bsnrn2013

Never thought that they would do these types of test, I wonder if I am not a bedside nurse, will be reviewing charts only, would I have to do this test as well. Armytwin RN--now sure if you respond to this, have you done the Equip?? I haven't done it yet, do all the nurses have to do that I wonder?

hihiiihhi, I didn't think of it until yesterday. I emailed HR for dress code policy as I will be working in the office. I would just email HR to ensure you get the correct dress code.

Update- I got the final offer with 6k below what I made after almost 8 weeks the Board returned the paperwork. I think they like to start orientation at the beginning of a pay period..that's my orientation date as well 9/23. N2b8U--have your file gone to the Board yet, if it is not, you may not be able to start 9/23. Mine file was sent to the Board mid July and I just got it back. Now I have to decide whether to take the offer or not.

Not sure if you saw this thread but it has information that you are looking for-- https://allnurses.com/government-military-nursing/va-hiring-process-657587.html

Va will need official transcript, however with mine, I requested the university to send it as it has all my community college courses on there as well. I didn't have to send the official transcript from the community college. If you have multiple degrees, I would consult HR to see if they need transcript for each degree or transcript related to nursing. Crazymama-from the interview to the tentative is fast for me within 2 weeks, from there, it takes another 2 months and I am still waiting due to the delay of the Board returning paperwork and that was more than 6 weeks already. If you are planning to put in a notice with your current job--highly recommend not to do that ...

Wow what an interesting new topic, here is the website that has the shift different and various pay variance from regular shift pay. http://www.va.gov/vapubs/viewPublication.asp?Pub_ID=188&FType=2 ArmytwinRN -awesome links -thank you. BTW after 6 weeks, nothing from the Board..still waiting

N2B- hope you will get the tentative offer. Yeah the sequence of the your process is different from mine. I had a tentative offer prior to the completion of the dimensions. I typed up 6 pages and spent alot of time on that since it is also used to determine the salary. ArmyTwin- Yeah, I had the same experience, everyone welcome me aboard and I told them thank you but not official yet:) Lucky you, I was so prepared for the drug screen that I drank tons of water prior..when I got there, told them I had to go and no drug screen was required. I would make sure everything is done with the Vetpro cause my VA needed that along with the dimension to go to the Board, but not the physical. I am still waiting after 5 weeks that my package went to the board.......waiting is the name of the game.... :)

Thanks for uploading this info--this is similar to 4 dimensions of nursing. It used to be 6 dimensions of nursing and combined into 4 dimensions. There are extras info that are not on the 4 dimensions. Wow I like this HR, so detailed, mine just asked me to complete. My HR waited til the vetpro completed and sent the dimensions+vetpro to the Board. HR told me it takes up to 6 weeks to get anything back from the Board.

I didn't have to do the ROI and never heard of it either. I had my interview beginning of May, tentative offer mid May and still waiting, and no mentioning of ROI. Let us know more...

LeslieAllen-congrats. I got my tentative offer in mid May and still waiting :)

Grateful-glad you decided to take the offer. First you will enjoy the new experience, very rewarding to be able to coordinate everything that you never thought you would as a nurse. I love learning about the insurance aspect that I never know as a bedside nurse. I was a bedside RN for 6 years, so the 8hrs no weekends schedule fit my personal schedule with children. I was able to do tons of stuff with my kids on the weekend and take them to practice during the weekday. I was lucky, had 5% raise but still did not make up for the shift differential. Like MBARNBSN mentioned, eventually you will get pay more as CM w/o having to work shift diff. I am making really good money w/o leaving home...potential to work from home as well. If you haven't got your BSN, my recommendation is to further your education and get your CCM will help you in the future. During my years of CM, I went back to get my BSN (not hard at all) and got my CCM. Also, another skill you will learn that is soooooooooooooooo beneficial in the job market is utilization review (potential to work from home as well). I know for a fact that my hospital has 12hr shift in the ED.

I had CPHM (combined CPUR +CPUM) by Mckesson in '08. My facility paid for it and it is 2 day class and you take the exam at the end..not hard. I have searched for ur job and most prefer CPUR or CPUM (which is CPHM).

There is a CD with all possible questions, super helpful for me. I only had hospital cm when I took it so it was hard when it gets to rehab/worker's comp stuff. My suggestion is focus on the ethical questions, if they haven't changed since 2010, those questions weigh more than the fact questions. I don't know how much they weight, but knows they weigh more. My own question to illustrate-- 1) Name one of the worker's comp guideline-- 2) The pt was diagnosed with end stage disease, medical team recommended further treatment, family wants to pursure treatment, however pt did not..what is the best choice in this case?? Would focus my time studying more on #2 typed question cause that question weigh more compared to #1, eventhough both are multiple choices with one correct answer

I haven't worked for them, but have friends who worked for them. BCBS have bonus at the end of the year, with nice 401k benefits after so many years of service. The medical insurance at Humana is not great per my friend. Both have potential to work remote w/flex, humana pays more upfront compared to BCBS. BCBS is more organized compared to Humana per my friends. Remember this is all their personal opinions and it depends who are the managers as well. Overall the benefits are better with BCBS.

Not sure if the company refers to CM as complex CM--if it is, basically, episodic cm is patient load that you follow in short term and complex cm (assuming the company refers to cm as complex cm) -where you follow patients longer, likely chronic disease management. It is like at the hospital--surgical floor is episodic cm and medical/oncology is complex cm. As for salary--when I had no experience, I took whatever they gave me..after I had 5 years of cm experience, I switched job, had 4k cut from my salary but the work was home based, regardless I asked for 2k above their higher range and in the end, they accepted and had 2k cut from my original salary instead of 4k, but in exchange, no childcare so the saving was more.

ninna6--Hope this will help you. I was a medsurg RN, then life changes, need mon-friday work, landed a case manager job/now I think it is more appropriate care coordinator. I didn't know what it was, I just need the hours. After being a cm in the hospital for 6 years, basically, you have to be bold yet good communicator to talk to everyone in the hospital..I mean EVERYONE..MD/residents/other RN/MSW/secretaries/insurances/NA/PT/OT/Rehab/SNF/LTAC..you name it...you are the facilitator with clinical knowledge so you can talk to them and get things done for the patient so they can go home/appropriate place safely. Be able/not afraid to negotiate, and if you know more clinical and resources, rules/guidelines of insurances you are on the upper hand. Sometimes reading is good, but in reality, you have to be innovative and adapt whatever comes at you. MUST be able to multi-task, team work, understanding of different insurance guidelines, and smile even when you are under pressure :). It is a different type of pressure in CM. I find that knowledge of the rules/guidelines of different insurance and good communication make cm an easier process cause you can convince people (especially patients) to do what you want. For example, they want home health to come out 24 hours just because they think they are entitled to it, well when I tell them, glad to set that up however, the insurance only pay for this r/t their illness..without hesitate, they agreed with the cm..life much easier then :) At first, you will miss bedside, but after about a year, you will love cm, it's an advanced type of nursing where you use clinical knowledge and life knowledge to coordinate care across the continuum for the patient. It is very rewarding.

Agree with Armytwin--It doesn't hurt to start networking. It also provides a real experience with the VA and see if you like to work for them later as well.

Same here, I requested the university to send it directly to HR when HR requested which was after the tentative offer was given. ArmyTwinRN-yeah..Congrats. It was 2 hours for me and 1hr drive each way..so it was 4hrs total..long day. I never had an extensive physical...felt like I was at my annual physical at my family doctor except with eye test and color blind test. The doctor was super nice though...I didn't have to do the urine drug test. Definitely there was blood test and they do tell you what it is. The doctor even told me what it is for. I have small veins, so I drank tons of water to blow it up :) Not sure if you have done the dimension of nursing yet, I posted the questions under the VA salary if you want to review. I wonder if the dimension writeup assists the Board to set the step and your experience and education set the RN level.

The local VA called me and they said it will take about 1 to 2 hours. Exactly, they want it to be done at a VA center. Certificates ACLS/BLS-definitely, my job description did not need that. Certificates are anything you entered in vetpro--ICU/MEDsurg/cardiac/nephrology/case management/UR etc--they will verify all these. I did ask for 1/2 day off at my work in case it takes longer..better be safe. good luck Amy

It was about 2 weeks after my interview that I got a tentative offer.

I have 12yrs, but all of it from same place. Certificates can prolong as well. With my job, there are different department in HR that is involved in the verification. If your references take long to respond, that could be a barrier. One of the certificates, they couldn't verify so I had to supply additional info--this is another barrier. When I received my dimension there was no time limit, but it is needed to be sent to the board once verification was done. It won't hurt, here are the questions, not sure if it will change-- - Describe your recent clinical experience. What setting are you currently practicing and for how long? Describe any specialty expertise areas, if applicable, that you have practiced in lately and explain. Describe any leadership expertise areas, if applicable, that you have practiced in lately and explain. How do you use the nursing process in providing patient care? What types of documentation systems have you used? Describe your experiences in guiding and directing others who provide nursing care. - Describe a couple of ethical situations in patient care in which you have been involved. What was your role? What was the outcome? - Describe your experience with assessing educational needs at the unit or program level. Based on the needs assessed, what educational plan for self and/or staff did you implement, if applicable? Describe any educational goals, if applicable. Describe your experiences in evaluating others who provide nursing care. Provide any examples of experience in working with professional standards, relevant statutes, and/or regulations - Discuss any experience in working with students, orienting new employees, and/or serving as a mentor/preceptor. List membership in professional organizations and describe your role, if applicable. Describe any professional recognition that you have received (what and when), if applicable. What is your experience in working with groups of staff? If you have experience, what actions have resulted from the group work and what was your role? List your participation in nursing or hospital committees (include your role and outcomes and question on quality/outcome..

I am sure it will take more than a month for vetpro pending on how many certificates you have. I got an email from them cause they couldn't verify one of the certificate to provide additional info. Mine file went to the board and HR said it will take 4 to 6 weeks to get anything back from the board...I thought all nursing job, you need pre-employment physical and drug test... For my physical/drug test since I wanted to do at a local VA, since I live far from the VA job that I am hired--it took extra 2 weeks to coordinate that. However, from previous post, if they need you, it will be facilitate...if you have certificates that are not common, would provide the company who you certified through and the contact info.

mwn-rn26--I am in the same boat as you..I have a tentative offer in orlando...they called me to do a pre-emp physical, told them that I won't since I don't have know if I am offer an official job...so I sent them the nearest VA in my area which is 1hr away..did my fingerprint there and still waiting for pre-employment physical...I would email the HR person the nearest VA to you.

I think it is really hard to guess what level or how much you get pay with the VA especially the pay range is wide 40s to 90s (the job that I applied for), until they review your certifcates/degree/experiences. I just completed my dimensions--6 pages, took alottttttt of my time. I would recommend to spend time on that cause someone told me they use that to also determine the rate as well. I would not repeat the same example cause that give the board the impression you don't have alot of accomplishment. Sell yourself well on the dimension report. Of course still awaiting for my final offer since I got the tentative offer end of May

I think whatever is added to Vetpro, they have permission to check for verification. All my references were contacted via email/fax/phone with reply to VA via email/fax/phone. I was very closed to my references as I asked for their permission prior to adding them to the reference list. My current manager was contacted 3x, former supervision 2x, colleagues 2x and HR all contacted for verification. I would recommend before adding anyone to the reference list to inform them prior. This will facilitate the reference process.