Have license, would like to travel

November 8, 2011 4:15 PM

Working for the VA as a nurse, how difficult is it to transfer from one state/facility to another?

On paper it seems like working for the VA would be a no-brainer, but is it?

I have a real passion for working with Veteran populations, I also have a perpetual case of wanderlust. The ability to use my license in all of the states without having to acquire news ones seems awesome! What don't I know?

Would 2-3 years at a location mean that I could then move on to another one without creating bad blood? Are pay grades earned at one facility transferable to another? Is seniority transferable or would I be starting at the bottom in terms of vacation request time/holidays, etc at each location? Is this sort of mobility common?

posted by ilikecookies to Work & Money (2 answers total)

My boyfriend works at a VA hospital but not as a nurse. From what he's said, it's fairly uncommon for people to transfer from one VA hospital to another, although people do seem to move around from one job to another within the same hospital somewhat frequently. A coworker of his recently tried to transfer and had to go through the whole application process as if she were a new employee; she had something missing from her application and was not even interviewed.

There's a little information and a phone number here for the VA's Healthcare Retention & Recruitment Office. They could probably answer some of your specific questions.
posted by jabes at 4:48 PM on November 8, 2011

Ever consider being a "traveler"? It's been years since I worked in health care, and I didn't do it myself, so I don't know who to contact or whether VA hospitals participate in such programs, but it sounds right up your alley.

First Google result turns up this.
posted by moira at 5:45 PM on November 8, 2011