Melissa’s Story, Part 2: The PACT Difference

VA Careers regularly profiles employees in an effort to show job seekers a different side of VA from their perspective. The goal is to recruit top health care talent by sharing the stories of dedicated professionals who make a difference in the lives of Veterans every day.

Melissa is a VA employee who speaks with passion about her career, her work with Veterans, and her admiration for her colleagues at VA. This is the final part of Melissa’s story. Read the first part here.

Melissa Bosco, a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at the Rome Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Rome, New York, has made it a personal mission to recruit talented health care professionals to work at VA—a workplace that she believes has a lot to offer both its employees and the health care industry as a whole.

“VA is the biggest health care system in the country. Our approach to medicine is totally preventative, and our philosophy is based on the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT). It’s truly a pioneering approach,” says Melissa.

Melissa with her colleagues at the Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Rome, NY.

The PACT model of care has played a large role in Melissa’s career. She tells the story of a disabled Veteran who was very much a part of the local community at the Rome clinic. After a difficult period in his life, she describes all of the members of his care team joining forces to make sure he was taken care of physically, mentally, and emotionally.

“The walls came down,” says Melissa. “We all came together to keep him on the right path. We did what we could, and it made all the difference.”

Melissa believes that all health care providers could benefit from a career at VA. She recently had a discussion with a student who is about to receive her bachelor’s degree in Social Work, and is starting to look for open positions upon graduation. Melissa, with her years of experience as a VA employee and patient, seized the opportunity to talk about the vital role social workers play in caring for Veterans at VA.

“I told her about all of the different things that our social workers are involved in—from counseling to homeless outreach. She had no idea about all of the opportunities that we have. So I took her phone and took her straight to the VA Careers website!” she says.

Melissa may just be a trendsetter, too. “It’s funny—I had this conversation with the student and the very next day, I saw the Secretary [of Veterans Affairs] was doing the same thing at colleges across the country,” she laughs.

Thanks for sharing your story with the VA Careers blog, Melissa!

Visit VAcareers.va.gov to learn more about how you can make a difference in the lives of our Nation’s Veterans.