Finding great employees is important, but at VA, we also know that retention is just as important as recruitment.
After serving as a combat medic for almost a decade, Edmund R. “Bobby” Patterson initially intended to become a physician assistant, with an eye toward specializing in psychology or psychiatry. That interest was originally fostered during his years in service, watching his fellow service members struggle with the stress of combat deployments.
Patterson’s path to VA would ultimately take a different turn. Through mentorship and continued training, he now works as an employee experience officer in the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, and has been helping to promote our “Stay in VA” initiative.
“I kept pushing myself, for the Veterans we serve,” he said. “Because that became my personal motto, my driving force: I didn’t ever want to let anyone fall through the cracks.”
Stay in VA is a practice aimed at promoting a trusting environment for employees to express their ideas and experiences to leadership. Likewise, supervisors and managers can learn more about employees and how to better engage their skills or talents.
“I’m the epitome of Stay in VA,” Patterson said. “This is about taking the time, being a servant leader, about being people-focused and people-centric. That’s what VA has to offer.”
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Visit VA Careers now to read Patterson’s story and how taking advantage of opportunities within VA has led to extraordinary experiences.
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Now this really tell the real story about these Veteran Experience Officers, they are no longer to really help Veterans but defend VA employees and keep them on board, They pander to the directors and ignore us Veterans real need for help!!, I have had this happen with the VEO officer at the Erie Pa VAMC where he always defends the VA and its employees tell me falsely how they care for my input, however, due to the actions of the Administrative staff at that facility, I DO NOT TRUST the VA with my care. I am in fear of ever going to the Erie VAMC and even the Director could careless as to why!!! These people are no longer Patient Advocators, but are VA support Employees where they only stand up for the VA and its employees!!! We Veterans deserve to be treated better!!!
It is about time the VA realized they were running off good employees. In the facility were I worked it was because of bad supervisors. I certainly hope they have changed that. I retired in 2017 and when I go see my Dr, there are very few employees still there from my tenure, and only two of the Drs that were there are still there. Unfortunately, even though they were originally fired, I heard those supervisors got their jobs back and just transfered to other facilities in different states, so now they are the problem of other facilities. Unfortunate, instead of removing or demoting proven bad supervisors they just make them the problem of another region/facility. I really hope the VA does something to retain quality Drs., pay incentive is not enough when it is based on standards that mean veterans do not get services they need.