1studentnurse

Please note: your mileage may vary (YMMV) is absolutely true in VA. Some are the best (we have 6 Magnet facilities) and some are not. As a bedside nurse, you'll get great benefits, but you may not be able to use all of them. It all depends on what you want to do. For some, the VA is a great place to get experience and continue your education. For others, the VA system is an inflexible and unfriendly place, with "typical" government workers. The VA is a large employer and you'll have perks there you'll not see in many places. You'll also have access to one of America's largest healthcare networks. It's up to you. It can be a long, arduous journey, but if you have goals and can fulfill them at VA, give it a try.

FYI...from experience: If you are absolutely sure you will do your orientation on xx date, give your notice two weeks in advance. If possible, once you do that, let your current manager know that you'd like to stay PRN because 1) you value your time there and 2) because you want to make sure they have someone during the transition and beyond, if needed. Once you get to the VA, remember, you'll need to be trained before you can do any OT there (if your facility is even approving it). You most likely will not work weekends either until you are off orientation. Also, remember you orient on every shift, since the VA makes certain you understand the differences between all shifts in your unit. As an RN, your probationary period is two years from your date of boarding. I had to wait 10 months from the date of hire to get it. It is also required for NNEI, EDRP and other VA programs. As others have mentioned, the VA has wonderful programs for nurses but remember, your mileage may vary. Good luck! I am in my 4th year with the VA, and despite all the bureaucracy, I'm a lot farther than I'd have been in the private sector. It was the best move I ever made.

It can take a long time from start to finish to get a job at the VA, but very few places will offer benefits even close. I get a higher rate of pay since I have a BSN. Most other hospitals in my area do not care, since they say an RN is an RN. Not so in the VA. I get higher shift differentials for evenings, nights and weekends. I also get double time if I work a Federal holiday, which is nice. I get great tuition reimbursement ($5000 per year/local benefit) and up to $625/cr hr for graduate school (national--must apply and be accepted to this program). Certified nurses (in a particular specialty) also get awards for passing. I have raised my salary significantly since I started with the VA. I could not have done this in the private sector. I plan on staying in Federal service forever. And yes, where else could you actually meet some of the people you meet at the VA? I have worked with famous doctors, nurses, and patients. Everyone in the VA is in your network, and I've had lots of success talking to nurses from around the country. Every day, I pinch myself. I am so thrilled I work at the VA.

While my userID says student, I am indeed an RN. What I'm talking about is from the perspective of an RN, not a student. I think racist people will be racist no matter who or what color/race person they deal with. I work with everyone equally. I'm not on the floor to solve society's problems. I have responsibility for the ones in front of me. My philosophy is to come to work, care for the patients, work with the rest of the team on my unit and do my very best. For that, I will get pay and benefits. It's not really a bad deal at all. Times are tough. I am happy to have a good job.

True, especially when, on some units, NAs have assignments just like RNs and LPNs. Overall, the RN is responsible if one of the NAs patients goes down and for any of the patients on a unit, since we take report on everybody, not just those to which you are assigned. It's hard to delegate too much to a person who already has a full load. In fact, the NAs get more patients than the RNs and LPNs do and it works because the RNs and LPNs usually do meds (which the NAs cannot do) and other treatments that the NAs cannot (varies). I have felt a racial undercurrent, but I deal with it. Most of the RNs are Caucasian on our unit (we have one black RN and one black LPN) and the NAs are predominantly black. However, some of our RNs are flat out lazy, and race doesn't really matter in that regard. The problem I have is that we are not required to work OT and people get wigged out if they don't get their lunch break at exactly x time. It's not that they won't get lunch if they take that 5 minutes with a patient, it's that they don't WANT to do it. Some people are very schedule-oriented--for what they want. They will literally disappear, without telling anyone and make someone else take care of their patient who needs something, which is a burden to others. I know no place is perfect, and I've worked elsewhere, so I'm not complaining. I make my mind up to do my very best everyday and let the rest of the junk fall to the wayside. I sleep better at night knowing I did the right thing when I worked.

sonoran: Thanks for the note--shoebuy actually has 20% off today, so those Bastads are under $100. Enter 2009 as your coupon code. I like Danskos, but I'm going to try a pair at this price. They also have free return shipping if you don't like them. Can't get much easier than that!

I hate to tell you, but it depends. There are a number of factors that determine how fast the background gets done. This time of year, the holidays play a part. I had this happen to me last year when I had applied to the VA. My background information in VetPRO was done a couple of days after Thanksgiving, but none of my references had sent in a letter, because the recruiter (or whomever was responsible for sending these) didn't do it until after MLK Day (January). Not sure if it was a technical glitch or what. Once that was done, I got my offer (with temporary appointment) in February and I started in the first orientation class in March. I came from a private rehab hospital (graduated in 2007) and the orientation was just as long for me as for a new grad. I was very thankful for that! Keep trying (I am--still waiting for my permanent appointment)! Note: temporary appointment means that the NPSB (Nursing Professional Standards Board) has to review your credentials and "officially" appoint you to your job. If you have a choice, get the permanent appointment before you start, but if you can't, take the temp so you can work and then ask when you will get your permanent appointment. Your appointment is a VERY important thing. You can't get EDRP (loan repayment) without it. So far, this has been the most frustrating thing about working for the VA.

Some people think rehab hospitals or rehab centers are a little like nursing homes, but I've never worked in one, so I can't comment on that. I have worked in a private rehab hospital attached to a hospital (with OR, ICU, ER) and it is very much a "hospital" setting. Everyone has their roles and rehab nurses work with rehab patients, monitor vitals, pass meds, do dressing changes and treatments and help patients reinforce what they're learning in therapy. Now I work at a VA hospital (SCI center) and a lot of what we do is very similar to nursing homes--we get people with really nasty pressure ulcers and we heal them up as doctors and the rest of our team (therapists, etc.) monitor them as they go along the healing process. Occasionally (not much) we have rehab patients, but out of about 20 right now, we only have 2. Rehab is very schedule-oriented, and if patients in the private sector, especially, don't go to therapy, they don't stay long in rehab, since most insurance won't pay. This is not the case with the VA. If they take you, usually you can hang around for a long time. I started earlier this year and some of the patients who were there on my first day are still there. If you have any specific questions, feel free to send me a note.

All I can say is watch the House and Senate bills in your state. Most states require that RNs who do telephonic work be licensed in xx state or commonwealth. I'd suspect most of these foreign nurses would have to be licensed in states where this is not the case. As a result, you'll see shifting of work to those states, and then shifting of work to whatever offshore country you want. Insurance lobbies are some of the largest lobbying groups in most state houses. Sure it seems like fiction right now, but I'd never say never...

Yes, they call them Graduate Nurse Technicians (at least at our VA --in VISN15). My state has a graduate nurse policy for new grads (you can practice as a GN until you take NCLEX). I started somewhere else for eight months and then went to the VA. I think that was better for me, because I already knew some of the stuff when I went to the VA.

I switched from IT after eight years in the trenches doing everything from PC support to web work to application support and technical writing for some Fortune 500s here in town. (I worked the previous seven years in international sales and marketing). I wanted (and still do) want to make a difference and have a stable job. It gets really old with people threatening to outsource your job all the time, and with nursing, they can't offshore your job and send the patients to India (or pick your favorite offshore location)! The pluses--I took my fifteen years of experience in the business and IT world and believe it or not, if your MCSE certified, you'll probably get the testing methods for NCLEX really quickly, since it's application-based, too. I've worked with lots of people, so this helps when dealing with docs and all the other assorted hospital characters. Having a business degree and arguing with a bottom-line picture is also helpful. All hospitals are really businesses. The minuses--I hate working weekends, but I love the actual work because usually weekends in our place are quiet and relaxed. I lost weight (about 30 lbs--hence the minus) because I am way more active (lots of walking, moving stuff, repositioning people--no lifting, though!) There's also lots of BS paperwork and politics, but you have that wherever you go. I look at every shift as a new opportunity to learn. I've been a nurse now for almost one year. I love the fact that I'm still learning, just like in IT, and building on what I already learned. That's what really keeps me going.

This is so true. I am in the same camp as you, since I had coverage even as a student. I just don't trust someone to take my side if they can possibly get out of it... whether it be a school or a hospital or other corporate entity. They can always go looking for another nurse. My livelihood is my license and if it costs $100 per year to keep some good people on retainer in the event I need them, that's $100 per year well-spent.

If you apply to the VA, there is actually a spot to put your malpractice insurance info. I assume (no one has confirmed) that they check out your record with the malpractice insurance company. Many people will tell you not to get it, but many people do, in spite of this "advice". Before I started nursing school, I investigated this myself and chose accordingly.

I was a rehab nurse in an acute facility, and as a nurse, I never participated in therapy per se outside of having the patient perform ADLs (dressing, tooth brushing, feeding, etc.) In our facility, the OTs actually evaluated all the ADL work and the PTs worked with the strengthening and therapy portions (although there is often overlap on some things). I talked to an instructor about doing similar volunteer work with a parish nurse and she advised me against it. You have to be very careful if you volunteer and people know you are a nurse. Be certain that your organization or your malpractice insurance covers you in the event there is some problem. The majority of people will not sue you, but you just never know.

Danskos, with compression socks. I have two pairs I wear all the time for work and rotate (keeps them smelling better). I could not make it without my Danskos. I bought my first pair in nursing school. They are heavy relatively speaking, but they are also made for things nurses do, like stand around on hard floors a lot. The compression socks help my feet from swelling if I'm on them a lot. I even have a pair of "non-hospital" Danskos I wear when I'm off. Two of my favorite SCI physiatrists wear them, so if they think they're good, I'd guess they are.