pfchang

Be patient. Usually when you get to the point you're at, things will move forward. It can take several months. I'm not saying it will, but it can. Your steps have moved pretty quickly but just hang in there.

Your CNAs make more than LPNs? Wow, that is not right. Keep in mind the transition from 3 12s to 5 8s can be hard for some people. I'm an RN, not an LPN, so can't speak to pay scales, vacation and such but you will have more holidays with VA. You will also already be in at VA which may be a great thing when you finish your RN. You will have to apply for RN positions but will still have an edge. Some people think going to a clinic is the kiss of death before you have a lot of acute care RN experience. Taking the clinic job may make it harder to get an RN job in acute care when you pass boards. Sorry I cant provide a clear cut take it or not but there are lots of things to think about.

You should be fine with the offer letter and start date. My usajobs acct was never updated. But you can call the recruiter for reassurance. Congratulations.

Your question is far too vague for anyone to help. Do you have a job description?

Being a vet makes no difference in speed of hire in my facility. More likely, your HR dept has it together.

I would get on the phone asap with the recruiter. Unless you're in a costly city, the salary you noted would likely be full time w/out differentials. Thats usually hiw VA dies it.

Call the recruiter and ask. Things take forever at VA. Read back in this thread and you'll see.

Maybe she didn't object and just did it? I would resist on this.

It varies widely from VA to VA.

I am really, really happy for you! Congratulations!

As far as I know, this is not standard practice. Your salary is to be based on your responses to the Nine Dimensions of Nursing Practice document that most VAs require. I have heard of some RNs being hired without this but I would call the nurse recruiter involved in your hiring and ask. I have never heard of anyone having to submit a pay stub.

Even when you are a VA employee, it takes weeks and months to get decisions back from the board. It is a terrible process. I encourage you to appeal if they lowball you. I wish I had known to do that.

I thought it was a nation-wide push to eliminate the board but not even close to a final decision. I thought it was one of the many points that the NNU is pushing for in the new contract. But I could very well be wrong.

Hospital work is not for everyone. I have had a full career and worked med surg for 2 yrs only. Ambulatory care is great for some people. I never wanted to go back to the hospital.

I think precepting is a great example. Include your assessments of what the nurses didnt know, what your plans were to solve their knowledge deficit, and your evaluation of your efforts. I would be careful about the IV catheter example because going to Nurse 2 is all about making an impact on the unit. If your manager did the inservice, she made the impact, not you.

You do not have to give current employer info. VA knows that could cause you to lose your job. Call the HR people today and tell them you are not comfortable giving current info. They can not expect you to take a chance on possible immediate termination.

Why Would your mgr tell you to write to Nurse 2 when you are already a Nurse 2? Maybe he/she didn't know, which speaks to the huge problem that there is very little help at VA for these %* For all asking, keywords are the words used in the criteria in the Nine Dimensions for Nurse 3 or 2. Use those words in your examples. Use the word collaboration, or collegiality, or whatever is in the description. Show how you impacted the unit for a 2 or hospital for a 3 by using numbers, qualitative ways of measuring the impact. You can't just say you did training for something. Talk about a pre-test or neasure of how things were before, then what you did, then details about the impact afterwards (evaluation). Write to the level above where you are and show how you are meetung that next level.

It feels that way at my facility. I do hear of a few other facilities where mgmt is actively developing and encouraging RNs to seek promotion. Other places it's the opposite. VA pushes the idea that they want Nurse 3s at the bedside and 3s do not have to be only in mgmt but try to find them at the bedside. Its really hard. Even if you managed a project or just a couple people for a short while, expand on that with the keywords in the dimensions. I can not emphasize enough how impt it is at my facility to use the keywords. You can say the same thing in different words and they say you didnt meet the criteria. Change it with the verbage from the dimensions and you meet it. It is unreal and a very flawed process. Also, show the impact of the project or effort. They want to see outcome measured, even if the effort was unsuccessful. Use numbers, like 5 mins saved per _____, or improved documentation resulted in________, or etc, etc, etc. Even if you don't know exactly, estimate it but don't say it's an estimate. Be as specific as you can with the info available to you. I have never been as frustrated with an evaluation system as I have with the VA's and I am old! Good luck to you.

Google VA PBI interview questions.

It is much better to come in as a 3 than to try to get it later. My facility is supposed to be setting up something to help new applicants with the Nine Dimensions process for boarding. I don't know if it has happened yet. Have you asked the recruiter or HR for assistance? I had no idea I could ask for help and was really stymied by the document I needed to provide. They rated me lower than I should have been. You can appeal it before you accept the offer in some facilities but I didn't know that. Google Veterans Administration Nurse Proficiency and you may get some help. There are a couple Youtube videos out there done by VA RNs. Keep in mind they want to see hospital or system-wide impact in all 9 areas for Nurse 3. it's great of you, Trumi241, to offer help.

They don't call references unless you are one of a few or the only one being considered. Good luck. My online application status never changed on the job I got and the job I didn't get. Don't bother looking at that.

That seems very wrong to penalize you bc you changed units. Can't you get your previous mgr to confirm your leadership capabilities on med-surg? I might ask my union rep about that.

I don't think that's true. You have shown you are capable of charge because you did it on your previous unit. That should fulfill the Leadership part of Practice, one of the nine dimensions. Check out the examples listed in the link below. This is not my VA but I have seen this document before. https://www.siouxfalls.va.gov/careers/jobs/HR_Holding/CLINICAL_NURSE_PATH.pdf

You would likely have to find an opening for a FT position first. Positions are usually budgeted and approved before ever being posted. It takes a long time to fill a position even when someone leaves a position, at least at my VA.

The differentials are probably in addition to the pay she quoted you, but I strongly recommend that you call back for clarification.