What is negotiable at the VA?

[peppy]

I am looking at a VA job (mostly outpatient). I know they have that pre-determined way of figuring out your salary so there isn't really any negotiation there...but has anyone had any luck on negotiating with the VA for any other perks?

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[Shikima]

Not a lot is negotiable in my opinion. You're given something, you can accept or not.
Anything else like EDRP, for example, must be included in the job announcement "or it doesn't count".

 

[wolfvgang22]

Keep in mind they can and will still low ball you on salary and expect you to negotiate, though they have a ceiling on the salary for psychiatrists. I negotiated about a $30k annual increase from the initial offer I received, matching what another hospital in town was offering me.
You can negotiate work hours, flex time, number of patients per day, bonus amount, responsibilities, amount of call if any. Source: I did and still do periodically.
Different departments will negotiate differently based on who is in HR and who is chief of the department, who is director, how bad they want a psychiatrist, etc. The VA is not as monolithic as it seems. If a VA location is going to be rigid and married to a job announcement no matter what, I would walk. If they really want you they'll find a way to make it work within reason.

 

[doubledeuce80]

You can negotiate work hours, flex time, number of patients per day, bonus amount, responsibilities, amount of call if any. Source: I did and still do periodically.
Different departments will negotiate differently based on who is in HR and who is chief of the department, who is director, how bad they want a psychiatrist, etc. The VA is not as monolithic as it seems. If a VA location is going to be rigid and married to a job announcement no matter what, I would walk. If they really want you they'll find a way to make it work within reason.[/QUOTE]


I'm in final stages of job negotiation with VA currently. My offer letter includes a sentence about a initial 2 year probationary period. For anybody who works at the VA as psychiatrist: is this standard?

As promised before, I will report back on my hiring experience/negotiations once everything is official!

 

[wolfvgang22]

Yes, the probationary period is standard. It has no real impact on anything I can tell, as there is no contract, other than the VA doesn't have to go through as lengthy a process to fire you with due process proceedings should you prove incompetent somehow. It's still probably more secure employment than working for a group private practice.

 

[VMSmith]

It depends a lot on how desperate that particular VA is to hire. If they aren't having too much trouble attracting interest, they may be more rigid about sticking to a formula, but if they've had a lot of trouble recruiting you can negotiate pretty much anything, it just might be an extra step for them to get certain things approved by their director. You should also look at other VAs in the same VISN and see what they're offering for similar work.

Make sure your job description includes EDRP (educational debt repayment program) eligibility if you have loans.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Different departments will negotiate differently based on who is in HR and who is chief of the department, who is director, how bad they want a psychiatrist, etc. The VA is not as monolithic as it seems. If a VA location is going to be rigid and married to a job announcement no matter what, I would walk. If they really want you they'll find a way to make it work within reason.

Agreed.

If you've seen one VA…you've seen one VA, or so the saying goes. Given that psychiatry is almost always an area of need, aim high and see what happens.

 

[JustAGuy]

Looking at federal salaries online, the local VA seems pretty similar across the board for psychiatrists when it comes to pay. I'm being told there's not a lot of wiggle room. Curious if anyone else besides wolfvgang22 has had much luck negotiating extra perks.

 

[J ROD]

Being Federal there is a max on their ability to negotiate but in high need area like where I am for residency they offer a fair deal. Thinking about it after residency. Not the greatest locale but money is fair and I like working with vets. Already have offered a job...with a 30-35 K difference in pay. I wonder as I new graduate how much room I have negotiate. I guess I will have to see in a year or so.

 

[TexasPhysician]

You can negotiate salary at some VA’s. I’ve seen them go up 40k.

 

[Shikima]

It is negotiable, depending on how badly you want each other. If you can afford to play hard ball, likely to see an increase.

 

[JustAGuy]

It is negotiable, depending on how badly you want each other. If you can afford to play hard ball, likely to see an increase.

I just spent some time looking up every psychiatrists at our VA. The range from highest to lowest is $8k with the exception of 2 subspecialists that seem to get about $10k more than the mean. I think they have a couple open spots, but I guess they aren't hurting too bad.

If you take a local VA job, I assume there's room to negotiate if you wish to transfer elsewhere?

 

[Shikima]

I just spent some time looking up every psychiatrists at our VA. The range from highest to lowest is $8k with the exception of 2 subspecialists that seem to get about $10k more than the mean. I think they have a couple open spots, but I guess they aren't hurting too bad.

If you take a local VA job, I assume there's room to negotiate if you wish to transfer elsewhere?

Usual stipulations from above apply.

 

[WisNeuro]

One thing you cannot negotiate, the awfulness of the HR department and the lag in onboarding.

 

[WingedOx]

One thing you cannot negotiate, the awfulness of the HR department and the lag in onboarding.

I got hired during the famous OPM hack of 2015... that was fun.

 

[WisNeuro]

I got hired during the famous OPM hack of 2015... that was fun.

Yeah, the VA HR has a hard enough time with things like dressing and feeding themselves, throw the OPM hack in the mix and it was chaos for a little bit there.