Va nurse

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Specializes in 8 years Telemetry/Med Surg, 5 years Stepdown/PCU.

I've just accepted a job at a local VA hospital after working in the private sector for 8 years. I'm a RN and my background is med/surg,case management,& correctional nursing. Anyone working in the VA? What are the pros & cons?

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Specializes in 8 years Telemetry/Med Surg, 5 years Stepdown/PCU.

Anyone?

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Specializes in ED.

Pros: good pay as compared to other hospitals around me, great benefits, 5 weeks vacation per year, 2 weeks sick time

cons: political, they have a difficult time getting rid of people who don't do much and it takes a long time to get rid of ones who should be fired like diverters

I like working here.

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Specializes in 8 years Telemetry/Med Surg, 5 years Stepdown/PCU.

Yes the benefits are what drew me in. The nurses are union right

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Specializes in Infection Prevention, Public Health.

The pay is generally very good and the 5 weeks of paid annual leave is very generous as are paid holidays and sick leave. For staff nurses and nurse managers pay is currently between 55k and 96k annually. Some areas have additional pay based on cost of living. They want BSN nurses and also NPs and Nurse Anesthetists and pay much more for advanced practice nurses The advancement for years of service and opportunities for promotion are good. There are generous scholarship programs for furthering nursing education. You have nation-wide portability of your career. One can move cross country and still maintain accrued annual and sick leave and seniority. Most of the Veterans are great to work with.

Facilities can be outdated, but investment in cutting edge technology is great. Nursing positions can be acute care , nursing home, outpatient clinics, home visiting, care management and telemedicine to name just some of the opportunities.

Unfortunately, it can be exasperating to experience the layers of red tape that are often required to accomplish really basic things. Also, it is very political, with a tendency to react to bad press and to be required to develop responses which are more about damage control than optimal patient care. The patient population is overwhelmingly male and a majority of patients are 60 or older. As with any employer, you can have a great manager and great colleagues or...not so much. I am really enjoying my current position.

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