I am feeling its time for a change. Nothing against my current company, they are wonderfull! I just would rather do VA contact. I also would like a longer contract. I have a NO BS recruiter like the one I have now. Maybe some perks?? Any thoughts?? I am an OTR with 13 years experience. I enjoy school based (not EI) and inpatient hospital. I have done a ton of SNF.
You could try Fusion Medstaff, recruiter Scott Wehner is my favorite recruiter of all times and the company has great service and benefits. www.fusionmedstaff.com.
There are plenty of companies out there. Just start calling or have them contact you and see what they have to offer. Myself, I am going to try to just do Military and VA contracts. My company has had bids in on VA contracts, but are not winning them. So, I may have to go somewhere else. Any of you recruiters who might be reading this, get in touch. For now, I have been limited to about a 5 hour radius from my home in Robertsdale, secondary to family issues. Would love to go to a VA Hospital or a Military Hospital contract along the Gulf Coast. If anyone knows of one company who seems to get all the VA, Military and Indian Reservation Contracts, please drop me an email. Seems like the Government is spreading them out or something. I will send you the most recent offers from The Right Solutions out of Arkansas, the company I am with now. My recruiter has been great. Great benefits for the single person.
The Right Solutions out of Tontitown, AR they have some OTR needs now. Just added them for 12/31/2011. So now is the time to take one of these.
Professional Placement Resources out of Jacksonville, Florida did have some OTR needs. You may want to check with them.
CompHealth and Prime are two great companies also. Then you can talk to the Luke man here. He may have something for you.
Like you I want to do VA and military. I am a vetern and want to give back. Just lost a VA contract to a girl that was from the area of the VA Hospital wiith one year experience. Sad just sad
I hooked up with Patrick on linked in and this is a personal email that he sent me.
Hi Cathy,
Thank you for accepting my invite and connecting with me on LinkedIn! If you are ever looking for a new travel assignment, please let me know. Millenia Medical Staffing has earned the JCAHO Gold Seal and works with Nurse Nationally! We are also an approved vendor of the Federal Government which allows us to work in the VA system, the Navaho Nation, Indian Reservation, and Correctional Facilities. Please feel free to visit our website atwww.milleniamedical.com I look forward to the opportunity to work with you some day!
Best regards,
Patrick Turner
Director of Health Care Staffing
Millenia Medical Staffing 919-457-3026
Many companies are able to get VA and goverment contracts. However some would rather stay away from them due to the process of bidding/paperwork (several recruiters have told me this). Also you may not get the contract because of the competition based on the location or if the contractor is local ( just lost a bid to an OT with 1 year experience). I continue to holdout faith. Tied of SNF's and stupid rules.
Yes, Sir! As with you, jcraig, I am a VET, and would love to have to have a VA gig! However, every time I inquire about it, I always seem to get the response, "You have to be VETPRO Certified..." What the hell is that?? It sounds like a Government Dog Food to me! How would one get "certified" when the recruiter is not willing to tell me how to get it?? It would only seem fitting that if the company really wants to place people into a VA gig, they would at least help out, right?? But as you stated, they probably don't want the hassle with all the paperwork involved, and just want to take the easy way out!
I have a recruiter willing to do that, but the VA is not one of their bigger priorities. There is a company called DeltaFlex that seems to have TONS of VA contracts. However, they want a years commitement to the company which means they can place you ANYWHERE you have a license VA contract or not. Also was told that they couldn't submit me to a VA because of my learning disability.
I had applied for a VA travel job recently and the VetPro issue came up. What the company told me was that the VetPro certification is basically like a background check on steroids. You do an online work history and the VA goes back and checks on every job you've had in the past. From what I was told, the reason they want people who are already VetPro certified is because of the time commitment that it takes for them to check all of these past jobs. I think that in order to do the VetPro certification, you have to either have an offer, or be employed by a VA. Does seem like it makes things awfully difficult.
The HCA hospital that I currently work at made my company do something similar to that. They had to verify all my jobs in the past 7 years. If that is the case I would make a curriculum vitae with all the information from each job so you don't have to do what I had to do and spend a couple hours looking all the information up. A big pain.
VetPro for all of you folks that want to take a VA job is nothing. You just get online and do it. The VA you get assigned to will tell you where to go online. Then when you get to the VA they will do your fingerprints on their machine and you will be cleared to go in about 5 mins. I don't have the information now on how to
do the VetPro, but if recruiters are giving you a hard time because you don't have the VetPro, that is bull. It just means their company probably lost the bid on the VA contract they were bidding on. My company was bidding on Houston, TX VA, but didn't get it. Don't know who got it, but someone did. Anyway, don't fear the VetPro. It's all online and you print off the statement saying you completed it and take it with you. Nothing to it.
Oh, I was offered my assignment on Wednesday for the Oklahoma City, OK VA. I completed the VetPro that night online. I reported in the very next Monday and was working. I had 14 years of traveling. So that would be TWO business days. The VetPro covers the VA system and once you complete it online you print your certificate and you are done. Nothing to do with a background check. They do a background check on you with your fingerprints. Took me 5 minutes. Remember this is the government. They don't have to wait for your fingerprints to go out on a card. It's a clear screen, you put your fingers on the screen just like on a card and it runs a check for them. DONE!!!!!! Wednesday to Monday and I was working.
Millenia is just like all the other companies. They have sometime around been approved for VA contracts, but when I searched ALL STATES, I came up empty.
But, thanks for the tip Cathy. Will keep searching for the Recruiter out there that has the contracts available. If any of you recruiters on here. like Luke or whoever took his place, have any VA assignments, we are still looking for them. Thanks.
Hope you can just click on the staple at the bottome and bring this up. It explains the VetPro and what it's all about. Really it didn't take me long to do it.
So, anyway, guess I am DONE!! VetPro Certified. Any Recruiter out there need me? I am here, just waiting.
Hey Don! Thank you, very much, for your valued information! I guess you're right! The recruiters made it out to be some type of pain in the ass, but in reality, it was because the company lost the contract, and they did not want to take the time to help fill out the paper work to get VetPro.
Mickey,
Only a pleasure! Wish you the best on getting a VA assignment. I have put my Resume out again on Allied Travel and they throw your resume out to everyone.
I mentioned that I was only looking for VA or Military Assignments. I have received calls from Recruiters from companies I have never heard. It's a crazy field of
recruiters out there. Of course, I know that's how they keep their jobs by doing the COLD CALLS. Haven't heard anything about anyone keeping their eyes open for a VA or Military Assignment except Cross Country Travel and Trustaff. Oh the recruiter from Millenia sent me a whole list of stuff I needed to fill out before they could submit me to an assignment, but did offer to check on the VA. If I find a route to get to the VA I will let you all know.
Again, thanks for all your hard work in trying to find an "open door" into the VA! Also, thank you very much for your service!
Me?? I am such a P.I.T.A. that hopefully, all my recruiters will simply get tired of hearing from me, and get me into the VA just to get me off their backs! :^) I guess persistence is a virtue, eh??
I, too, will let you know if I get a leg-up on getting in!
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