Why we serve: Find your calling in VA’s mission of service to Veterans

Our mission at VA is a mission of service, to care for those who have served this country by offering support to Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors. Across our nearly 1,300 facilities, our team knows that fulfilling this promise to Veterans is fulfilling all on its own.

Embracing the mission

“I meet a lot of our candidates who find our mission compelling,” shared James Marfield, associate director of VA’s National Recruitment Service. “I worked with an orthopedic surgeon who came to us after working for two professional sports teams, but he had a deep desire to serve, and our mission enriched him in a way that didn’t come from the private sector.”

“There’s an appeal in what we offer,” Marfield added, “in that we treat patients, not numbers. What we do at VA is driven by a patient-centric approach, whether it is in building a team of experts around each Veteran’s particular needs or simply having the time to address each Veteran as an individual.”

“Our work is about what the patient needs, not about the bottom line or what insurance will reimburse,” said Marfield. “That’s liberating for the people who come to work here.”

An extension of service

Even as our staff find meaning in their work through our mission, the Veterans who come to work here look at VA as an extension of their military service.

“As a Veteran, you’re already service-minded, and that calling is a part of the fabric of what makes VA unique,” Marfield explained. As a Veteran himself, he went on to say, “We believe in service before self. For our Veterans, it’s like coming home again. The atmosphere at VA is familiar, collegial.”

For those Veterans who choose to work at VA, there is also an honor in continuing their service by serving their fellow Veterans, particularly those Veterans who need it most.

“You’re encountering Veterans who are in a different situation than when they were still serving,” said Marfield. “Sometimes, you’re working with someone when they’re at their most vulnerable, providing care to them when they need it most, and knowing that there’s a Veteran on the other side of that who understands means everything.”

Opportunities not found elsewhere

Another facet of VA’s purpose revolves around VA’s fourth mission, improving the nation’s preparedness in times of emergency, and in so doing serve all of America’s citizens. Marfield also noted that, at VA, we train medical professionals who end up working at facilities around the country.

“More than 70% of U.S. physicians have received some training at a VA health care facility,” he said. “You want to talk about the fabric of what makes VA unique, that’s it. What we provide by way of medical education is astounding.”

Yet, even as they study the field of medicine, physicians and other health care professionals who train at VA learn so much more.

“If you ask them, you’ll find that what they remember about those rotations are the patients,” Marfield said. “Not just patients who are medically interesting or complex, but patients who are appreciative of the care they receive, and selfless in their service.”

Those complexities, though, also showcase what VA does better than anyone: providing a network of resources unmatched in any other arena of health care.

“We have national working groups that offer almost limitless peer support,” Marfield explained. “If you’re a physician, you’ve got a limitless number of physicians and other clinicians out there you can lean on for advice or input, fellow civil servants who are all here for the same reasons you are. You can’t get that kind of support anywhere else.”

And neither can our Veterans.

Work at VA

At VA, we are united by a common mission—to serve those who have bravely served their country. Join our team and help us continue the fight.

• LEARN more about our mission and our values.
• HEAR stories from VA employees in their own words.
• READ about our culture and values.
• SEARCH for your VA career at VACareers.va.gov.