While our Veterans and Military Retirees get 1.5 percent COLA bump. The VA needs to read and heed their mission statement.
VA officials are hoping higher salaries can help lure top-notch doctors to communities such as Fayetteville.
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced it would increase the maximum salaries of new VA physicians and dentists to become a more competitive recruiter.
VA Secretary Robert McDonald, a former Fort Bragg soldier, said new doctors could earn between $20,000 to $35,000 more each year than previous pay scales allowed.
That pay hike applies only to physicians who work with patients, officials said. It does not affect the salaries of doctors who work in leadership roles.
The VA announced the decision Wednesday, saying it will publish a notification in the Federal Register that will increase maximum pay in the Veterans Health Administration.
It is all part of McDonald’s nationwide recruitment initiative, which he kicked off at Duke University earlier this month.
“At VA, we have a noble and inspiring mission – to serve veterans, their survivors and dependents. There is no higher calling,” McDonald said. “We are committed to hiring more medical professionals across the country to better serve veterans and expand their access to timely, high-quality care.”[…]
As of Wednesday, the Fayetteville VA was advertising 13 openings in Fayetteville and elsewhere in the region.
Some of the openings included multiple positions, and five dealt directly with physician openings.
According to those openings, the Fayetteville VA needs at least 10 doctors, but many of the notices said the VA has a “few” open positions.
The openings list salaries between $97,000 and $240,000 for doctors who would work in primary care or in the VA emergency room.
Increasing the maximum salary range should certainly turn a few more heads.
Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, interim VA undersecretary for health, certainly seems to think so.
“With more competitive salaries for physicians and dentists, (Veterans Health Administration) is in position to attract and hire the best and brightest to treat veterans,” she said.