.'”
She doesn’t mind. When she meets people, her usual opening line is asking if they’re a veteran. “Usually when I meet strangers, my conversation starter is, ‘Hey, are you a veteran?’ And we get going that way.”
Her advice to veterans
McCurtis thinks education could fix a lot of problems. Too many veterans don’t understand the claims process or know what benefits they might be entitled to.
“I wish they had education, and that’s one of the things that I’m open to provide as well as doing C&P exams,” she says. “I want to provide some education for veterans so they can know what to expect and they can be prepared and not so afraid of the process.”
Her fundamental belief is that every veteran deserves at least a review. “My motto is, we can find things. There’s usually something in the record that they can file a claim for that they have access to. So I feel like they are entitled to at least a review and education about the process.”
Even veterans who served briefly or never saw combat often have service-connected conditions they don’t recognize. “The goal is for every veteran to get what they deserve, even if they served for four years and never went to combat. There’s something in the problem list. They may only have tendinitis, but we definitely try.”
She isn’t just educating veterans; she’s calling more women into the profession, too. “To other women considering this field, my advice is simple: Come on over. It’s a lot of fun, and you will enjoy the work. There’s room for your empathy and expertise.”
What matters
When McCurtis considers her legacy, she emphasizes relationships rather than ratings.
“I just want them to know that I gave my best, and I did everything in my power to try to help them get what they needed,” she says. “I want them to know that I gave 100%, that I really wanted to advocate for them.”
The work requires vulnerability from both sides. “You gotta have compassion for the veteran, and I like them to be as vulnerable as they can so I can do a good job and tell the story where the VA will honor it, believe it, and trust it, so the veterans can get compensated.”
She stops and clarifies: “After all, it is a C&P examination — compensation and pension. That’s our goal.”
For McCurtis, success isn’t measured in percentages or dollar amounts. It’s measured in veterans walking out of her office feeling heard, understood, and properly cared for. In a system that can feel impersonal and overwhelming, she’s created something different — a space where “If you served, you earned” isn’t just a motto, but a promise kept.
Resources for Disability Claims & Medical Evidence
C&P Examinations & Medical Reviews
- VA C&P Examination Information: va.gov/disability/va-claim-exam – What to expect during your compensation and pension exam
- Preparing for Your C&P Exam: Tips for gathering medical evidence and documentation before your examination
- Understanding Medical Evidence Requirements: va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/evidence-needed – What medical documentation strengthens your claim
Medical Records & Documentation
- VA Blue Button: myhealth.va.gov – Access and download your complete VA medical records
- Requesting Private Medical Records: How to obtain records from civilian healthcare providers for your claim
- Medical Evidence Continuity: Ensuring your private treatment records connect to your military service
Disability Claims Support
- Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs): Free claim assistance through DAV, VFW, American Legion – they can help gather medical evidence
- VA Regional Offices: va.gov/find-locations – File claims and get help with medical documentation requirements
- Flowers Law Firm: flowerslawfirm.info | (919) 438-3357 – Legal support for complex medical claims requiring expert review
Understanding the Claims Process
- VA Disability Rating System: How medical conditions are evaluated and rated by percentage
- Service Connection Requirements: Linking your current medical condition to your military service
- Appeals Process: va.gov/decision-reviews – What to do if your medical evidence wasn’t properly considered
Medical Advocacy & Second Opinions
- Independent Medical Opinions: When and how to seek private medical reviews for your claim
- Medical Contractor vs. VA Exams: Understanding who conducts your C&P examination and what it means
- Patient Advocate Program: va.gov/health-care/patient-advocate – Help navigating VA medical systems
Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Care
- Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 | Text 838255 | veteranscrisisline.net – 24/7 confidential support
- Vet Centers: va.gov/find-locations – Community-based counseling that can provide supporting documentation for claims
- Military Sexual Trauma (MST) Claims: va.gov/health-care/health-needs-conditions/military-sexual-trauma
Connect with Shatina McCurtis:
- Practice Location: Dallas, TX area
- Specializations: C&P Examinations, Medical Evidence Review, Disability Claims Assessment
- Focus: Helping veterans document service-connected conditions through thorough medical evaluation
Shatina McCurtis’s work demonstrates that thorough medical documentation and compassionate examination practices can make the difference between claim denial and the compensation veterans have earned through their service.