Better that a lot of hospitals in certain regards, worse in others
Pros
Pro-nursing culture, acknowledgement of employees, up to date on technology/surgeries, opportunities for involvement in organization (i.e. committees). Generally pleasant work environment and I have had great coworkers/team mentality in areas I have worked. You can make way more money with way better benefits at the VA but the working conditions are rather deplorable in comparison from those that have worked at both. It's a trade off.
Cons
Low pay compared to other hospital systems ($10/hr difference) , lack of retention efforts, management is disconnected from actual work that is done in many areas, lack of involvement of frontline staff in changes with work environment, push initiatives through without addressing concerns of staff that are brought to their attention prior to launch, don't actually listen to/enact recommendations from staff about what they should do to help with retention after asking for them, no incentive to do more and those that do minimal are rewarded the same as those that go above and beyond continuously. Also HORRIBLE benefits. Insurance is very expensive for what you get with very high deductibles and there is no retirement match. They tout their pension as a selling point but after 30+ years and on the top scale of the RN pay someone I know was offered under 2k/mo and if you select any option like guaranteed payments to spouse for x years after your death it drops like a rock from that number (like 2-300/mo less for yourself while alive). Very upper management heavy and they choose who they want in positions before they post the position to be interviewed for. They still interview others but it's been very obvious on the interview panels I've been on who they wanted and who ended up in the positions.
