In an effort to address the shortage of nurses in the United States and to increase the quality of care veterans receive, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has introduced the “Travel Nurse Corps”. This new program allows nurses in the VA to travel on assignment throughout the VA’s medical system.

“VA is committed to putting health care facilities closer to veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “The Travel Nurse Corps will make it easier to bring our world-class health care professionals closer to veterans, too. And it will make it easier for us to shift personnel during times of crisis.”

Headquartered at the Phoenix VA Health Care System, the Travel Nurse Corps, is starting as a three-year pilot program that will initially place as many as 75 nurses at VA medical centers throughout the U.S. The goals of the program are:

• To improve recruitment,
• Decrease turnover of experienced nurses and
• Maintain high standards of patient care.

Participating nurses, as part of the program, may be temporarily assigned to medical centers in distant states and clinics to help fill nurse vacancies. The intent is to reduce wait times or the reliance upon contractors, and to maintain high-level services and procedures.

Additionally, the VA released plans for a Rural Health Care Advisory Committee what would enhance VA services to veterans living in rural areas. The Travel Nurse Corps will work with the national VA panel to support VA health care in rural areas.

“Those who join the VA Travel Nurse Corps will become key members of a talented group of professionals who are dedicated to providing the best care possible to our nation’s veterans,” said Cathy Rick, R.N., VA’s chief nursing officer. “The program helps VA medical facilities address supplemental staffing needs while also ensuring there is a continued commitment to quality and safety.”

Like travel nurses in the private sector, those who become VA travel nurses are compensated for their time on duty and reimbursed for their travel. They also receive the standard government per diem allowances, which include lodging, meals and incidentals.

“This program is competitive with the private sector. VA has state-of-the-art facilities, high-tech computer systems and professional colleagues second to none,” said Jacqueline Jackson, Travel Nurse Corps director at the Phoenix VA Health Care System.

The program is also designed to establish a potential pool for national emergencies and serve as a model for an expanded VA travel corps with nurses who have varying specialties. The program is designed to reduce the use of contracted nurses, thus preserving resources that can be used elsewhere to care for veterans.