VA with academic affiliation vs other VA systems

[Pomacentridae]

Hello,

As an early career psychiatrist I was wondering whether there are any tangible benefits to working at a VA linked to an academic facility/University versus one that is somewhat further away from the city and does not have an academic affiliation. My question is whether taking a significant pay cut to work at a city VA is worth it for potentially being around more senior academic staff whom you can learn and grow from. It seems that VAs even within cities located next to a University program operate on their own terms and you might not really be around excellent mentors/clinicians any more so than at a suburban VA. I do know that at city VAs you can generally attend grand rounds at the local academic center. But other than this is there much academic/mentoring benefits vs suburban VAs? I like attending case conferences/grand rounds/presentations but don't necessarily enjoy giving them myself.

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[comp1]

If you've seen one VA, you have seen one VA. The differences between one academic VA vs another academic VA may be greater than between an affiliated and a not affiliated. This is even more true now with everyone doing near complete, if not complete, telehealth. Most VAs are not academic powerhouses with a focus on teaching and research, but some are. Of course if they are, you still have to find out if they are in psychiatry. I do think the VA is an excellent way to get a little academic exposure without taking as much of a paycut as you would at a university and generally working less hours. However, you're unfortunately going to have to do your own research on this or name the specific VAs you are interested in for people to comment on because it doesn't work as well as a general question. It's also going to involve the specifics of the job offer. Some attendings (generally inpatient) may spend all day with residents and some may never see a resident their whole careers.

 

[NickNaylor]

I imagine that this is very different from system to system as cultures may be quite different. We have a local VA about 15 minutes away from the main academic center and other affiliated hospitals. Many physicians that work at the VA carry an academic affiliation at our university but not all. My general impression is that it is more difficult to climb the ranks academically at the VA compared to working at one of the other hospitals and you are relatively isolated from the rest of the academic system, if only because of the distance. I imagine that this is an oddity related to our own institutional culture. We rarely have our VA faculty give grand rounds, for example, and only one faculty member has any meaningful academic standing within the department as an APD. I imagine this is something you can try to ask about if you‘re interested in exploring the job opportunity.