My wife worked at one for six months. She was a n advocate too. 40 plus years in hospitals and she said it was un believable. The union is a big problem there.
The big difference between public and private enterprises like the VA, is that the product they produce is the process. Private industry is profit driven - don't make a profit, don't stay in business. Public is not based on any discernable product of any value. It is all about developing a process that somehow justifies a paycheck and existence. Most of the processes don't produce anything of real value in a practical way - such as patient care. But it looks good on paper - or so say the other government entities all doing the same. The people within the system cannot see the insanity of it all. Americans defrauding other Americans for a paycheck and thinking they provide a service.
The VAMC where I worked utilized many per diem employees like myself to do actual work. The permanent employees were, for the most part, useless bureaucrats that did as little as possible. Whenever there were inspections and audits to control spending, they would go through the facility and pink slip the per diem grunts to make the books balance. Then slowly they would hire back more per diems to actually get some work done. In addition, by constantly rotating the per diems, they could keep their incompetency hidden. Like all government entities, they have the ability to grow dead weight and continue to get more money to increase the size of the uselessness - all while never having to show accountability for the money spent - at least none that made sense to anyone with half a brain. The fox is always in charge of the chicken coop.
My wife worked at one for six months. She was a n advocate too. 40 plus years in hospitals and she said it was un believable. The union is a big problem there.
The big difference between public and private enterprises like the VA, is that the product they produce is the process. Private industry is profit driven - don't make a profit, don't stay in business. Public is not based on any discernable product of any value. It is all about developing a process that somehow justifies a paycheck and existence. Most of the processes don't produce anything of real value in a practical way - such as patient care. But it looks good on paper - or so say the other government entities all doing the same. The people within the system cannot see the insanity of it all. Americans defrauding other Americans for a paycheck and thinking they provide a service.
The VAMC where I worked utilized many per diem employees like myself to do actual work. The permanent employees were, for the most part, useless bureaucrats that did as little as possible. Whenever there were inspections and audits to control spending, they would go through the facility and pink slip the per diem grunts to make the books balance. Then slowly they would hire back more per diems to actually get some work done. In addition, by constantly rotating the per diems, they could keep their incompetency hidden. Like all government entities, they have the ability to grow dead weight and continue to get more money to increase the size of the uselessness - all while never having to show accountability for the money spent - at least none that made sense to anyone with half a brain. The fox is always in charge of the chicken coop.