National Nurses Week falls on May 6-12. As a union representing federal nurses within the Department of Veterans Affairs, Bureau of Prisons, Department of Defense, and others, AFGE is proud to have played a major role in uplifting the voices of AFGE nurses and raising awareness of their contributions in our society.
Nurses are instrumental in our country’s health care system and public health. We urge federal agencies and Congress to make sure we have enough nurses and to do everything we can to keep them, including compensating them properly. That’s why AFGE supports legislation like this one that correct errors in their paychecks.
“Our federal nurses have persevered through a pandemic, staffing shortages, and budget cuts,” said Jane Nygaard, chair of the AFGE Nurses Steering Committee. “In spite of obstacles to delivering safe patient care, federal nurses every day continue to provide quality care to their patients.”
This year we continue to celebrate and uplift the voices of our nurses. We sat down with AFGE members who shared their stories about what it means to be a government nurse.
Jake has been working as a registered nurse in the Rehabilitation and Extended Care Float Pool at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center since 2019. During the height of the pandemic, he worked frontline with our veterans while also pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. He became involved in the union by advocating for his coworkers’ schedules by conducting a mass survey of staff. He was assigned a steward position in summer of 2022 and became president of the local a year later.
Why did you decide to join public service?
I have always been passionate about serving our veterans. I started working as a Food Service Worker for the Veterans Home in the state of Minnesota in 2015 prior to going to nursing school. After graduating, I eagerly applied for the Veterans Hospital to serve our veterans directly.
Tell us about your nursing career with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
I began at the VA in 2019 right before the pandemic. At the time, I was only a year into my nursing career. Only a few months later, the pandemic hit and I was on the frontlines of caring for our veterans. I would never wish that on any new nurse, but the experience I had during that time was invaluable, as it opened my eyes to the flaws in our healthcare system and the deficiencies of the federal government to proactively anticipate an occurrence like the pandemic from happening.
What is the best part of your job?
Getting to know and serve the veterans. The second best part is being the local president and advocating for a better working environment for our staff.
What is the most pressing issue nurses at your agency are facing and what can your agency or Congress do about it?
The most pressing issue right now is inadequate staffing and the hiring pause. This is mostly due to the millions of dollars being funneled to community care, which only serves to further privatize the VA. We need to lobby more aggressively to reduce outsourcing public funds to the private sector.
What do you wish people knew about government nurses?
The rules are much different than the private sector in almost every conceivable way. This can be both a positive and negative, but that is why it’s important to have a strong union presence as advocates of the people who serve our veterans directly.
David works at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as an interventional cardiology nurse, specifically the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. He has been at walter Reed since 2008 and currently serves as president of Local 1410.
Why did you join public service?
Public service is a calling that my family has always been engaged in and was a natural progression in my nursing career.
Tell us about your career with the Department of Defense.
There existed a very unique need within Navy Medicine that I had the specific skills set for and as such the position sought me. Navy Medicine was transitioning away from a Corpsman centric model within the confines of the Cardiac Cath Lab and falling more in line with the civilian sector where nurses were intimately involved. I have transitioned from management to my current position as union activist and officer.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part of this job is making a difference in the lives of our patients and their family. A lot of times our patients come to us in dire times and at awful hours suffering heart attacks. We mitigate the situation and provide comfort in an uncertain circumstance.
What is the most pressing issue nurses at your agency are facing and what can your agency or Congress do about it?
The pressing issue facing nurses is and remains the availability of nurses within the work force. Defense Health Agency has failed to address the hiring and staffing needs of its newly acquired facilities. Walter Reed – the Presidents Hospital – is at half its census capacity as we speak. DHA has not engaged nurses in retention incentives, recruitment incentives and it appears the DHA is content with allowing the workforce to leave government service. Most notably is the pending downgrade of nurse practitioners from a GS 13 to a GS 12. The saying “a nurse is a nurse is a nurse” does the nursing career a disservice and Congress should really have OPM develop a separate series for Nurse Practitioners. Additionally, nurses should be afforded a career ladder and recognize their specialty skills and talents.
What do you wish people knew about government nurses?
The public should know that federal nurses are a very dedicated and compassionate group that are unable to negotiate their salaries and are frequently told to do more with less. Morale is suffering and burnout is high in the uncertain times of DHA.
Joy has been working with the VA for over 40 years. She is secretary-treasurer and one of two women’s and fair practices coordinators for Local 1633 in Houston, Texas, at the Michael E. DeBakey VAMC. Local 1633 is one of the largest VA locals in the country. She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Hampton University and an Master of Public Health from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. She is American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Board Certified in Medical/Surgical Nursing.
Why did you join public service? I joined public service because of my dad, who was an army veteran. The VA played a significant role in his last days of life, providing him with advanced care. I stayed in public service because I believe in the impactful work we do for veteran families, veterans, and staff. It is a rewarding and fulfilling career where I can make a difference and contribute to creating a nurturing culture.
Tell us about your nursing career with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
I started my nursing career with the Department of Veterans Affairs right after college. Throughout my career, I have worked in various units, including admissions, GI, ICU, ER, Nuclear Medicine, Special Procedures, and currently, I am presently a Clinical Nurse Educator.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is the interaction with patients and staff. I have always enjoyed connecting with veterans and their families, helping them navigate the VA system. Now, I have the opportunity to interact with nursing staff during their orientation, introducing them to our mission and vision as they care for our nation’s heroes.
What is the most pressing issue nurses at your agency are facing and what can your agency or Congress do about it?
There are several pressing issues that nurses at our agency are facing. Firstly, pay disparity is a concern. The VA should strive to be competitive in terms of compensation. Secondly, bullying and a hostile work environment need to be addressed with a transparent reporting and accountable investigation plan. Thirdly, adequate staffing is crucial, and implementing retention bonuses and other mechanisms can help retain staff. Lastly, efforts should be made to cultivate an environment that retains younger nurses, such as organizing support groups and providing mentors for novice nurses.
What do you wish people knew about government nurses?
What I want people to know about government nurses is that we are hardworking, caring, and dedicated professionals. We choose to work in the government sector, even though we could earn more money in the private sector, because we have a deep appreciation for our "nation's heroes" who have sacrificed for us all.
David works as the day watch charge nurse in the outpatient clinic at FMC Devens in Massachusetts. He has been working for the Bureau of Prisons since 2015.
Why did you decide to join public service?
I decided to join public service to serve the community. To help underserved populations and protect the outside community to the best of my ability.
Tell us about your nursing career with the BOP?
My nursing career for the BOP began in 2015 when I started at FMC Lexington where I worked for a year and a half and then transferred to FMC Devens where I still currently work.
What is the best part of your job?
The diversity in the experience that you can obtain by working in the different settings that you can practice in within a facility.
What is the most pressing issue nurses at your agency are facing and what can your agency or Congress do about it?
The most pressing issues that nurses in the BOP face are staffing levels and comparable pay to working in traditional nursing settings. Congress and the agency could increase the salary of nurses through the GS pay scale, possibly switch nursing staff to a Title 38 hybrid, and have a more focused hiring drive to recruit medical staff.
What do you wish people knew about government nurses?
That government nursing provides a sense of accomplishment and pride in serving the community.
Joe works at the Kernersville, Health Care Center, which is part of the Salisbury, VA Medical Center in North Carolina. He has been there since 1999.
Why did you decide to join public service?
Both of my parents were US Navy veterans. Service to our country runs deep in my family.
Tell us about your career at the VA
I am a registered nurse and have always worked in Mental Health. I started in Geropsychiatry, then worked several years on a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit and then went to the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic in Winston-Salem and Kernersville. My wife Jennifer, whom I met at the Salisbury VA in 1999, is the licensed clinical social worker for the Dialysis Unit at the Kernersville HCC.
After graduating with a BA in Sociology from UNC Greensboro, I joined the U.S. Army. I had an injury in the Army that cut short my military career and, like many veterans, I have lived with a lot of guilt since that time. I needed a job that would let me continue giving back to other veterans so, I used my GI Bill to go back to school and get my RN license. I knew from Day 1 that I would work for the VA.
I am a member of the executive board for Local 1738 and was elected to the position of Chief of Professionals. I have additional training for issues specific to Title 38 employees.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is caring for our veterans. I purposely chose to work in Mental Health because I saw the greatest need in that area.
What is the most pressing issue nurses at your agency are facing and what can your agency or Congress do about it?
Many of our problems come down to lack of staff. We need the money to fully staff the VA. When employees are continually forced to do more with less, they get burned out, frustrated, illness and absenteeism increase which compounds the problems.
What do you wish people knew about government nurses?
I always hope that new nurses to the VA will be here long enough to accept and believe that we are privileged to do our part to fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to our nation’s veterans. When that happens, they move from telling people “I’m a nurse” to “I’m a VA nurse” and carry the pride that comes with this job.
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