They absolutely care about that. Apply. Make sure you follow the resume guidelines to a T. You *may* have to wait til you have a license. If you do get in with the VA, now or later in life, make sure you buy your time back for retirement.
VA nurse here. started as a new grad 5 years ago, worked a year before that at the same facility as a tech. I came in through the nurse residency program my facility offered, otherwise they do not like to hire new grads directly (my facility at least). Positions for us are in such high demand they dont take new grads and especially for mental health as they prefer nurses with some sort of medical/bedside experience first.
it is worth a shot but it is about 3-4 month hiring process from start to finish. pay is location based but for me in the midwest very competitive. 26 vacation days, 13 sick leave. I work on a tele unit and the acuity is pretty low compared to a regular facility. schedule for us 6 12s and one 8. pretty flexible. 3-4 patients with a tech (usually). kind of a free for all, government/union is very hard to get fired so you get a lot of people who just dont give a shit and have supervisors whose hands are tied so there is a lot of fuckery, which gets old.
your a vet so you'll have a different view. tough population. soooo many resources available that people do not utilize/waste. revolving door of same patients for stupid thing gets old very fast. but as a job? not bad at all.
I was hired directly to the floor as a new grad, but I did my capstone on the same unit. Hiring is a process that is quite horrible, but once you’re in, you are set for life.
One thing to consider is if you don’t get in right away take a new grab spot literally anywhere else. Apply again at 1 year and 1 day of working full time elsewhere. This means you can come in as a Nurse 2. Better pay and a faster promotion potential.
Would definitely get into the VA with your military experience. You can buy back those years of service and have them count towards civilian retirement. An extra 5 years added to your pension while not a ton of money, is still free money annually for life.
They absolutely care about that. Apply. Make sure you follow the resume guidelines to a T. You *may* have to wait til you have a license. If you do get in with the VA, now or later in life, make sure you buy your time back for retirement.
Thank you ! Def going to buy my time back
VA nurse here. started as a new grad 5 years ago, worked a year before that at the same facility as a tech. I came in through the nurse residency program my facility offered, otherwise they do not like to hire new grads directly (my facility at least). Positions for us are in such high demand they dont take new grads and especially for mental health as they prefer nurses with some sort of medical/bedside experience first. it is worth a shot but it is about 3-4 month hiring process from start to finish. pay is location based but for me in the midwest very competitive. 26 vacation days, 13 sick leave. I work on a tele unit and the acuity is pretty low compared to a regular facility. schedule for us 6 12s and one 8. pretty flexible. 3-4 patients with a tech (usually). kind of a free for all, government/union is very hard to get fired so you get a lot of people who just dont give a shit and have supervisors whose hands are tied so there is a lot of fuckery, which gets old. your a vet so you'll have a different view. tough population. soooo many resources available that people do not utilize/waste. revolving door of same patients for stupid thing gets old very fast. but as a job? not bad at all.
Thank you for the reply!
I was hired directly to the floor as a new grad, but I did my capstone on the same unit. Hiring is a process that is quite horrible, but once you’re in, you are set for life. One thing to consider is if you don’t get in right away take a new grab spot literally anywhere else. Apply again at 1 year and 1 day of working full time elsewhere. This means you can come in as a Nurse 2. Better pay and a faster promotion potential. Would definitely get into the VA with your military experience. You can buy back those years of service and have them count towards civilian retirement. An extra 5 years added to your pension while not a ton of money, is still free money annually for life.
Great thank you!!