VHA health care recruitment efforts continue during the Shutdown

There are differing news reports and plenty of buzz on Facebook and Twitter surrounding the Government Shutdown, so I figured I would give you the straight facts about VA Careers’ ongoing health care recruitment story. During the government shutdown, VA medical centers, clinics and other health services have advance appropriations for 2014 and will remain open.

Our mission has not changed or altered at all. VHA’s mission is to provide exceptional patient-centric health care to America’s Veterans. To fulfill our mission, we are continually dedicated to recruiting highly skilled health care employees to care for our Nation’s Veterans.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is committed to consistently providing the high quality care our Veterans have earned and deserve. VA operates the largest integrated health care delivery system in the country, with over 1,700 sites of care. Each year, over 200,000 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) leaders and health care employees provide exceptional care to approximately 6.3 million Veterans and other beneficiaries.  Continued recruitment efforts for health care professionals are essential in order to provide the care and support needed for our Veterans.

This is no easy task; VHA’s top 10 critical occupations are primarily in health care and include Physicians, Nurses, Pharmacists and allied health providers. It is such an important mission, that VHA has been given direct hiring authority and the tools needed to recruit health care providers. These tools include recruitment marketing and advertising and an all-Veteran team of seasoned health care recruiters that help to identify and recruit the best quality providers nationwide.

Visit www.VAcareers.va.gov to learn more about a career at VA. I also urge you to share this message with colleagues, fellow health care providers and influencers to make sure everyone knows that VA is hiring.