The Department of] Veterans Affair’s most important asset is a highly motivated and diverse workforce of more than 200,000 people committed to our mission of service to veterans. Our employees are the foundation of the department and the key to our success. We offer a wide array of career opportunities to prospective applicants in many clinical, technical and administrative career fields at locations throughout the country. Our Web site can tell you more about these job opportunities. We hope that you will consider a career with Veterans Affairs and become a part of our proud tradition of providing the highest quality of service to those men and women who have served our great Nation. -Anthony J. Principi Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Just the Facts
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was established on March 15, 1989, succeeding the Veterans Administration, which was established in 1930. In 1989, President Reagan signed legislation to elevate Veterans Affairs to the 14th Department in the President’s Cabinet.
The department has 224,724 employees 202,709 of which are employed by the Veterans Health Administration. It is the second largest of the 15 cabinets and is responsible for providing federal benefits to veterans and their dependents. This is a staggering responsibility when you consider the numbers: about a quarter of the nation’s population-approximately 70 million people-are eligible for VA benefits and services, and there are 26 million living veterans at this time.
The VA estimates it will spend $59.6 billion in 2003 to provide services and $25.9 billion of that will be spent in the area of health care. The VA’s health care system includes 163 hospitals, 850 ambulatory care and community-based outpatient clinics, 137 nursing homes, 43 domiciliaries and 73 comprehensive home-care programs. More than 4.5 million people received care in VA health care facilities in 2002. This was an unprecedented increase of 9.5% over the number of patients treated in 2001.
The VA will also invest nearly an additional $1.4 billion in research this year. These funds are made possible by the VA’s Medical Account, National Institutes of Health, pharmaceutical companies and other foundations.
The VA is at the forefront of medical advancements and research. It has become a world leader in research on aging, women’s health, AIDS and post-traumatic stress disorder. VA researchers have had key roles in developing the cardiac pacemaker, the CT scan and have made improvements in artificial limbs. The researchers have received many prestigious awards including the Nobel Prize for their work.
The biggest reward for researchers in the VA, however, is the ability to see the immediate benefits of their research. Many of the researchers are also practicing physicians, and this dual role allows them to put their research to immediate use.
Considering the work the VA does every year, it is no surprise that they require a large network of “highly motivated” individuals. Employment opportunities abound at the VHA and VA, and they value their employees, a fact that is reflected in employee’s generous benefit packages.
The Benefits
Salaries
Starting salaries at the VA are dependent on education, training, years of experience, the duties of the position and, in some cases, guidelines from professional boards. The VA’s General Schedule Salary Table is available at www.va.gov.
Health Insurance
As you can imagine, employees of the VA choose from a wide selection of health care plans based on their individual needs. Fee-for-service plans, health maintenance organizations and point of service plans are just a few of the options. The VA pays approximately 75% of the health benefit premium. Many plans offer dental coverage as well, and coverage may continue into retirement. Pre-tax options can also result in more take-home pay.
Training and Continuing Education
The VA manages the largest education and health professions training program in the U.S. They are affiliated with 107 medical schools, 55 dental schools and more than 1,200 other schools across the country.
VA employees can also benefit from VA Learning Online a program offering a number of general education and college-level courses on the Internet. The VA offers tuition reimbursement to individuals who are studying in fields deemed to have shortages.
The Employee Incentive Scholarship Program is available to employees continuing their education in areas where recruitment and retention is difficult.
Quality of Life Benefits
A childcare subsidy is available to full- and part-time VA employees. This subsidy is paid on a sliding scale based on income. Alternate work schedules are also available in some circumstances, and commuting assistance is offered to VA employees based on mass transit commuting costs.
Other Benefits
Additional benefits, similar to those found in the private sector, include retirement programs, life insurance and paid days off. Some of these benefits are more generous than those found in the private sector, however, and are detailed on the VA’s Web site at www.va.gov under employment opportunities.
Extra benefits not commonly found in the private sector include liability protection and job portability. Descriptions of these benefits are also available on the VA’s Web site.
Many Routes to the VA
If you would like to pursue a career with the VA, there are many avenues to get you there. On the Internet, go to www.va.gov/jobs/search/healthcare.htm to find links to the VHA Placement Service, VA Jobs at USAJOBS and VHA Executive Recruitment. You can also go to www.vacareers.com to do a job search by state, facility or occupation.
If you have additional questions, call the Health Care Development and Retention Office (HCSDRO) at 504-589-5267.
Under former President Bill Clinton’s administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) set a pattern of tapping minority nurses to serve in key health care policy-making roles. Among them were Beverly Malone, RN, PhD, FAAN, who held the post of deputy assistant secretary for health; Patricia Montoya, RN, MPA, (commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families); and Linda Burnes Bolton, RN, DrPH, FAAN, who served on the National Advisory Council for Health Care Policy, Research and Evaluation from 1992 to 1995.
Now Burnes Bolton, vice president and chief nursing officer of the magnet hospital Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, has again been chosen for an important federal advisory position. HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has appointed her to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP), part of the Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, Division of Nursing. Burnes Bolton will serve a three-year term, which began in February.
NACNEP is authorized under Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary and Congress on issues relating to nurse workforce supply, education and practice improvement.
What does Burnes Bolton, a nationally recognized expert on nursing and nurse staffing, hope to accomplish in this highly visible position?
“The National Advisory Council on Education and Practice of the Division of Nursing has always been committed to improving access to nursing education for individuals from diverse backgrounds,” she tells Minority Nurse. “In my role as a member of the Council, I hope to build on their previous work, including their [1999] report on strategies that have been effective in recruiting and retaining minority students in nursing education programs.
“I specifically hope to bring to the table my experience in helping nursing schools and communities improve access to nursing education at the baccalaureate degree level,” Burnes Bolton adds. “I truly believe that a knowledgeable [nursing] professional has the best opportunity to help us in closing the gaps of health disparities that continue to exist among ethnic people of color.”
Other accomplishments in Burnes Bolton’s distinguished career include serving on expert panels convened by Congress to provide recommendations on nursing education and practice funding, and being a member of the California Nursing Outcome Coalition, an investigative team researching nurse staffing and patient care outcomes. She has also published many articles on nursing issues and is a member of the National Black Nurses Association and the Association of California Nurse Leaders.
The ambitious goal of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’s Healthy People 2010program is to ensure good health and long life for all Americans. By definition, the term “all Americans” would obviously include Hispanics. But according to some of the nation’s most influential Hispanic health leaders, Healthy People’s commitment to meeting the needs of America’s largest and fastest-growing ethnic minority group is questionable at best.
In a policy brief entitled Healthy People 2010: Hispanic Concerns Go Unanswered published earlier this year, the Washington-based National Alliance for Hispanic Health argues that:
Over one-third (40%) of Healthy People 2010’s population-based objectives do not include Hispanic baseline data, and therefore progress on these objectives cannot be measured for Hispanic communities.
More than two-thirds (86%) of recommendations submitted by Hispanic community leaders during the public comment period for Healthy People 2010 are not fully incorporated into the program’s final objectives.
The Alliance’s 46-page report not only contains extensive evidence in support of these charges but also presents recommendations for making Healthy People more responsive to the priorities of Hispanic communities. The organization is urging HHS to act on these recommendations when the program comes up for its mid-course review in 2005. For more information, or to receive a copy of the report, contact the National Alliance for Hispanic Health at (202) 387-5000 or visit www.hispanichealth.org.
The Indian Health Service (IHS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), both agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services, recently agreed to continue their partnership initiative to include American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AIs/ANs) as participants in and beneficiaries of the research and training supported by the NIH.
Shortly after, the IHS and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), one of the NIH Institutes, announced that they are the recipients of approximately $3 million in grant funds to support AI/AN medical research efforts.
Eight Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) programs have been selected to receive grants for proposals submitted during fiscal year 2001: the Northwest Portland Area Health Board, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona American Indian Research Center for Health, the Five Civilized Tribes, the Black Hills Center for American Indian Health, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the New Mexico Tribal Healthcare Alliance and the California Indian Health Council.
“These grants are critically important in our efforts to improve the health status of [Native Americans],” says HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. “These funds will help address the underrepresentation of AI/AN researchers and their perspectives in medical research, and will empower tribes to influence research projects relevant to Indian communities.”
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“These funds will increase the capacity of tribes and universities to work in partnership to reverse a trend of Indian communities frequently being the subject of research and not benefiting from that research,” adds Michael H. Trujillo, MD, MPH, MS, director of the IHS. “Additional benefits from the NARCH program will be culturally sensitive research, research influenced and sanctioned by tribal communities, and the encouragement of AI/AN youth to consider research, science and public service as career options.”
In related news, the IHS recently relocated its headquarters functions to 801 Thompson Avenue in Rockville, Md. after residing at the Parklawn Building in Rockville for the past 31 years. The new IHS headquarters building is newly renovated and contains 50,918 square feet. This headquarters will house all of the Office of the Director functions and most of the programs of the Office of Public Health and the Office of Management Support.
“This building represents a commitment to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the IHS headquarters staff in support of our mission to provide the highest quality health care services to Indian people,” says Trujillo.
A new program, Get With the Guidelines, is playing an important role in heart disease prevention by significantly increasing the number of health care providers who follow the American Heart Association (AHA)’s guidelines for preventing second heart attacks. This program is especially important for minority patients because coronary disease is the leading cause of death and disability among racial and ethnic groups.
The need for this program was revealed in recent reports that found doctors and hospitals were not always following these guidelines. In a 1999 Journal of the American Medical Association article, researchers found only half of the eligible candidates for second heart attacks received beta-blockers, slightly more than half received ACE inhibitors and only two-thirds were treated with clot busters.
This treatment gap may be a contributing factor in many reoccurring heart attacks and other cardiovascular events. According to AHA statistics, within six years after an attack, 18% of men and 35% of women will have another heart attack, and about 22% of men and 46% of women will be disabled with heart failure.
Get With the Guidelines is an AHA in-hospital program that notably improved the number of individuals receiving standardized care for heart disease–including drugs to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, smoking cessation counseling and referrals to physical activity programs.
As part of Get With the Guidelines, hospitals focus on ongoing data measurement and rapid movement cycles using a Web-based, real-time patient management tool. The tool provides hospitals with immediate access to the guidelines customized for each patient to reduce risk factors.
