angel

No; currently 20 years in my position, working as a temporary nurse manager, at the top of my pay scale as staff nurse & not recieving any extra recognition.....just more work & headaches.

Yes; of course, the baby boom generation of nursing is just begining to retire...mass retirement probably in 10 to 15 years... Oh, & as far as getting into the RN program locally, it is a 5years wait in Michigan.;if I was out of high school & thought about a nursing degree, I would make plans for another profession By: seasoned nurse

How many gov't nurses have used the NNEI program to get BSN or MSN? Was ALL of you education paid for???? We have 4 nurse that utilized the program & then told opps we have no monies & got stuck with BIG $$$ in our own pocket...When we tried to get out of the contrat told "BREACH of Contract"... Then when we graduated 4 days to 2wks early told Breach of Contract & had to send letter of apology to gov't that we graduated early.... Blah!!! the program was terrible...I'm in my 50's went back got no congrats, no evaluation of proficiency for 3yrs & no raise...Nata....Stuck with $17,000 I owe...Not the only nurse either...

I have been with the VA for 19 years...it has improved over the years, we gained 10 new nurses to build our staff level & current awaiting a new clinic to be built.. Pros: FERS, retirement(salary 3 highest years add together then divide by 1 times the number of years worked), TSP401K, Social Security; healthcare insurance if kept for 5yrs prior to retirement can carry into retirement(self & family), can transfer anywhere in the USA(VA's) & keep seniority. If higher level of pay you get it.(many nurses transfer 3yrs before retirement to get $$$$ boost on retirement).. Cons: NOTHING for retention, no longivity, once you reach your highest level, that's it....Nothing....criteria (VA Nursing Stds.)to go to the next level is unrealistic.

Veteran Hospitals are nationwide & nurses are federal employees called title 38, if you look into USA Jobs you will see both Military or VA Hospitals, Outpatient Clinic & homecare etc.... What is nice about the federal system is that you can transfer to another other position, keep your senioroty & maintain only 1nursing license

Never have been in the military but work for the VA...I think the choice is what you are looking for....I worked in the civilian sector 15 yrs...After 10yrs in a local hospital had $2300 towards retirement & any of the jobs did not have any healthcare for employees at retirement. Now, for 19yrs for the VA, I have a retirement, 401K & SSI, plus Health Insurance when I retire9got another 10yrs to go)...Many nurses in the local area have come to work for the VA to get health insurance so they can retire.... So it depends on your longterm or short term goals..

It is an incentive given to recruite nurses from differect countries...dsepends on which countries at which times. Recently recruitement was nurses from Africa....When the USA does this we are basically cutting the other country of having enough nurses...as in Africa they need there nurses due to all the poverity & illness... It seems that the USA could utilize its own people to educate & become nurses & educators for nursing more effectively.

Oh, I definiatly agree with you. Nurses do need to unite as one from CNA to MSN...The only problem is when there is a nursing shortage the US gov't decides to open up visas & recruites nurses from other countries( they pay no taxes for 7yrs) (recent 55,000 visas)instead of paying nurses what should be paid & give the true education needed so as a MSN nurse can afford to teach people whom want to be nurses in this country.. I've been in the profession 30yrs, worked my way up, offered morse education(gov't re-nigged on $$$$) got stuck paying the education) & at top of pay scale & no more raises(gee I'm only 51yrs old) so why should I promote more people into the field of nursing...it becomes a dead-end job for no advancement usless up & quit to another hospital with less benefits & more pay... We don't have faculity to teach nursing because the gov't/hospitals/business never gave any incentive for nurses to promote it...So there we are...allowing others to control our profession....YES; we need to unite & change the system for all... P.S. Most hospitals don't pay healthcare for retired nurses either(the VA does so nurses come into the VA to get 5yrs of healthcare & into retirement) QUOTE=grantRN]Nursing salaries have not increased significantly to meet the increase in the cost of living. As a result we see more and more leaving the profession, less entering, and a nursing shortage that continues to grow. Its time for nurses to ban together and present alternatives to our politicians to help eliminate the shortages. The solution is not to import nurses from other countries. Its time for the good old USA to step up and take care of her caregivers. National caregivers deserve better wages, better insurance benefits (we receive some of the worst nationally), more assistance with educational debts and other programs that encourage retention/recruitment in our field. In underserved areas doctors get their student loans waived while working in these areas. Why couldn't there be programs like this for nurses since there are short comings of almost 20% even in metro areas. Nurses deserve to be better taken care of since we are the backbone of health care. Its time we collectively speak out to our officials and claim what we deserve.

THe pay is not bad. The problem is it took 30 yrs to get that pay status. There is no longevity. Also benefits could really improve for the nurses. We are the Healthcare of society but how many of the nurses know of other professions(GM, FORD, teachers, etc.) whom get better healthcare coverage & retirement benefits then nurses?????? All nurses should strive for standards of benefits. We have worked hard to become nurses & continue to work hard to strive for the best optimal care for our patients.

I am inquiring about how to decline a position as NM after applying and do this gracefully. I have worked in ambulatory care the longest of all the nurses, over 18yrs. Initially I put in for the NM position but I have been offered a position to start a new entrepreneur company within a large corporation. If I accept the NM position I will not have time to succeed at the entrepreneur company and keep my current staff position.. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated??? Thank You;

Curiosity; What VA do you work at & what state? In Michigan, it is a lot less for RN BSN c that experience>>>

I am doing a study on nurses on these criteria: 1.Age- 2.Years in Nursing 3.Years of shift or weekend rotation 4.Single vs. married 5.Number of marriages/divorce due to contributing stress factors from the nursing profession vs. family life 6.Males/female ratio 7.How many years in the nursing profession 8.Are you actively employee, career change or retired

50 & lovin' it!!!!! Continue nursing in ambulatory care...no nights, weekends & gov't holidays off...its great & :balloons: enjoy the patients too; lots of education

Hi Aun; Take some English classes and apply at the VA. They are very supportive of foreigners. One of the nurses I worked with could not speak any English. I asked what he did to learn besides classes. he told me that he watched TV in English so he would learn the words & how to pronouncate them correctly. That might help too. :)