Why is it so difficult to contact someone to get more information about Registered Nurse positions in Hawaii?

SrA Lester Takatsuka — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 17:11:44 -0500

Kim Cook Vice President of clinical services for Spark Matsunaga VA Hawaii. I have tried leaving voicemail, looked for nursing jobs on gov webpage sent email on recent VA email. No response, no postings of positions. I am told at the VA center that there are open positions and none understand why there is no posting. I am a recently retired RN and a vet. I find it very concerning that I get no responses. Why is it so difficult to contact someone to get more information?

Response by COL Randall C. made Feb 7 at 2023 5:20 PM

COL Randall C. — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 17:20:35 -0500

Did you check USAJobs.com? That's where they would be posted.

I just did a quick search* for:

keywords: nurse Department of Veterans Affairs
Location: Hawaii

and it returned 11 postings (although 8 of them are "anywhere" remote jobs)
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* https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?l=Hawaii&k=nurse%20Department%20of%20Veterans%20Affairs&p=1

USAJOBS - Search

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2023 5:42 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 17:42:58 -0500

The positions sound like gov positions, which means they are announced on USAJOBS.

Just like your unit 1SG doesn't control who PCS's to your unit, the VA POC doesn't control who is hired or when announcements start. A separate department, the CPAC usually, identifies the line of funding for hiring, the vacancy, and announces the hiring position. These all take time to verify and approve.

If a position isn't posted it might not have had the funding approved yet, or been approved to announce yet, or it may have already been filled and waiting for the recipient to arrive.

The fact is that unless you're talking to the hiring managers at the VA center they don't really know of there are open positions

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Feb 7 at 2023 11:18 PM

SSgt Christophe Murphy — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 23:18:14 -0500

Calling the VA directly asking about jobs isn't the way to go about it. OPM hiring procedures disallows folks from giving that information out to random people calling. You need to go through USAJOBS.I don't know what search settings you are using but I looked up "Dept of VA, Hawaii and Registered Nurse" with 14 search results of active job postings. The information is out there.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Feb 8 at 2023 7:50 AM

CSM Darieus ZaGara — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 07:50:03 -0500

In addition to USA jobs submission you need to realize that those are coveted positions in Hawaii. Your 5 points recieved for service, 10 if you have a high enough rating as a Disabked Vet will help with the rating, but it is no guaranty. Take your time with the on line resume, hopefully you took a class on Resume writing before separating. Again, very sought after positions, by former military and civilians both.

Good luck, be patient.

Response by SP5 Tony Tarkowski made Feb 8 at 2023 2:38 PM

SP5 Tony Tarkowski — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 14:38:15 -0500

If you contact me I will assist you. I do have contacts looking for personnel in Hawaii. I provide contract or what is called Locums for Veterans Affairs throughout the US. [login to see] I want to assist every veteran I can so please don't hesitate to contact me. I'll do my best for anyone and I have lots of contacts not only for medical personnel.

Response by A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney made Feb 9 at 2023 12:00 AM

A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 00:00:43 -0500

LMAO......
You Poor SOB.......I've Had To Deal The The VA For OVER 20 Years, But As A Patient Who Was Disabled BECAUSE Of Them..... Call After Call, Even Snail Mail, I Received ONE Returned Call In Over That 20 Year Period.... I'd Recommend, If You Can Afford It, And IF Hawaii Is Still A Long Distance Call We Need To Pay For.... Pick Up The Phone & Get Names Of People TO Contact;
Even OUTSIDE The VA Or Anywhere Else Whom May Want To Bring You In..
You'll Seldom Find Anyone In Government WILLING To Make A Decision.....
It's The Fear Of Making A Mistake & Losing Their Cozy Jobs, That Actually Adds To They're Not Even WANTING To Do What Their Paid For..........So It's Left Up To You To Do Their Work To Reach The Right People To Be Of Assistance To You.,.....