It’s not hard to find the top 10 reasons our employees love to work at VA. From flexibility to education, from a sense of purpose to benefits that change lives, we offer opportunities that are hard to beat.
The best patients – Veterans!
Every day, you’ll have the privilege of spending time with Veterans. It’s a chance to develop genuine bonds and understanding that helps you better serve their unique needs.
At VA, you will serve and support the most diverse group of Veterans in history and help them overcome a variety of health challenges. This is your chance to give back to America’s heroes and help improve life for them and their families.
The mission to serve America
Our culture is defined through our set of core values: integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect, and excellence – “I CARE.”
Every day, we’re dedicated to showing how much we care for our Veterans, and we are united as an organization to deliver on President Lincoln’s promise to honor and care for the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our country.
Nation’s largest health care system
VA is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at nearly 1,300 health care facilities, including 171 medical centers and 1,112 outpatient sites. We serve over 9 million Veterans across our 18 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) – regional systems of care working together to better meet local health care needs and provide greater access to care.
Access to cutting edge technology
With state-of-the-art tools, we’re a leader in clinical innovation and surgical quality, performing about 600,000 procedures annually.
We are also leaders in telehealth care, having developed new ways to communicate with Veterans remotely and dramatically expanding those efforts over the last five years.
Education support
We offer a broad range of scholarships, tuition reimbursement options, loan repayment programs, and other educational opportunities to help you in your lifelong quest for learning.
To help further your education, VA conducts the largest medical education program in the country in partnership with over 1,800 academic institutions. Over 7,000 training programs in affiliation with these institutions means endless opportunities to advance your career at VA.
Work/life balance
At VA, you’ll enjoy consistent, flexible schedules with shifts that can accommodate your specific needs and lifestyle. You’ll also get generous vacation and personal leave, including 13-26 paid days off, 13 sick days, and 10 paid federal holidays.
Take advantage of on-site perks like dining facilities and fitness centers. Some VA facilities provide on-site child care, operated by licensed providers.
Exceptional benefits
As a VA employee, you can choose from a variety of high-quality health care and life insurance options. VA also helps you plan for the future with access to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), life insurance and long-term care insurance.
An additional benefit for health care professionals is that, at VA, you are protected by the federal government in cases of alleged malpractice, offering an exceptional savings on personal liability insurance.
Team-based, patient-focused
Our dedicated professionals work on Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACTs) to coordinate Veteran care and promote total health and wellness. We’re a leader in patient satisfaction with more than half of VA hospitals receiving top marks on the 2022 Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems patient survey report.
We also integrate across the continuum of care – including providing mental health integration in clinical practice and embedding clinical pharmacists in primary care – to offer every member of the team the opportunity to make a difference.
Live and work anywhere
You can find a VA career wherever you live – or want to live. From major cities to rural communities, there are opportunities all across the country.
With one active, unrestricted state license, health care providers can practice in any VA facility nationwide. Wherever life may lead, you can seek employment at a facility with an open position and transfer with no loss of benefits.
Leadership training
We offer ongoing internal training opportunities to employees at all levels, from mandatory developmental programs to competitive opportunities.
Through our Leadership Development Framework (LDF), targeted learning and development resources support you in both on the job and at home, and you’ll always have 24/7 access to multiple web-based catalogs filled with diverse online courses to help advance your career.
Work at VA
Whether you’re fresh out of school, looking to change your career, or stepping into civilian life from the military, VA can offer you unparalleled opportunities and career satisfaction that can’t be found in other industries.
- LEARN more about the VA hiring process.
- EXPLORE the benefits of a VA career.
- JOIN our communities on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Glassdoor.
- FIND your next career at VAcareers.va.gov.
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How do I even start this. I was excited when a posting came up for an IT position during the rise of the pandemic, back in the 20’s. It was to be a walk on position, no interview, just pass pre-employment checks and start working.
I had the unfortunate luck of a run in with a HR clerk. When I came into the office I explained to the clerk why I was there. She had me fill out paperwork. Once completed the forms were gathered and she started asking me basic questions. Sure, I’ll answer. During that process I noticed she was asking me questions that pertained to data on one of the forms I filled out. I gently slide the from her stack to draw her attention to it. She huffed and took the data off the form. Strike one for her and the HR department for this particular VA medical center location.
I am transgender, and the VA has been making slow strides to make us feel we are people also. And to that I learned from another person in the VA that a memo had been sent out to better serve our LGBQT+ community. When it came time to do fingerprints, when it came to the data portion I was astounded at the possible choices for gender: male, female, female impersonator (I guess the VA gets a lot of those so it was needed to have that there), and two other options regarding male and female with extra descriptions added.
The clerk didn’t know what to do. She hovered over male. I explained that I hadn’t gotten my license changed due to COVID-19 and the heavy schedule at the DMV. She then eyeballed female impersonator. I told her that if she had better not pick that one. By that time my anxiety level was going up, approaching tears. Strike two for the HR department and the VA at my location.
At this point we were at an impasse, and my anxiety was through the roof. I cried and left the building. I was hurting, and discriminated against by the HR department. Strike three. Or perhaps a foul ball at least.
To ease my pain, I turned to drugs. I noticed a flu shot clinic, and in my moment of tears I got the jab. It worked. Distracted I went home reached out to my out of state assigned HR clerk and told her I was turning down the job because of what happened. And the irony was it happed at the Human Resource department. She explained to me the memo that was sent out, I guess my local VA clerk didn’t get the memo. Says something about their leadership. At the local level.
I live in the Augusta area. I have a Masters in Nursing, and over 29 years experience. I recently moved to moved to the Augusta area.
Thank all of you for deciding to work at the VA! We are eternally grateful!
For all veterans,
Bill Huber
The best years of my nursing career was at the VA Hospital 46 years ago. The care for the veterans have always been outstanding. Now as a retired nurse when I’m asked for reference to the VA system I praise it I encourage it and forever be therefore grateful for the opportunity. Thank you thank you again