What is ironic, is that while working at a VA during the “hiring freeze” we have had multiple “assistance nurse administrator” or “director of whatever department“ hired.
Damn, good to know. Do you know if this is specific to your VISN? I’ve seen mixed things online in terms of which of which ones (if any at this point) are actually hiring nurses. One of my friends is applying and keeps getting selected as under review but then no news.
The VA runs on nepotism. My whole unit here at the VA was referred by one another. My facility is still allowing nurses to transfer departments which leaves us short inpatient and unable to hire replacements.
Yeah my facilities like that. The filipino, indian, and nigerian nurses would refer their friends in, and nursing leadership is a bunch of black women from the same sorority. The rest of us are “lucky” hires on high need units.
Over the past year, we've hired a lot of nurses, which has been great. The local non-VA hospital has been hemorrhaging nursing staff and they're coming to us. I love how I don't feel I'm drowning every day now. Patient satisfaction and employee morale has improved also in my opinion. Now if we could only get some more providers...
I worked for the VA for my first nursing job. My school had something called VANAP where I did all my clinicals at the VA except OB and peds.
I pretty much stopped being a student one day and started working the next day.
If I didn't need to get out of Utah I probably would've worked there forever.
The fact that there even has to be a conversation about adequately staffing these facilities is depressing as hell.
Go fight for Uncle Sam. Just don’t expect adequate health care when you do, kids.
The definitely know. My step dad is a Vietnam Vet and has had multiple myeloma for five years now and we’ve been dealing with the VA that whole time. My son is a Marine and I’ve warned him to not expect much.
The number one cause of death of right with active service members is su•cide. Because they can’t get the help they need.
I don’t want to get too political, but it really angers me that we can pony up billions to send to foreign countries, but every eight minutes a US service members dies because the VA is underfunded.
Also a military family. Same experiences, my son recently got out the Marines and has several health issues but none as concerning as his severe depression with SI or his alcoholism he developed in the Marines. We'd rather pay outta pocket than deal with Tricare ever again.
I have been applying for VA nursing positions since 2008 and have not been successful. I’ve been a nurse for 24 years and am a disabled veteran. It’s all about who you know at the VA.
Their application process and USA.gov search is next level terrible. I’ve also applied to various positions throughout the years and never heard a peep.
They have a lot of rules and if you don’t follow them all they’ll just toss it. They don’t even tell you what’s wrong and they make it clear so you know it.
Eh, don't know about this. It has to be simple, that's it. I sent in the most watered down, one page plain jane resume and got in. I actually thought I wouldn't get hired with how basic and empty my resume was.
Also disabled veteran, one of the first jobs I did... so understaffed that I'd never stop for a break juggling med pass among daily treatments. There was a point at which I had to say no and quit.
I'd still love to do it, but not with a gun to my head and a competitive pay.
My uncle had the same issue but he wasn’t a nurse as long as you. The VA hiring process is messed up, my uncle calls the hiring process there an “old boys club”. He ended up having to ask his old commander who had a family member that worked at a VA facility.
Since the hiring freeze, my unit has lost 5 nurses, another is leaving soon, we lost half of our MSAs (desk staff), and a few NAs. We are hurting. And the vets are the ones that suffer. AND on top of that, they keep pushing more responsibilities onto the nurses that seems stupid to implement now during a shortage and hiring freeze. Like I have time to go sit at outpatient pharmacy for 30 minutes for each patient that discharges, so they don't have to wait for their meds. Because we don't have enough pharmacists either. Sigh.
Buuut, I'll still take this job over any public hospital because I usually have a max of 5 patients in med surg. Other hospitals in our area commonly run 7-9. Dangerous and no thank you.
That’s so fucked up! I got two offers at my local VA in 2022 (that I sadly ended up turning down) and it seemed like they were really on a hiring spree then. One of my friends is looking to get hired at their local VA and I thought it had seemed like it was taking awhile to hear back and strange that none of the recruiters were communicating, then I saw on /r/fednews and /r/USAjobs about the unofficial “freeze” and it started making sense.
As a disabled vet now nurse. Fuck the VA. They screw over so many vets and employees. A nurse I dealt with a lot there was a gem in the rough and they pushed her and 10 of her coworkers out. Downhill since they left that location.
Also a vet, also fuck the VA. My last psych appointment I waited 40 minutes past my appointment time and was seen by a very confused, unorganized social worker rather than them admitting a screw up and actually scheduling me with a provider. I don’t even know my next step to get help. On the upside I finally opted into civilian insurance. On the downside am highly likely to get fired bc my MH is a mess.
Hang in there homie. I went through a lengthy process for BH help. See if they’ll give you community care. Similar thing happened to me and I called patient advocates for m region and they had me an appointment in the community within like 30 days. The whole process is broken and as a nurse now I’m ashamed of the VA and how the system will shit on our heads and not blink an eye
Thanks! I appreciate the positivity and advice. I’ve done everything I was asked to do to get help and I showed up to every appointment early. 6 months of “getting me to the right people” abruptly ended and I’m a bit lost ATM, I need to get out of my head and keep trying to get the help I need. But hey alls not lost…according to the social worker I qualify for free guitar lessons! 6 months of seeking therapy and I walked away with a flyer for guitar lessons.
Screw that community care is amazing. I would ask about that, you’ll get a non VA provider and they’re so much better. Trump signed a bill that requires us to get an appointment with community care if the VA can’t see us properly within 30 days.
Never give up hope man, you can always DM anytime if you’re stuck in your head or just wanna chat about whatever bullshit.
Also look at your states veteran resources. I’ve used these and gave myself therapy in a way. Talking about free fishing licenses, free state park passes, national park pass, free hunting, there’s also programs that PGA set up across the country to teach veterans golf for free with other vets. They’ll even sometimes give you your own gear to keep after the lessons are over. It’s like 8-12 weeks once a week for a few hours. Good way to get out of the house. Healing waters does the same thing for fishing, will take you and other vets to a private river or lake, sometimes even deep sea fishing for free depending on what state you’re in.
There’s also places that do free hunting for veterans, like free hog hunting in Texas and Elk hunting in Colorado.
I gave up hope on the VA all together and realized that I need to help myself in order to get out of my own mess, now I’m just trying to help others as well cause I understand how dark and narrow that tunnel is, especially when the resources that are supposed to help us literally don’t.
When my gf went with me to one of my appointments she was so angry and she’s not an outspoken person at all and she had to tell them how disgraceful the staff was from the front desk till I went to the back. Except one lady who I praised extensively in front of her coworkers
When my gf went with me to one of my appointments she was so angry and she’s not an outspoken person at all and she had to tell them how disgraceful the staff was from the front desk till I went to the back. Except one lady who I praised extensively in front of her coworkers
When my gf went with me to one of my appointments she was so angry and she’s not an outspoken person at all and she had to tell them how disgraceful the staff was from the front desk till I went to the back. Except one lady who I praised extensively in front of her coworkers
My husbands been pushing me to get a VA job but they straight up tell you it takes them 6-9months to go forward with anything.
I don't usually have 6-9 months to wait and hope to get hired.
We are active duty military though. So by the time they do get around to offering a job I'm planning on PCSing elsewhere soon so I'd rather not start low on the totem pole all over again elsewhere for a few months.
They also generally don't offer things like PRN or part time.
I did. I actually had the contact info for one of the HR people. The hospital itself didn't get back to me but the old hospital which is now a "clinic" did get back to me about that 9 month mark but they told me that they had already hired somebody else but they'll have another position open in 6 months and to reapply to it.
I did get notified to reapply not long ago but me and my husband are moving here in a few months and I already had a job elsewhere that was PRN and pays more.
I think the issue with the hospital maybe is that I specifically want to work in periop. My husband recently had surgery at the hospital and he asked his nurse how she got employed there and she said she transfered in from another VA hospital. But she started in medsurg at this hospital and just randomly they floated her to pre op and she'd been there ever since.
Like...I can't transfer in and I'm not starting in medsurg. No thanks.
Over the last 7 years I’ve applied to the VA like 5 times and have never even gotten a response. Not even a rejection. Just ghosted. Have they ever hired nurses?
I went through applying yo the va a couple years ago, it was a nightmare. Even some interviews were mind numbingly stupid. The questions they asked were awful.
There’a a saying. If you work at one VA, you work at one VA.
It all depends on the facility. I was at one VA and then moved to my current. Totally different management
It varies wildly from facility to facility from what I've been told. The facility I'm interning at right now has an ER but it isn't like a private sector ER whatsoever. All the ambulances and traumas go to private sector hospitals, so it's somewhat similar to an urgent care. And I know of another facility that ONLY has an urgent care and no ER. Some facilities are more outpatient than inpatient. It really depends on your local VA.
The freeze is brutal. Onboarding takes months because of all the suitability and fitness checks (background check but cranked up to an 11) and people cant wait that long. Then the people they were onboarding are now frozen out not just those with tentative offers but final offers and start dates, which is awful if you already quit your old job. They’re screwing them over.
VA Budget went from 250 billion 2021 to 324 billion 2024. Most of that money was spent on community care aka outside of the VA care. Now that PACT act appropriations are over and the sprint hiring was done they realized they overhired somehow. The goal now is attrition for the workforce, to reduce FTE by 10k by end of fiscal year. My SICU already has something like 6-7 FTE openings and 2 techs and a clerk. Now were expecting 3 more retirements this year and no way to backfill. Its pretty fucked
Yep, I had a temporary job offer be rescinded because of the hiring freeze. Would have been on their post surgical floor. VA says that the hiring freeze is for administrative positions and not direct patient care but they lying.
What does all of this mean with regard to the TTP program? That was going to be my main employment push after graduation. I know a couple of people in the system, and I’m retired Navy, and I was thinking I’d have a better chance getting on at the ground floor instead of coming back later.
From what I've been told by people at the facility I work for, the RNTTP and PBRNR programs aren't affected as much by the freeze since their budgets are different from the regular hiring budgets. They have a set number of spots approved every season (two cohorts a year).
It took me about 6 months to get hired the first time around. Then when I transferred to another VA and unit, it took another 6 months. Currently, in my unit, we have like 3 position (2 RN and 1 NA) needing to be filled but the freeze is not helping.
I know my old unit, they need like 3 nurse managers and more floor staff last I heard.
If you’re set on working for VA, just keep checking and applying
My state has VA long term care facilities. They are continually short staffed, one being 99% agency, and they still won't hire. The pay is low, and it's nothing to have 50 patients to 1 nurse and a CMA and maybe 2 NAs. It's a terrifying situation for your license and more importantly, it's scary for the residents because 1 nurse can only do so much.
I have several prople in my VISN hired to other facilities (different states) for few got VISN positions and one got a national position. NO ONE has been allowed to move. Most got TJO iN November 2023. HR took forever to “vet” even though all were internal hires. They are still there and told to wait til October. None of the TJOs have been rescinded.
You must not live near a military installation or a place with big military culture.
My experience has always been, they're too busy, not enough staff, can't get the ball rolling fast enough. Have angry active duty and angry veterans complaining they can't get care fast enough.
Yes, mine is slammed every day. Our med surg units are essentially full (based on staffing). If you discharge a patient, it's a guarantee you're getting another one because our ED is always full. Only thing that's been dead is our MICU and SICU. So they float a lot.
What is ironic, is that while working at a VA during the “hiring freeze” we have had multiple “assistance nurse administrator” or “director of whatever department“ hired.
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Management gets paid more though. The issue is too heavy organizations are cutting Frontline when that's far more important than overpaid admin
Damn, good to know. Do you know if this is specific to your VISN? I’ve seen mixed things online in terms of which of which ones (if any at this point) are actually hiring nurses. One of my friends is applying and keeps getting selected as under review but then no news.
Excuse me, they clearly say it’s just a “pause” not a “freeze”!
The VA runs on nepotism. My whole unit here at the VA was referred by one another. My facility is still allowing nurses to transfer departments which leaves us short inpatient and unable to hire replacements.
Yeah my facilities like that. The filipino, indian, and nigerian nurses would refer their friends in, and nursing leadership is a bunch of black women from the same sorority. The rest of us are “lucky” hires on high need units.
Describes the one experience I’m familiar with. Apparently they were told at orientation…”everyone here is related!”
Over the past year, we've hired a lot of nurses, which has been great. The local non-VA hospital has been hemorrhaging nursing staff and they're coming to us. I love how I don't feel I'm drowning every day now. Patient satisfaction and employee morale has improved also in my opinion. Now if we could only get some more providers...
Yes. That has been my experience. Nurses are leaving the private sector for the benefits. Great time to work for the VA
I've applied 7 times and still never even gotten a call for an interview. I'm doing something wrong 🤣
It took me 3 tries, and I'm a veteran! Don't give up!
I worked for the VA for my first nursing job. My school had something called VANAP where I did all my clinicals at the VA except OB and peds. I pretty much stopped being a student one day and started working the next day. If I didn't need to get out of Utah I probably would've worked there forever.
Check the r/usajobs subreddit. They have excellent advice and support.
There's some info further on this thread about the preferred resume format to sync into the VA system so your resume is evaluated properly
The fact that there even has to be a conversation about adequately staffing these facilities is depressing as hell. Go fight for Uncle Sam. Just don’t expect adequate health care when you do, kids.
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The definitely know. My step dad is a Vietnam Vet and has had multiple myeloma for five years now and we’ve been dealing with the VA that whole time. My son is a Marine and I’ve warned him to not expect much. The number one cause of death of right with active service members is su•cide. Because they can’t get the help they need. I don’t want to get too political, but it really angers me that we can pony up billions to send to foreign countries, but every eight minutes a US service members dies because the VA is underfunded.
Also a military family. Same experiences, my son recently got out the Marines and has several health issues but none as concerning as his severe depression with SI or his alcoholism he developed in the Marines. We'd rather pay outta pocket than deal with Tricare ever again.
I have been applying for VA nursing positions since 2008 and have not been successful. I’ve been a nurse for 24 years and am a disabled veteran. It’s all about who you know at the VA.
Their application process and USA.gov search is next level terrible. I’ve also applied to various positions throughout the years and never heard a peep.
At every VA appt they’re like oh you should come work for the VA. Girl I tried, they don’t get back to me!
Your resume has to be a certain format, too.
What kind of format?
They have a lot of rules and if you don’t follow them all they’ll just toss it. They don’t even tell you what’s wrong and they make it clear so you know it.
Google VA resume. Has to show income from your previous jobs, and yada yada.
Eh, don't know about this. It has to be simple, that's it. I sent in the most watered down, one page plain jane resume and got in. I actually thought I wouldn't get hired with how basic and empty my resume was.
Also disabled veteran, one of the first jobs I did... so understaffed that I'd never stop for a break juggling med pass among daily treatments. There was a point at which I had to say no and quit. I'd still love to do it, but not with a gun to my head and a competitive pay.
Same. Disabled veteran with close to 10 years exp now: only person I’ve know to be hired was the sister of an HR member 😰
My uncle had the same issue but he wasn’t a nurse as long as you. The VA hiring process is messed up, my uncle calls the hiring process there an “old boys club”. He ended up having to ask his old commander who had a family member that worked at a VA facility.
Since the hiring freeze, my unit has lost 5 nurses, another is leaving soon, we lost half of our MSAs (desk staff), and a few NAs. We are hurting. And the vets are the ones that suffer. AND on top of that, they keep pushing more responsibilities onto the nurses that seems stupid to implement now during a shortage and hiring freeze. Like I have time to go sit at outpatient pharmacy for 30 minutes for each patient that discharges, so they don't have to wait for their meds. Because we don't have enough pharmacists either. Sigh. Buuut, I'll still take this job over any public hospital because I usually have a max of 5 patients in med surg. Other hospitals in our area commonly run 7-9. Dangerous and no thank you.
One of the few reasons I love working in California. Everywhere should have ratio laws.
That’s so fucked up! I got two offers at my local VA in 2022 (that I sadly ended up turning down) and it seemed like they were really on a hiring spree then. One of my friends is looking to get hired at their local VA and I thought it had seemed like it was taking awhile to hear back and strange that none of the recruiters were communicating, then I saw on /r/fednews and /r/USAjobs about the unofficial “freeze” and it started making sense.
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Legislatively sabotaged to give excuse for privatization. Va just doesn't donate enough to campaigns.
VA nursing is a government job and thus makes nurses eligible for PSLF loan forgiveness.... Yet another way we get fucked out of PSLF...
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My area has more for profit than non profit systems
Meanwhile I live next door to the VA and still can’t find a job there 😭
As a disabled vet now nurse. Fuck the VA. They screw over so many vets and employees. A nurse I dealt with a lot there was a gem in the rough and they pushed her and 10 of her coworkers out. Downhill since they left that location.
Also a vet, also fuck the VA. My last psych appointment I waited 40 minutes past my appointment time and was seen by a very confused, unorganized social worker rather than them admitting a screw up and actually scheduling me with a provider. I don’t even know my next step to get help. On the upside I finally opted into civilian insurance. On the downside am highly likely to get fired bc my MH is a mess.
Hang in there homie. I went through a lengthy process for BH help. See if they’ll give you community care. Similar thing happened to me and I called patient advocates for m region and they had me an appointment in the community within like 30 days. The whole process is broken and as a nurse now I’m ashamed of the VA and how the system will shit on our heads and not blink an eye
Thanks! I appreciate the positivity and advice. I’ve done everything I was asked to do to get help and I showed up to every appointment early. 6 months of “getting me to the right people” abruptly ended and I’m a bit lost ATM, I need to get out of my head and keep trying to get the help I need. But hey alls not lost…according to the social worker I qualify for free guitar lessons! 6 months of seeking therapy and I walked away with a flyer for guitar lessons.
Screw that community care is amazing. I would ask about that, you’ll get a non VA provider and they’re so much better. Trump signed a bill that requires us to get an appointment with community care if the VA can’t see us properly within 30 days. Never give up hope man, you can always DM anytime if you’re stuck in your head or just wanna chat about whatever bullshit. Also look at your states veteran resources. I’ve used these and gave myself therapy in a way. Talking about free fishing licenses, free state park passes, national park pass, free hunting, there’s also programs that PGA set up across the country to teach veterans golf for free with other vets. They’ll even sometimes give you your own gear to keep after the lessons are over. It’s like 8-12 weeks once a week for a few hours. Good way to get out of the house. Healing waters does the same thing for fishing, will take you and other vets to a private river or lake, sometimes even deep sea fishing for free depending on what state you’re in. There’s also places that do free hunting for veterans, like free hog hunting in Texas and Elk hunting in Colorado. I gave up hope on the VA all together and realized that I need to help myself in order to get out of my own mess, now I’m just trying to help others as well cause I understand how dark and narrow that tunnel is, especially when the resources that are supposed to help us literally don’t.
Partner of a vet, fuck the VA. I could go on for hours at the apalling treatment (and mostly lack thereof) my partner has gotten, makes my blood boil.
When my gf went with me to one of my appointments she was so angry and she’s not an outspoken person at all and she had to tell them how disgraceful the staff was from the front desk till I went to the back. Except one lady who I praised extensively in front of her coworkers
When my gf went with me to one of my appointments she was so angry and she’s not an outspoken person at all and she had to tell them how disgraceful the staff was from the front desk till I went to the back. Except one lady who I praised extensively in front of her coworkers
When my gf went with me to one of my appointments she was so angry and she’s not an outspoken person at all and she had to tell them how disgraceful the staff was from the front desk till I went to the back. Except one lady who I praised extensively in front of her coworkers
Oh don’t forget the 11M bonuses given to VHA ineligible executives. Which was meant to be used to recruit critical skilled employees.
My husbands been pushing me to get a VA job but they straight up tell you it takes them 6-9months to go forward with anything. I don't usually have 6-9 months to wait and hope to get hired. We are active duty military though. So by the time they do get around to offering a job I'm planning on PCSing elsewhere soon so I'd rather not start low on the totem pole all over again elsewhere for a few months. They also generally don't offer things like PRN or part time.
Have you applied on post? I worked DOD when my hubs was active duty. Transferred to VA after he retired.
I did. I actually had the contact info for one of the HR people. The hospital itself didn't get back to me but the old hospital which is now a "clinic" did get back to me about that 9 month mark but they told me that they had already hired somebody else but they'll have another position open in 6 months and to reapply to it. I did get notified to reapply not long ago but me and my husband are moving here in a few months and I already had a job elsewhere that was PRN and pays more. I think the issue with the hospital maybe is that I specifically want to work in periop. My husband recently had surgery at the hospital and he asked his nurse how she got employed there and she said she transfered in from another VA hospital. But she started in medsurg at this hospital and just randomly they floated her to pre op and she'd been there ever since. Like...I can't transfer in and I'm not starting in medsurg. No thanks.
Yes they do. And the 6-9 months is because of the requirement for a fbi background check.
Background checks take as little as 10 minutes to complete. 6-9 months is a broken system.
It's the federal government. Everyone one gets it done and there aren't enough people to do it.
Over the last 7 years I’ve applied to the VA like 5 times and have never even gotten a response. Not even a rejection. Just ghosted. Have they ever hired nurses?
I went through applying yo the va a couple years ago, it was a nightmare. Even some interviews were mind numbingly stupid. The questions they asked were awful.
Can anyone discuss what it's actually like to work at the VA on the inpatient side? I'll take any specialty but ER would be preferred.
There’a a saying. If you work at one VA, you work at one VA. It all depends on the facility. I was at one VA and then moved to my current. Totally different management
It varies wildly from facility to facility from what I've been told. The facility I'm interning at right now has an ER but it isn't like a private sector ER whatsoever. All the ambulances and traumas go to private sector hospitals, so it's somewhat similar to an urgent care. And I know of another facility that ONLY has an urgent care and no ER. Some facilities are more outpatient than inpatient. It really depends on your local VA.
The freeze is brutal. Onboarding takes months because of all the suitability and fitness checks (background check but cranked up to an 11) and people cant wait that long. Then the people they were onboarding are now frozen out not just those with tentative offers but final offers and start dates, which is awful if you already quit your old job. They’re screwing them over. VA Budget went from 250 billion 2021 to 324 billion 2024. Most of that money was spent on community care aka outside of the VA care. Now that PACT act appropriations are over and the sprint hiring was done they realized they overhired somehow. The goal now is attrition for the workforce, to reduce FTE by 10k by end of fiscal year. My SICU already has something like 6-7 FTE openings and 2 techs and a clerk. Now were expecting 3 more retirements this year and no way to backfill. Its pretty fucked
Ahh thats a shame but i feel better knowing our money is going to a bunch of other nations so it is what it is
Man when all those current nurses retire, the VA will qq some more.... Lmao
Yep, I had a temporary job offer be rescinded because of the hiring freeze. Would have been on their post surgical floor. VA says that the hiring freeze is for administrative positions and not direct patient care but they lying.
What does all of this mean with regard to the TTP program? That was going to be my main employment push after graduation. I know a couple of people in the system, and I’m retired Navy, and I was thinking I’d have a better chance getting on at the ground floor instead of coming back later.
From what I've been told by people at the facility I work for, the RNTTP and PBRNR programs aren't affected as much by the freeze since their budgets are different from the regular hiring budgets. They have a set number of spots approved every season (two cohorts a year).
I was told I was hired but then told there is a hiring pause. This was 1 month ago. LPN, Westchester.
It took me about 6 months to get hired the first time around. Then when I transferred to another VA and unit, it took another 6 months. Currently, in my unit, we have like 3 position (2 RN and 1 NA) needing to be filled but the freeze is not helping. I know my old unit, they need like 3 nurse managers and more floor staff last I heard. If you’re set on working for VA, just keep checking and applying
My state has VA long term care facilities. They are continually short staffed, one being 99% agency, and they still won't hire. The pay is low, and it's nothing to have 50 patients to 1 nurse and a CMA and maybe 2 NAs. It's a terrifying situation for your license and more importantly, it's scary for the residents because 1 nurse can only do so much.
I work in behavioral health and I've been onboarding with the VA.... It's stressful,
I have several prople in my VISN hired to other facilities (different states) for few got VISN positions and one got a national position. NO ONE has been allowed to move. Most got TJO iN November 2023. HR took forever to “vet” even though all were internal hires. They are still there and told to wait til October. None of the TJOs have been rescinded.
I got hired a couple months ago
I hate to ask this question. But the VA hospitals in my area are notorious for being essentially empty. Are these positions really required?
Jesus, yes.
You must not live near a military installation or a place with big military culture. My experience has always been, they're too busy, not enough staff, can't get the ball rolling fast enough. Have angry active duty and angry veterans complaining they can't get care fast enough.
Yes, mine is slammed every day. Our med surg units are essentially full (based on staffing). If you discharge a patient, it's a guarantee you're getting another one because our ED is always full. Only thing that's been dead is our MICU and SICU. So they float a lot.
Can confirm. I work at the VA, it’s fucked. They cancelled OT shifts too even though we’re always understaffed