Capt. Daniel Dahl administers anesthesia to a Belizean boy while talking to his mother during a dental readiness training exercise April 26, 2013, at the Punta Gorda Hospital annex in Punta Gorda, Belize. Capt. Dahl was taking part in readiness exercises throughout Belize designed to combine real benefits to local populations with live training. Dahl is a dental resident from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Tony Tolley/Released)
Highly trained veterans – such as medics and hospital corpsmen – should not have such a tough time finding civilian employment in their military career fields, one advocacy group believes.
Citing a study conducted late last year, WorkingNation, an organization dedicated to addressing all aspects of unemployment, reported that overall unemployment for veterans is rising. This is happening even as the overall unemployment rate nationwide is declining. Moreover, underemployment – being hired only for jobs for which they are overqualified – is more commonplace than it should be, WorkingNation stated in an article on its web site.
“Many returning medics … were unable to immediately translate their skills into jobs – even when they had private tutored medical residents on skills like suturing – because they lacked a license,” Joan Lynch, WorkingNation’s chief content and programming officer, told the New York Times in a recent article.
“These people have about $1 million of training that the government has put into them. But they don’t have one credit toward a professional degree, and they end up being turned down for jobs delivering dry cleaning.”
The organization cites several efforts underway that could reverse the trend One is a partnership among Atrium Health, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and the Department of Defense. Veterans who participate can earn credits toward master’s degrees and physician’s assistant licenses.
VA Faces Challenges in Adapting to Veterans’ Changing Needs, Says GAO
Veterans Percentage in New Hires Slips, Share Onboard Flattens (4/1/2019)
ask.FEDweek.com: Veterans Preference in Federal Jobs
