Curious about the VA HOSPITAL

fltopp1 · Jul 2, 2014

IM retired military and now a nurse. The process to get in is a little tedius but if you do it correctly and have all your info together its easier than many think. I love my job here and the benefits arent bad at all in comparison to other hospitals. And if you were in the military at all your active duty time all goes to retirement if you choose it to. For those looking at VA jobs go to http://www.usajobs.gov

HarryTheCat, MSN, RN · Jul 2, 2014

My wife is a VA nurse, and loves working there, but there are some pros and cons to it.

Pros: The VA pay scale for nurses seems to be about 20% higher than other hospitals in our area. Vacation time is accrued at a rate of 8 hours per pay period (26 pay periods per year), so if you are on an 8 hour/5 days per week schedule you get 26 vacation days per year. Retirement savings plan match is up to 5% with lots of investment options. Medical insurance is pretty good, and the employee cost is lower than most other plans. There is probably more job stability than in other hospitals -- you don't get called off for a low census, and layoffs are unheard of. The equipment is probably better than you'll find at the big hospital down the street. You don't have to account for every bedpan and box of tissues your patient uses. There are no real insurance issues (although they will bill the insurance company if the patient has coverage), so if your patient needs an expensive procedure, test or drug, he gets it. If you want to move, or your spouse gets transferred to another state you can generally find a position anywhere, and not have to go to the back of the line. You also get to work with some great patients, from World War II era to Iraq/Afghanistan vets.

Cons: Not too many, but many of them you'll find anywhere you go. Since it's almost impossible to fire a VA employee you might find yourself working with a few slugs who are better at avoiding work than they are at patient care. Hopefully, with a new Secretary this will change in the very near future. Some units have better management than some others, so you could find yourself in a situation where there is a lot of politics, favoritism, backstabbing, etc. It looks like a lot of the "dead wood" could be pushed out the door (it's already happening in several units that I'm aware of). There are really two separate parts to the VA medical system -- the actual patient care is much better than the administrative side where most of the bureaucracy problems are. Also, you may find yourself working with a lot of green residents who really don't know what they're doing much of the time. The ones who think they are God's gift to Medicine are dangerous and you have to carefully scrutinize every order; the better ones rely on the nurses to keep them out of trouble.

Just my $0.02. Your mileage may vary.

fltopp1 · Jul 2, 2014

My wife is a VA nurse, and loves working there, but there are some pros and cons to it.
Pros: The VA pay scale for nurses seems to be about 20% higher than other hospitals in our area. Vacation time is accrued at a rate of 8 hours per pay period (26 pay periods per year), so if you are on an 8 hour/5 days per week schedule you get 26 vacation days per year. Retirement savings plan match is up to 5% with lots of investment options. Medical insurance is pretty good, and the employee cost is lower than most other plans. There is probably more job stability than in other hospitals -- you don't get called off for a low census, and layoffs are unheard of. The equipment is probably better than you'll find at the big hospital down the street. You don't have to account for every bedpan and box of tissues your patient uses. There are no real insurance issues (although they will bill the insurance company if the patient has coverage), so if your patient needs an expensive procedure, test or drug, he gets it. If you want to move, or your spouse gets transferred to another state you can generally find a position anywhere, and not have to go to the back of the line. You also get to work with some great patients, from World War II era to Iraq/Afghanistan vets.
Correction; The 8 hours depending on the job you apply for is not always 8 hours. For nurses in most departments it is, but for LPN's, CNA's, and any other job (especially nusing admin) in the hosptial it all depends on time at the VA. Up to 6 (8?) years you get 4 hours per pay period, 6 (*?) to 15 is 6 hours per pay period, and 15 years plus gets 8 hours per. If you served in the military yourself no matter what you did in the military the active duty time counts towards you time in service in regards to vacation time accumulation. It can also be "Bought Back" to go towards your retirement time when you retire from the VA. That (buying back your time) takes a lot more to explain however. And regarding pay as a nurse, most of our nurses make up to 20k less than nurses in other hospitals in the local area. So do your research for your area to find out what pay is like. I know my hospital is hiring nurses big time at the moment so it is possible as mentioned if you live near a hospital.

lossforimagination · Jul 2, 2014

Regarding the application process....I was told by a VA nurse recruiter that resumes are very different for the govt. Real world resumes should be no more than 2 pages, but govt expects maximum detail. Your resume should read something like the job description. In other words, just saying "Med/surg staff nurse" which is adequate for a civilian resume, doesn't cut it. They want the resume to state specifically what work you performed as a med/surg staff nurse.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 2, 2014

Correction; The 8 hours depending on the job you apply for is not always 8 hours. For nurses in most departments it is, but for LPN's, CNA's, and any other job (especially nusing admin) in the hosptial it all depends on time at the VA. Up to 6 (8?) years you get 4 hours per pay period, 6 (*?) to 15 is 6 hours per pay period, and 15 years plus gets 8 hours per. If you served in the military yourself no matter what you did in the military the active duty time counts towards you time in service in regards to vacation time accumulation. It can also be "Bought Back" to go towards your retirement time when you retire from the VA. That (buying back your time) takes a lot more to explain however. And regarding pay as a nurse, most of our nurses make up to 20k less than nurses in other hospitals in the local area. So do your research for your area to find out what pay is like. I know my hospital is hiring nurses big time at the moment so it is possible as mentioned if you live near a hospital.

Not really a correction needed, as the language is important: in "VA world", as I'm sure you know, when they say "nurse" they MEAN 'RN'. LPNs, while no one disputes them as nurses, are classified differently (dare I say, not really as nurses??) and that's why the difference in vacation accruals, etc. Nurse's aides, as would be expected, are also not classed as 'nurses', so....there's the difference. And he did specify 'nurses', not other job classifications.

Took me some getting used to when hearing 'nurse' and the person speaking was NOT referring to all nurses, but only RNs!

Nurses at my VA do get the same wages that the several competing hospitals in the area pay. When it dips below, the union steps in, and the wages go up. Federal government is not allowed to be the highest-paying employer anywhere, but they CAN be equal to the highest-paying. And if the competition for staff exists, they are.

On a note to Harry: I think it's something of a misconception that VA workers are nearly bulletproof when it comes to their jobs; I have seen a good number of workers cut loose. It may TAKE longer, true (takes time to dot all those 'i's and cross all those 't's!) but in the end, I see employees separated OFTEN. Bet they thought they were never gonna be fired either, but.....there's the door! :)

fltopp1 · Jul 2, 2014

LOL, if no one disputes them as nurses then why be classified as something different. The VA is slowly weeding out LPN positions for only RN's. Its sad because I know of a lot of LPN's who are in many ways better "Nurses" than some of the BSN's Ive worked with. I was giving the info because I dont want anyone that may be attempting to get a non nurse position with the VA to assume they will get 8 hours of vaca per pay period.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 2, 2014

LOL, if no one disputes them as nurses then why be classified as something different. The VA is slowly weeding out LPN positions for only RN's. Its sad because I know of a lot of LPN's who are in many ways better "Nurses" than some of the BSN's Ive worked with. I was giving the info because I dont want anyone that may be attempting to get a non nurse position with the VA to assume they will get 8 hours of vaca per pay period.

Noted. But he WAS talking about nurses, not non-nurses. At any rate, it isn't the NURSES who are disputing who is and isn't a nurse, LOL....it's administration. They're the ones who deemed LPNs as....something else. Which is what puts RNs at 5 weeks' vacation right off the bat, and LPNs as a heckuva lot less, depending on time "served". And it's never about a good LPN and a poor RN (and I also know some great RNs who are way better than some LPNs, just to toss that one in there, since it's commonly said in reverse, as you did)....it's about how VA wants to be seen. And they want the RNs in the forefront...except in the nursing home unit care....for that, definitely more LPNs. Just how it is.

Meantime, I'm glad I did the RN thing instead of the LPN thing, if for nothing else than the opportunity to be where I am now :)

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 2, 2014

Regarding the application process....I was told by a VA nurse recruiter that resumes are very different for the govt. Real world resumes should be no more than 2 pages, but govt expects maximum detail. Your resume should read something like the job description. In other words, just saying "Med/surg staff nurse" which is adequate for a civilian resume, doesn't cut it. They want the resume to state specifically what work you performed as a med/surg staff nurse.

Exactly. Your job grade/level/step is determined by those points, and they cannot assume what you do and don't know, what you did and did not experience. So the better the detail, the better your chance at upping the ante :)