VA NP Grade Determination?

All title 38 nurses get boarded by the professional standards board for initial offer. They based it solely off the contents of your resume and how it aligns with the professional standards boards requirements for each level. It is very very important that when they ask you to include what you have done and as the USA jobs postings state "IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE." If you submit a resume that simply is one page and has  only dates of work and brief job descriptions you risk a very low boarding, and they don't allow redos. Long story short, brag about yourself to get the salary you are searching for. 

I have been a nurse for over 30 years and was recently offered a position at a VA hospital. I need help with the onboarding paperwork. Can anyone share how you answered the questions below for salary determination? I am at a loss as to what is needed to go before the board.

Desperate...   

RN NI-LIII qual standard worksheet for appointment.docx

RN NII qual standard worksheet for appointment.docx

Thanks for the reply. Her interviewers gave her the exact same feedback and let her resubmit and new and much more thorough resume. 

Our main confusion is still around how NPs are graded at the VA. I understand that for a long time, NPs were on the same pay scale as RNs, however, there is now a separate NP scale listed in Title 38. So do NPs now use the NP scale or are they on the Nurse scale? As I mentioned, in the specific job ad, it mentioned both, which is the problem. 

NPs have their own scale ... I went from a RN (Grade 2 Step 6) to the NP scale (Grade 2 Step 6) but I'm internal. There are proficiencies for NPs but it's hard to find

I know this is an old post but wondering how your wife was graded ? And what knowledge have you learned a year after regarding this issue 

Thanks !

Hi, she was offered Grade 3, Step 3. For exact salary, you can check the Title 38 pay scales on the OPM site and look for the Nurse Practitioner pay for your particular VA location. 

As far as what we learned, I'd say it all comes down to how you answer the extensive questionnaire you'll be sent by HR. There are good guides on here and the internet on how to form your answers. The grading determination process for NP and RN is exactly the same, but NPs get paid more at the same grade and step. 

Good luck! 

Thank you kindly for taking the time to answer !

Hi,

Did she end up accepting the offer? How was the application process?

Devo19 said:

NPs have their own scale ... I went from a RN (Grade 2 Step 6) to the NP scale (Grade 2 Step 6) but I'm internal. There are proficiencies for NPs but it's hard to find

Hello,

I'm a RN at the VA with a tentative NP offer.  I'm currently at Grade 3 Step 9.  Will I move to Grade 3 Step 9 on the NP scale?  Is that the normal process of transition?  I know that there was a dissolution of the PSB this January and the hiring manager will make the call.  However, I read where they still have to follow the previous rules for onboarding/ promotions.

Yes and they might move you up a step or two. Since you are already in the VA system and just transferring from RN to NP, it is automatic and no board evaluation is needed. Congratulations 

Devo19 said:

but

I am curious if you used the VA NNEI Scholarship? I am currently using the scholarship and worried they will bump me down to Grade 1 Step one on the APN scale when I graduate which is only 2-3k more a year than I make now. Do they have to keep you at the same grade and step and just move to the APN pay scale?