VANITY: Are VA hospitals run by civilians?

self ^ | 5/25/14

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

Having a convo with a friend, who says that I am wrong when I told her that VA hospitals are run by civilians. Am I wrong? A quick Google search would not answer my query.

Thanks!

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

Ping

[Blood of Tyrants]

Yes, they are run by civilians employed by the Veterans Administration.

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

Thanks very much!

[Viking2002]

Hey, Silvie, I swear I haven’t seen you around in ages! How’s things?

[2ndDivisionVet]

Yes, everything within the Department of Veterans Affairs is civilian. They are sometimes confused with the Army, Air Force sand Navy hospitals, which are mostly military.

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

Thanks so much, 2DV — I will let her know!

[airborne]

The Director at my VA (Lebanon, PA) is a civilian and IMHO a career politician brown nose.

[2ndDivisionVet]

It was changed to the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs, a cabinet-level agency, during the Reagan administration.

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

I’ve been around — I’m now stuck with being the temporary admin. for the Michael Savage Radio Show thread....

Best!

[Tax-chick]

Yes. VA hospitals are run by civil service employees of the Veterans Administration, not by military personnel, and not by employees of the Department of Defense. The DoD has its own medical facilities, which ... vary in their quality.

[Ben Mugged]

Civil Service.

[dynachrome]

“Civil” servants. Gov’t contract employees, I believe.
(I see you have the answers already0

[blueplum]

unionized civilians

[Vaquero]

They advertise for medical professionals on tv. They push the benefits of being licensed to practice in all states when they work in VA facilities

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

Are they prone to be more incompetent because they’re unionized?

(Need comeback answers to confront my friend...)

Thanks!

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

Thanks to all for your answers!

[Wingy]

Are they prone to be more incompetent because they’re unionized?

My wife, a dialysis RN, just got on with the VA in November. She was offered a union membership, but she declined. Thank goodness we live in a Right to Work state.

She sees not incompetance so much, but plenty of waste, and most of all, wasted time. No where close to the efficiency of a non-government outfit.

[scrabblehack]

M.D.’s start out as GS-9’s, no? That’s low compared to what an M.D. in the private sector can make.

My sense is that VA attracts lower-skill M.D.’s because of the low pay.

[smokingfrog]

http://mycareeratva.va.gov/about/Pages/FAQ.aspx