The Veterans Affairs department is creating a pilot project of mobile assignments for a group of nurses who could be sent to differing medical facilities depending on need.
The program is that department’s response to an issue that is common among agencies across government, how to allocate resources to areas of special need in the face of recruiting and retention difficulties, especially in occupational fields with high competition from the private sector. For example, one justification that DoD and DHS raised for their now-abandoned plans to change many union bargaining rights was the need to shift personnel on short notice to address problems—changes in assignments that the departments argued were made more difficult by bargaining agreements.
The Travel Nurse Corps, headquartered at the Phoenix VA Health Care System, at first will place as many as 75 nurses at VA medical centers across the country. Participating nurses may be temporarily assigned to distant medical centers and clinics to help nursing staffs that have vacancies, to reduce wait times or the reliance upon contractors, or to maintain high-skill services and procedures. Those who become VA travel nurses are compensated for their time on duty and their travel. They also receive standard government per diem allowances, which include lodging, meals and incidentals.
The program is also intended to establish a potential pool for national emergencies and to reduce the use of contracted nurses. The program is to serve as a model for an expanded VA travel corps with nurses who have varying specialties. Further information is at www.travelnurse.va.gov.
