The VA Medical Center Pay

U.S.A. Mississippi

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Do any of you guys know how much the VA pay new LPN grads?? I know the benefits are really good any ideas??:rolleyes:

Night shift diff is 10% of your base salary and weekend shift diff is 25% of your base salary (broken down hourly of course).....and double pay for holidays worked

Specializes in ICU, Med-Surg, Post-op, Same-Day Surgery.
I started working for the VA at the beginning of April so for about 5.5 months now. RN-BSN are supposed to start off Nurse 2, but since I had no exp. I started off as a nurse1 step 4. After 2 yrs I move up to nurse 2. If you have experience and have a BSN you start off at least at nurse 2 step 1. I started off with my BSN.

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Do you mean experience like RN experience (prior RN degree) or experience like externing at the hospital before being hired as a RN-BSN?

Oh, and is night/weekend shift diff. stacked?

Only Rn experience counts, not extern, cna, not even lpn experience. And the shift diff is stacked.

Do you know if all BSN nurses start at level 2? or is that just because of your locale/experience? Also, did they start you at step 3 or is that the result of raises (if yes, over what time period did they give you a raise?).

RN Qualifications:

-Nurse I, Level 1 - None beyond basic educational requirement (Associate Degree or Diploma in Nursing)

-Nurse I, Level 2 - Approximately 1 year experience OR Associate Degree or Diploma in Nursing and bachelors degree in a related field OR Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

-Nurse I, Level 3 - Approximately 2-3 years experience OR Associate Degree or Diploma in Nursing and bachelors degree in a related field and approximately 1-2 years experience OR BSN and approximately 1-2 years experience ORMaster's degree in Nursing or related field with a BSN

-Nurse II - BSN and approximately 2-3 years experience OR Associate Degree or Diploma in Nursing and bachelors degree in a related field and approximately 2-3 years experience OR Master's degree in Nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 years experience OR Doctoral degree in Nursing or related field

RNs benefits include:

  • 26 vacation days

  • 13 sick days

  • 10 paid Federal holidays

  • Federal retirement system with 401K plan

  • Health and life insurance options

  • RN Salary Range: $41,259 to $74,349 per annum (*Based on Education and Experience)

  • May apply for tuition reimbursement up to $38,000 through the Education Debt Reduction Program
  • ~Obtained from Sample VA Job Announcement

If Interested in more information on Title 38 here is the link:

Title 38 Explained

Title 38 Pay information

Hi,

Would the pay and benefits be exactly the same for NIH? Does the VA have fellowships for new grads? How about in critical care?

Thanks

Specializes in ICU, Med-Surg, Post-op, Same-Day Surgery.
Hi,

Would the pay and benefits be exactly the same for NIH? Does the VA have fellowships for new grads? How about in critical care?

Thanks

I know that for BSN graduates they require you to have at least 1 year of med-surg experience before transferring into critical care.

Does anyone know if all the VA Medical Centers pay the same for on-call and standby pay for units needing call? I have a friend who works for VA in San Francisco and gets 1/3 of her hourly rate for on-call pay and time and a half if called in for those hours worked. Do all the VA Medical Centers offer 1/3 of your hourly rate for on-call pay or is it done differently? Thanks for the hopeful replies.

I've heard that they pay really well, but are hard to work for. How well is a question I can't answer. I think I remember that person telling me that they made 60,000 the first year there. He was a new grad as well and was an RN.

I recently resigned from my job at the VA. I'm an RN with lots of experience, and VA pay is kinda low. The numbers you've been quoted are waaaaay off.

Does anyone know if all the VA Medical Centers pay the same for on-call and standby pay for units needing call? I have a friend who works for VA in San Francisco and gets 1/3 of her hourly rate for on-call pay and time and a half if called in for those hours worked. Do all the VA Medical Centers offer 1/3 of your hourly rate for on-call pay or is it done differently? Thanks for the hopeful replies.

Your question has already been answered. If you read the thread, there are several posts with links to the exact info you are looking for.

Valerie,

Actually my specific question about how much the VA Hospitals pay for on-call and standby pay was not answered anywhere in this thread. I looked again. Please tell me where it is if I am wrong. My question specifically is about how VA pays for Standby and On-Call when you are on a pager and may be called in like we do so often when working in the operating room. I hope somone can tell me how VA does it. Thanks.

I recently resigned from my job at the VA. I'm an RN with lots of experience, and VA pay is kinda low. The numbers you've been quoted are waaaaay off.

How far off are the numbers that have been quoted?

Thanks:confused:

RN Qualifications:

-Nurse I, Level 1 - None beyond basic educational requirement (Associate Degree or Diploma in Nursing)

-Nurse I, Level 2 - Approximately 1 year experience OR Associate Degree or Diploma in Nursing and bachelors degree in a related field OR Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

-Nurse I, Level 3 - Approximately 2-3 years experience OR Associate Degree or Diploma in Nursing and bachelors degree in a related field and approximately 1-2 years experience OR BSN and approximately 1-2 years experience ORMaster's degree in Nursing or related field with a BSN

-Nurse II - BSN and approximately 2-3 years experience OR Associate Degree or Diploma in Nursing and bachelors degree in a related field and approximately 2-3 years experience OR Master's degree in Nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 years experience OR Doctoral degree in Nursing or related field

RNs benefits include:

  • 26 vacation days

  • 13 sick days

  • 10 paid Federal holidays

  • Federal retirement system with 401K plan

  • Health and life insurance options

  • RN Salary Range: $41,259 to $74,349 per annum (*Based on Education and Experience)

  • May apply for tuition reimbursement up to $38,000 through the Education Debt Reduction Program
  • ~Obtained from Sample VA Job Announcement

If Interested in more information on Title 38 here is the link:

Title 38 Explained

Title 38 Pay information

Great information. I had to go for an interview to figure out VA pay as nurses do not use the GS pay scale.

When I interviewed I was three months away from my BS. After interviewing with the unit manager I spoke with someone from HR. He basically told me to finish my degree which would bring me up to the Nurse II as the pay difference is appr 7K/yr. With exp and/or a degree the VA in Massachusetts pays RNs as well, if not better, than the area hospitals. Now with my BS and a couple years exp my base pay would be over $60,000 (and it looks like the pay went up since my interview).

If you look for a position on http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/jobsearch.asp?q=rn&lid=17765&jbf571=7&salmin=&salmax=&paygrademin=&paygrademax=&FedEmp=N&tm=&sort=rv&vw=d&brd=3876&ss=0&FedPub=Y&SUBMIT1.x=88&SUBMIT1.y=13&SUBMIT1=Search+for+Jobs you can do a search within your zip code to see a pay range for your location. Figure around $5,000/yr for a degree and appr. $2,000/yr for every two years exp and you can get a better idea of the pay for your area. These are only appr. figures, you need to talk with HR to see the scale for your area (unless someone knows where these scales are online).

The pay in the northeast is much higher than much of the country (along with COL) so $60K may be on the high side to start.

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