North Texas VA hosts nurse hiring fair

Marcus Jackson is ready to return to VA. The Veteran and former North Texas VA nurse was one of 102 applicants applying for critical nursing assistant and nurse positions at a recent targeted nursing job fair held in Bonham, Texas. 

“I left VA to work for the local county, but I really miss my tribe of fellow Veterans,” Jackson said.

Between existing vacancies and new positions, the need for nurses is high at North Texas VA. The newly hired positions will broaden access and enhance quality of care at the Bonham area facility that treats some 15,000 patients each year.

Rural recruiting difficult

“Bonham is a rural facility, so recruitment has always been more difficult,” said Dr. Latonia Arris, deputy nurse executive and hiring event coordinator. “We recognize that some of our critical areas needed additional nurses, so we are increasing the staffing.”

Qualified attendees at the hiring event sat down with nurse recruiting and human resource personnel and did every required physical, lab draw, background and other security checks on site before being tendered offers that would allow them to begin or resume their VA career a lot faster than the traditional onboarding process.

By the end of the hiring event, 43 were selected.

“I am ready to get back to serving my Veterans.”

“It’s imperative that our staff-to-patient ratio remains at a level that allows for the delivery of personalized care and attention to everyone under our care,” said Arris. “These 43 new hires will help ensure we honor this commitment.”

And as for Marcus Jackson (pictured above) and his desire to resume his VA career and rejoin his Veteran tribe, he was tendered an offer. “I am anxious and ready to get back to serving and helping my Veterans.”