Hello everyone,

I in a dilemma with my current job. I work on a basic med surg unit. I have been here at the VA 6 months now. Took me 4 months to get in.

I came from a step down unit and I feel like on this med surg unit I am loosing my skills. Of course they have great benefits here and that is why a lot of people like to work here.

ICU positions here come up every few years where 100 people apply and 2 positions get filled.

I see there are critical care internships in surrounding civilian hospitals offered. So I don't know if I should leave such a good benefit job for ICU position which is what I really want.

Is there any Nurses out there that have worked at VA and left? Or left a good paying, good nebefit job for better positions?

I thought some VAs have an ICU? If not I would go where your passion is. I'm all about the money and great benefits but nursing is too darn hard not to love what we do, imo.

I worked for VA and like everyone thought the benefits were irreplaceable but the truth is they aren't even all that great any more. No pension although they are generous with the 403-B type thing and their health benefits were comparable to the ones I got from a large teaching hospital. The VA pay as a RN was better than my other jobs mostly due to the great shift diff however when I got my NP they made me an offer that was ridiculously less than the civilian NP job I accepted. I'm not sure what their pay schedule is like now but I actually make $60,000 a year more than the highest NP/VA pay grade back when I was being recruited by them.

My only other reason for staying at VA is built up maternity leave. I have 4 weeks already and my husband and I want to start trying asap.

I'm also the full time employee right now.

If I go to a new place it of course comes with stress and it would be night shift.

I thought we did get a pension?

My only other reason for staying at VA is built up maternity leave. I have 4 weeks already and my husband and I want to start trying asap.

I'm also the full time employee right now.

If I go to a new place it of course comes with stress and it would be night shift.

I thought we did get a pension?

If you are trying to get pregnant that changes the entire picture. Double check about pension because I could be wrong but I don't think they offer than any more.

You should stay until you have your baby or hold off for a while before trying to conceive, really. You run the risk of not being eligible for FMLA should you not accrue 12 months of employment at your next job prior to having a baby, which would leave you with no functional amount of maternity leave. You also run the risk of JUST getting off orientation before having a baby which effectively negates your orientation in my experience.

Plus you are kinda in that donuthole where you will not be eligible for new grad ICU programs but you do not have that one to two years acute care to qualify for a more experienced ICU spot.

I came from a step down it in Washington for 4 years. This med Surg unit is basic. No drips. We barely get heparin drips. I have 5 yrs nursing experience already

I believe the VA still has the FERS retirement. It is not as good as the old CERS retirement plan.

We do want to get pregnant asap. They do have a pension but it's not much.

The pension is better then most private facilities which only have a 401k type at best. The VA pension is 1% of highest 3 years of wages for each year of service for less than 20 years then it increases to 1.1% after that. The TSP which is the federal government 401k plan has some good options and is easy to make the investments that are the ones you need based on your life.

You are wise to stay there until you get pregnant and have the baby. Government jobs do have more protections in place for you than a private sector job. As a long time government employee I can attest to this. As another poster mentioned you could risk losing FMLA too, which you will need to utilize if you have complications with your pregnancy and things like that.

Thank you all for your replies.

I just saw that as well. thank you for your post

Tossing in my own two cents, you might want to consider job and financial stability as well. It's great to always work on a unit that you are crazy about, but the reality is jobs in nursing are becoming scarcer as facilities close and downsize. You might get into a unit you think is fabulous, but after being there 6 months you could easily get a pink slip ("sorry, you're great, but we're cutting costs and nurses are being herded out the door").

Where you are now, you have a chance at REAL job stability and financial security for your new family. Yes, you will have a pension and a chance to have $$ matching in place; you might not even get the option for that if you leave for a private sector job. I know of what I speak: after years in the private sector, and now in VA, I can't imagine what could possibly entice me 'out there' to make me leave a reasonably secure position. A government job isn't iron-clad, but if you do it well and give no reason for dismissal, you keep it, period. In the private sector, you are typically considered an 'at will' employee; you keep your job only as long as your employer wills it! And if they want to cut benefits, or hours, or pay....all is fair game. Where you are now, not happening.

Your concern is that ICU jobs don't come up much where you are. But what happens if you get your dream job and your hours are cut? Benefits are cut, or cost so much you CAN'T afford to keep them? I'm sure you realize babies aren't cheap, and insurance is pricey, so.....just worth keeping in mind as you consider leaving where you are for The Great Unknown.