Clinical pharmacist inpatient VA (Veteran's Affairs) questions

[sisson329]

So I've read just about everything I've been able to find on reddit/here about the VA work experience, salaries, pros/cons, etc. I've learned so much just from the little that was out there so HUGE appreciation from the posters helping out there. Most of these seem to have been for the GS12 (if I'm understanding right) staff pharmacist positions. I don't believe I've seen anyone speak to the clinical side. Is there anyone here that works for the VA inpatient clinical that can speak to their workflow, QOL, etc? I've been offered a GS13 0660 position in the ICU. My potential supervisor has told me HR will be contacting and not to be discouraged by the offer (as he was from recent private sector as well) and that there's definitely a process in negotiation (also have a friend on the inside that will be attempting to help here). I've read sooooo much variability in exactly what kind of step boost one can get via various methods. Any input on what people are experiencing in this area would be good to hear.

Some details on the job:
GS 13 0660
Inpatient ICU

Some work exp that might help guide what step boost to ask for (from what I've seen matters?):
PGY1 trained
8 years in emergency medicine (private sector)
BCEMP
A few published articles
Gross yearly pay ~$175k (evening shift diff w/ every other weekend)

I appreciate anyone who offers their experiences! All comments are welcome.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[bacillus1]

Worked in internal med at 2 different VAs (not acute care clinical any longer, but still with the VA). Pay varies greatly among the different facilities (some VAs you might be only getting paid like 130k while others close to 200k...and the pay ranges don't always make sense). NYC pay seems to be the worst as compared to COL while there are definitely areas of the country (e.g. Baltimore) where the pay is great as compared to cost of living. Duties also depend on the individual VA and their management. My first VA job was definitely a toxic work environment, but otherwise the VA has treated me well so far. I worked in 3 different states with 1 license. The benefits are pretty good too. Also, if you ever get tired of purely clinical work (like I did), there are opportunities to do something else, though those opportunities tend to be rather competitive as many pharmacists get tired of clinical work eventually.

I have no idea how negotiation works, as it is nonexistent for people who have never had a private-sector job. If you do get an offer that is lower than your private sector job, just keep in mind it comes with pension etc. Also, do you have student loans? If so, check if the VA job qualifies for EDRP, a program that substantially helps with student loans (up to 200k). The VA is not some magical workplace that you should automatically work at just because it's the VA (we certainly have our fair share of problems), but overall it's a solid career choice.

 

[sisson329]

Hey Bacilus! Thanks so much for the detailed response. I agree that everywhere has its issues and I wouldn’t jump ship for no reason. Been doing EM for 8 years now and I’m just burnt out, in need of a change. I have 2 years left on my public service loan forgiveness but I’ll also ask about the loan help program to see. Regarding the rest of the benefits - I actually work with a hospital system that still holds a true pension (rare I know, and they tried once to remove it haha) with free benefits that are actually quite good. The reason for change is work/life balance mostly. Planning on a family soon and working a compressed schedule 7/7 with normal hours 7am-7pm M-F and 7-5pm weekends sounds fantastic, while also not losing good benefits/pension. Plus I’m a little over the constant chaos of the ED and being interrupted every few mins.

What made you leave the clinical side? And exactly what other opportunities have you seen?

 

[bacillus1]

Hey Bacilus! Thanks so much for the detailed response. I agree that everywhere has its issues and I wouldn’t jump ship for no reason. Been doing EM for 8 years now and I’m just burnt out, in need of a change. I have 2 years left on my public service loan forgiveness but I’ll also ask about the loan help program to see. Regarding the rest of the benefits - I actually work with a hospital system that still holds a true pension (rare I know, and they tried once to remove it haha) with free benefits that are actually quite good. The reason for change is work/life balance mostly. Planning on a family soon and working a compressed schedule 7/7 with normal hours 7am-7pm M-F and 7-5pm weekends sounds fantastic, while also not losing good benefits/pension. Plus I’m a little over the constant chaos of the ED and being interrupted every few mins.

What made you leave the clinical side? And exactly what other opportunities have you seen?

Just put in 660 for the job code in USAjobs (that's the code for pharmacist) and not restrict by location, and you'll see all sort of pharmacist positions. I agree with you that work-life balance is super important; I wouldn't go back to working weekends even if they paid me more (unless it was every 6th or something).

I was just really over being purely clinical. It was same old ****, hunting the medical team down for recs that they'll forget to implement, while them often treating me like their resident/fellow, not the midlevel with prescriptive authority that I am. There are only so much vanc and AC and discharge med rec/counseling until I was like "I'm over this". I can't say I wasn't respected...but I wasn't feeling autonomous. At the same time, I didn't particularly want to be a physician either. I found that I really enjoyed project work/quality improvement, so I took a position that is 50% academic detailing (provider outreach/education while working on various initiatives) and still 50% clinical, however at the nursing home (since I now work at a tiny VA that has no acute care, and that's where they needed 50% of a clinical pharmacy specialist). I am now trying to move again (so I can move in with my SO and hopefully get married soon after), so looking at things in the location where I want to move or fully remote. Some things that I have interviewed for--informatics, clinical management, pharmecon, even a GS14 national position--but these have not panned out so far as remote things are very competitive. Also applied to a few pharmacogenomics positions but no interview and it was 200+ applicants per position. Luckily, we can compromise and live halfway between where each of us lives, so I can keep my job for now.

 

[sisson329]

Yeah sounds like there's some interesting stuff out there! Curious about the CDC remote jobs, I'll have to do some digging some time.

I hear ya, it's the small part of why I feel like I might miss what I have currently. We don't have provider status or anything but I've garnered a lot of trust in my time and most of the docs just trust me to make the right call on whatever I'm doing without interfering. Feel like that's gonna be a rough transition but trying to remain positive about that part. This is really just a hard schedule to pass up for me with a great location. Luckily the management team we have is fairly young and new to the VA so I've been told that the team you have can radically change how things feel, regardless of the standardization.

If I could rewind time and give myself the knowledge I have now, probably would've went the MD route or something similar but would've worked on developing an entirely cash-based business with preventative medicine. Traditional health care is sapping it out of me haha. Sounds like you have a plan and you're persistent so I'm sure you're gonna get to where you want to be eventually!