I interviewed today and was offered one of six resident positions. I lost it. The panel laughed and said my reaction was the best one so far. ?
I was asked nine questions. They were along the lines of "Tell me about yourself; How will you contribute to VA care; Flexibility and describe a time when it was required; Career goals; Rate yourself 0 - 10 in the following aspects, etc.". I was sweating the whole time, but displayed a cool (I think) exterior.
It starts towards the end of September, so plenty of time for me to go over all my material from school and beef up my knowledge so I don't look like a total dunce.
I will periodically update this thread with all my trials and tribulations for those who are interested in applying for a spot in the future and want to know what the year will look like.
Hoping somebody could answer a quick question. If you work Primary Care at the VA, would you still be seeing women for Ob/Gyn issues or regular exams/PAPs?
I know in the private sector, many offices will still take care of Ob/Gyn issues and if it's something which needs further investigation, they are referred to an Ob/Gyn clinic. Just curious if the VA already has a specialty clinic for that, would females just automatically go there first.
In my state it depends on the clinic and your chief complaint. If you are pregnant you go an obgyn specialist clinic. It you need a regular pap, it might be done by your pcp or you can schedule with someone that does it on certain days. Some clinical have providers just to do paps.
Just checking in to see how everybody's residencies are going? The other day, I realized many of you will soon complete your residency in the next 2-3 months. Almost at the finish line!
It's been dragging for me lately. I am one of 2 in the first PMHNP residency here and while it has potential, it needs a lot of improvement. One irritating note is that I've been basically promised a job from day one but the promise is from people who really have no influence on that. There are no jobs for me at this location ☹️
It's been dragging for me lately. I am one of 2 in the first PMHNP residency here and while it has potential, it needs a lot of improvement. One irritating note is that I've been basically promised a job from day one but the promise is from people who really have no influence on that. There are no jobs for me at this location ☹️
So sorry to hear about your experience right now. I would expect w/ the VA, there would be way more PMHNP jobs than people who could actually fill them! You always hear how veterans need mental health services all the time.
Are you able to relocate elsewhere, just to get your foot in the door? I always think that, with the VA, it's just a matter of getting your foot in the door somewhere and then after, there may be more possibility to relocate where you really want to be.
Well, I'm certainly crossing my fingers for you, but hopefully something might pop up within the next few months. I suppose the one good thing is, now you have one year's experience under your belt, so this will definitely be in your favor when looking for a new job, even if it's not with the VA.
Overall, do you feel you've become a better and more confident provider?
Nothing has changed. Still no specialty rotations and at this point I don't care to do any. They state its jobs available but you have to sell yourself, but to who? Its not one job posted for my location. They attempted to send us to the nursing home but it was a disaster and way to far away to drive to. I didn't want to have a negative light on this experience but if anyone asked me if I would recommend the residency, I would say no.
Nothing has changed. Still no specialty rotations and at this point I don't care to do any. They state its jobs available but you have to sell yourself, but to who? Its not one job posted for my location. They attempted to send us to the nursing home but it was a disaster and way to far away to drive to. I didn't want to have a negative light on this experience but if anyone asked me if I would recommend the residency, I would say no.
So sorry this has not turned out to be a fulfilling experience. It really does seem it depends on the location and who runs the program whether things run smoothly or not.
Are you able to relocate? Even if it's just to get your foot in the door?
So sorry this has not turned out to be a fulfilling experience. It really does seem it depends on the location and who runs the program whether things run smoothly or not.
Are you able to relocate? Even if it's just to get your foot in the door?
No. That's not an option for me. I do have a job lined up outside of the VA. So that's something to look forward to!
I have an interview for the VA in Orlando this week and I'm super nervous and don't like interviews. What kinds of questions do they ask and any tips on how to answer them?
Just checking in to see how everybody's residencies are going? The other day, I realized many of you will soon complete your residency in the next 2-3 months. Almost at the finish line!
Would be great to hear about your progress!
Ready to be finished! That is for sure. I am finally able to work in my "real" job which officially starts the end of August. The other 2 people in my program were offered jobs as well. So in that sense it was worth it. There's no other way to get into the system without experience. But some of my time, truly, has been wasted. Some people just don't want to teach. I found this more in the speciality rotations which I had to do in a row. It's fine....but we are constantly either called students or thrown into seeing patients in specialty areas with no time to prepare or know what we are doing. It's 2 extremes. It's very exhausting. I like to be prepared. But having my nursing experience to draw from has allowed me to "wing it,” when I need to. Working with Veterans allows me be honest and say I have no idea what I'm doing at times and for us all to get through it with no hard feelings. I don't feel like you can do that with other patient populations. Of course we figure it out and I get them what they need but I just hate that feeling. I need to be better at time management. I allow them to ramble too much. But it's geriatrics. Some of them have no one. I can't help it. Plus I am a sucker for some good war stories.
Ready to be finished! That is for sure. I am finally able to work in my "real" job which officially starts the end of August. The other 2 people in my program were offered jobs as well. So in that sense it was worth it. There's no other way to get into the system without experience. But some of my time, truly, has been wasted. Some people just don't want to teach. I found this more in the speciality rotations which I had to do in a row. It's fine....but we are constantly either called students or thrown into seeing patients in specialty areas with no time to prepare or know what we are doing. It's 2 extremes. It's very exhausting. I like to be prepared. But having my nursing experience to draw from has allowed me to "wing it,” when I need to. Working with Veterans allows me be honest and say I have no idea what I'm doing at times and for us all to get through it with no hard feelings. I don't feel like you can do that with other patient populations. Of course we figure it out and I get them what they need but I just hate that feeling. I need to be better at time management. I allow them to ramble too much. But it's geriatrics. Some of them have no one. I can't help it. Plus I am a sucker for some good war stories.
Much congratulations on starting your new job soon. I imagine this is like many experiences where you can draw from a lot of the good things you learned and the bad things you don't want to do as a NP.
And yes, time management ? I think time management is the hardest part of doing clinicals and/or being a NP. But from what I am told, you'll get there. Hopefully we'll all get there one way or another! LOL
I think I am going to apply for a VA residency once the applications open up toward the end of the year. I just hope I can get into one where they really do want to teach.
Paperwork for VA residency is insane. It took months with all the background checks etc. The residency experience was amazing though, as was being a gov employee with 40 something paid PTO days to use during my residency plus every federal holiday off. The medical residents were so jealous! LOL
Were you employed by the VA prior to the residency? I looked up an NP residency in DC this is what I found: LINK
Sick Leave: 1 hour for every 20 hours worked per pay period
If the resident has less than three years of eligible Federal Service, they accrue 1 hour of annual leave for every 20 hours worked per pay period
prettymica, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN, APRN, NP
819 Posts
In my state it depends on the clinic and your chief complaint. If you are pregnant you go an obgyn specialist clinic. It you need a regular pap, it might be done by your pcp or you can schedule with someone that does it on certain days. Some clinical have providers just to do paps.