Government Nursing

**Lunah**, MSN, RN

The Government Nurse

Government nurses, like their military counterparts, care for those who serve, or those who have served, but in a civilian/nonmilitary capacity. In this article, we are considering RNs as well as LPNs. Government nurses are located all over the world, from clinics to hospitals. There are literally hundreds of different roles these nurses fill for a variety of agencies and entities: everything from Department of Defense to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to the Architect of the Capitol.

Education Requirements

Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) and Registered Nurses (RN) are found in Government jobs. Education requirements vary widely, depending on the role of the nurse. Generally speaking, more education or higher degrees (BSN, MSN, DNP, PhD) correlate to higher pay. Most government nursing jobs that are listed on sites like usajobs.gov typically require a year of experience, though there are occasionally announcements for new grad jobs.

Work Environment

Government nurses work in virtually any setting where one would find nurses: clinics, hospitals, or even on reservations (Indian Health Service). From the most high-tech hospitals to one-room clinics, government nurses have thousands of different opportunities and locations. The work environment of government nurses is just as varied as those of civilians. The VA, which employs a very large number of nurses, has more than 1,400 medical facilities in urban and rural areas throughout the US and its territories.

Skills / Qualities

In the job announcements for the VA, the text reminds us of the VA's mission: "To fulfill President Lincoln's promise - 'To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan' - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans." Many government nurses consider it an honor to care for those who serve or have served. Whatever the motive, one thing that an applicant must do is ensure that his/her resume reflects the knowledge, skills, and abilities required in the job announcement and contains the keywords that demonstrate suitability for the desired position. Required skills vary widely by position.

Job Outlook

One thing that every government nurse I've known has told me was that the entire process, from application to interview to being hired and starting work, takes a very very long time. Applicants must be prepared to let the government gears do their required grinding; don't expect to be hired overnight. But another thing they have shared: it is worth the wait!

There are thousands of nursing jobs advertised on the various government career sites, from usajobs.gov to the Army CPOL site to the VA sites (see Resources section below). From all appearances, the job outlook is quite robust! There are occasional hiring freezes, but as in all sectors of nursing, as people move on to other opportunities, they must be replaced.

Of course, we all have the very recent memory of the government shutdown and furloughs. This is one of the downsides to government employment, but to its credit, the government does provide a lot of warning to employees about potential shutdowns and furloughs so that employees can prepare themselves for a period of paycheck shortages.

Salary (2020)

For many agencies, nursing jobs fall under the General Schedule (GS) salary scheme. GS pay scale information is available at Pay & Leave: Salaries & Wages 2020. Check here for the General Schedule (Base)Annual Rate (effective January 2020).

I can say from personal experience that the civilian RNs in my Army ER are GS-11s and the LPNs are GS-7s.

For the VA, a different pay scale is used. The VA employs what it calls a Locality Pay System (LPS) that claims to pay competitive rates within local labor markets.

Regular performance-based increases and potential accelerated increases for outstanding performance
Recruitment Incentives including Recruitment Bonus, Relocation Bonus and Retention Allowance, each up to 25% of the rate of basic pay
Premium Pay including overtime, Saturday, Sunday, holiday, on-call and night work
Incentive Awards including Superior Performance Awards, Special Contribution Awards, Quality Step Increases, VA Honor Awards, Non-Monetary Recognition and Title 38 Awards

Resources

VA nursing careers

VA travel nursing

Government Nursing Jobs (including VA)

U.S. Army Installation Management Command: Civilian Personnel