I am feeling frustrated with the entire VA NPSB proficiency process. At my hospital, it is a good old boys system in which board members promote their friends and the other managers and shut the door on others. I am a staff RN with a MSN and years of experience. I applied for my nurse III after completing a hospital wide project and doing other work that met the 9 dimensions.
This whole process has me frustrated beyond words. My profIciency has been lost by HR multiple times. My initial NPSB review said I didnt meet 7 of the 9 dimensions. Before submitting my proficiency, I had it reviewed by 3 former board members who all said I would meet for a 3. I submitted a request for reconsideration after the initial denial, and suddenly I met 6 out of 9 dimensions. I am now appealing my denial to VACO. Has anyone ever done this? What was he outcome, and how long did your appeal take to be answered after it was sent off?
I have been repeatedly been told by my own manager "you cannot get a 3 without working in management" and "it takes multiple submissions to get approved". I do not think this is correct. It may be harder to find the time and get approval for a project, but staff RNs cannot be essentially "blocked" from promotion. The dimensions are black and white, yet a subjective system is used to approve or deny proficiencies. It seems so unfair at my hospital. I've seen other nurses get promoted who were friends with board members, while other truly deserving RNs who meet the dimensions and make lasting changed within the hospital are shut out.
Any guidance and other nurses experience with this would be greatly appreciated. I love working with our Vets, but the good old boys club and the oppressive bureaucracy had me ready to bash my face into something. I feel defeated. Thanks all
I appreciate your response, but this is my point exactly. As you have mentioned, nurses are evaluated by their "peers", which I was told as well. But, who are those "peers" determining my worth on the job? I work on the night shift and no one on my shift is a member of the salary board. Therefore, the nurses who make the decisions regarding if I get a promotion, do not know me, do not work with me, and perhaps never met me. .
Respectfully, I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. On one hand, you're unhappy that your supervisor's opinion/wording has so much weight, but on the other hand, you don't want to be evaluated by nursing peers. Just food for thought: another way to look at the situation is that these nursing peers who don't know you also won't be biased... they are merely looking at the criteria and determining whether you have met them. The criteria are articulated in a variety of resources that you have access to as a VA employee and posted here in this forum many times over.
I don't know how it works at your VA, but our nurses write their own proficiency assessments and then the nursing supervisor, in a different section, adds to what the employee has contributed. If I say, "I concur with the RN's self-assessment" and the nurse has successfully addressed the criteria, then that's all I need to say. Granted, different VAs/boards might have different cultures, but you do have a national appeal at your disposal, and given your length of employment at the VA, you've had many opportunities to take advantage of it. Have you had the same supervisor for 17 years? Have you talked to an EEO counselor?
I'm not speaking to fairness, or whether or not you deserve a promotion. I'm sure that you're a subject matter expert in your specialty given what you've written. What I can tell you is based upon what you wrote above (and I'm sure there are many other things you have done that you didn't mention), being charge nurse, preceptor, and volunteering on a committee or two would not be enough to guarantee you a Nurse III in my facility. What did you do on those committees? Did you have facility-wide influence in each of the nine dimensions? These are not questions that I'm looking for you to answer, but these are the questions that your proficiency must speak to...
And that just takes me back to my original point, which is that looking at someone else's proficiency won't help you obtain your goal. I really am trying to be helpful, not antagonistic. Is this evaluation system a great system? Nope. But it's the system that all VA nurses are stuck with for now, so it benefits you to maximize your chances of success by understanding it, using your opportunities to appeal, and perhaps participating on the board itself to get a first-hand view of the process. On that note, I'm going to go back to ignoring this thread. Best wishes!
Hi RN4KU. I am currently a UR nurse recently hired at the VA hospital with a BSN since 2004 and MSN since 2011. I am a new member to this board and have been following your posts. I am interested in becoming a Nurse lll. Can you please email me a copy of your Nurse lll proficiency to use as a guide? That would be much appreciated. My email address is [email protected]. Thank you very much!
Hi my name is Lorenzo and have been working as a nurse in various specialties for 26 yrs. I have been offered a position in South texas also Can you be so kind as to provide me your examples to fill out the 9 dimensions since I have never filled out this before. I am an older nurse with my B.S.N. and need assistance with this. I am hoping that I can do what you have figured out already about key words and also put all the necessary info to make it correct and qualify for Nurse II or III. I am currently working as an RN on a specialty unit with a Residential Treatment Facility program helping soldiers with PTSD,Depression,Anxiety,Anger etc. Your experience with this would help me out immensely. You can also if possible send me your samples to [email protected]. Thank you and God Bless you for any help you can give.
RN4KU, I also work the for VA and having been trying to get my nurse III for about 5 years. I have been there for 10 years. Would you care to share your proficiency with me?
RN4KU I am a new member and cannot PM. Would you mind sharing your proficiency with me? If anyone else has their Nurse III proficiency they wouldn't mind sharing it would be greatly appreciated as well. Thanks! [email protected]
Thank you for being willing to share your proficiency with everyone! It is a struggle for so many nurses to get the promotion to nurse 3, myself included! Would you be willing to share your proficiency with me too?
Guest1030015
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Respectfully, I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. On one hand, you're unhappy that your supervisor's opinion/wording has so much weight, but on the other hand, you don't want to be evaluated by nursing peers. Just food for thought: another way to look at the situation is that these nursing peers who don't know you also won't be biased... they are merely looking at the criteria and determining whether you have met them. The criteria are articulated in a variety of resources that you have access to as a VA employee and posted here in this forum many times over.
I don't know how it works at your VA, but our nurses write their own proficiency assessments and then the nursing supervisor, in a different section, adds to what the employee has contributed. If I say, "I concur with the RN's self-assessment" and the nurse has successfully addressed the criteria, then that's all I need to say. Granted, different VAs/boards might have different cultures, but you do have a national appeal at your disposal, and given your length of employment at the VA, you've had many opportunities to take advantage of it. Have you had the same supervisor for 17 years? Have you talked to an EEO counselor?
I'm not speaking to fairness, or whether or not you deserve a promotion. I'm sure that you're a subject matter expert in your specialty given what you've written. What I can tell you is based upon what you wrote above (and I'm sure there are many other things you have done that you didn't mention), being charge nurse, preceptor, and volunteering on a committee or two would not be enough to guarantee you a Nurse III in my facility. What did you do on those committees? Did you have facility-wide influence in each of the nine dimensions? These are not questions that I'm looking for you to answer, but these are the questions that your proficiency must speak to...
And that just takes me back to my original point, which is that looking at someone else's proficiency won't help you obtain your goal. I really am trying to be helpful, not antagonistic. Is this evaluation system a great system? Nope. But it's the system that all VA nurses are stuck with for now, so it benefits you to maximize your chances of success by understanding it, using your opportunities to appeal, and perhaps participating on the board itself to get a first-hand view of the process. On that note, I'm going to go back to ignoring this thread. Best wishes!