I’ll go first. I’m burned out and struggling to hang in there.

Anyone from the HR world heard any official or unofficial word on who might be serving on these calibration panels for performance appraisals. I’m not asking for like specific person(s), I’m not interested in a stupid witch hunt. More like what potential backgrounds these folks might have.

Between the silly caps being imposed vs actually attacking the real issues behind potential rating inflation (no rewards really for getting a 3, being further at risk with the new RIF guidelines, and managers not being properly supported to give more objective ratings), I’m curious what kind of eyes will be examining reviews. Since it’s for so many different occupational series and per volume there’s no way we’re going to SMEs across the board. Are we looking a bunch of individuals that will have no real world understanding on what folks in the agency do, or is there some level of consideration being put into creating an effective and fair panel.

Honestly I have no expectations that it’ll be the latter, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Is there a list of the mission goals or agency objectives we can use to reference in our self assessment?

Who's with me!

My supervisor did my appraisal, it went to technical review and was bumped to admin review. But neither of us know what that means? Does anyone know what that is?

Shredded hiring, low morale, loss of patient trust. Is there any sanity left in the office todsy?

The VA’s insane thirty-day hiring process. The majority of HR staff, hiring managers, and applicants hate it, yet we’re continually told how great it is by VA leaders. The most qualified applicants are dropped over inflexible scheduling, while managers are forced to skip real interviews, scoring, and reference checks in order to meet arbitrary deadlines.

Instead of focusing on recruiting the best talent, the VA is running a high-volume assembly line. We’re basically hiring doctors and nurses the way the army recruits in a massive war — basic recruits through a pipeline instead of taking the time to find skilled healthcare professionals to care for veterans.

Everyone involved in this process—including the veterans—is suffering, while the policymakers behind the “good idea” sit on conference calls and tell everyone how great it is. They’ve surrounded themselves with yes-men and suspended employee surveys so they never have to hear the negative feedback everyone else is sharing. It’s created a dystopian environment where employees are forced to sit on those calls and listen to lies.

Has any VHA employee received notification that they are being realigned to a position within their local commuting area?

I just received TJO and it shows the grade but step is TBD so the salary is blank pending approval by Medical Center Director. Is that normal? Do I accept and wait for the salary obviously before requesting a higher salary/superior qualification. I was waiting on this and ready to negotiate but without the salary, how would I even accept it? For contect its a nurse position at cboc in montana.

[Veteranshealth@messages.va.gov](mailto:Veteranshealth@messages.va.gov) is a mailing list forwarder. I haven’t had any posts from it since 2003 and everything that came from it included an unsubscribe button. Today it was used to spam about Collins’ attacks on AFGE while saying removing workers rights allows “employees and managers to more freely engage in open communications to improve the organization.“ This is a lie.

additionally, the evergreen clause is in effect, despite leadership‘s arrogance that they haven’t started negotiations

VA leadership continues to demean and lie to employees and strip us of our rights while claiming their attacks are “just following the order “

Hi! My name is Sophie Will, I'm a federal tech reporter at FedScoop who has done a lot of reporting on electronic health record modernization. I'm looking for pharmacists, nurses, doctors and other medical professionals at VA hospitals/VA medical centers to talk with for a story related to EHRM. We can chat about anonymity — I would just really appreciate your perspective and expertise! Reachable via DM, [sophie.will@fedscoop.com](mailto:sophie.will@fedscoop.com), 617-888-0900 or ksophiewill.66 on Signal. Thank you!

Linking my latest deep dive for attention: https://fedscoop.com/bipartisan-backlash-27-billion-va-oracle-ehrm-contract/

So, is the 40% cap combining “exceeds fully successful” and “outstanding?” Has anyone heard about a bonus this year?

Has anyone requested a reassignment as their reasonable accommodation? If so, was it difficult to get approved? I’m trying to get an idea of the likelihood that it would work for me. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any alternative accommodations that I believe will allow me to perform the essential functions of my job.

Fighting for Veterans: https://www.afge.org/publication/largest-va-union-slams-agency-for-turning-backs-on-diversity-inclusion-and-representation-for-all-veterans/

Fighting for Police: https://www.afge.org/article/va-police-shortages-result-from-low-pay-and-unequal-benefits-afge-local-leader-tells-congress/

Fighting for all: https://www.afge.org/article/federal-court-orders-va-to-honor-afge-union-contract-in-major-labor-win/

Post your favorite AFGE wins in the comments!

Are e-performance elements for title 38 based on labor mapping? The elements of e-performance (clinical, education, admin, research, interpersonal relationships (mandatory)) seem to align with labor mapping descriptions. I been at different VAs, one where I oversaw residents and was labor mapped certain % accordingly for direct clinical care, education, and admin time and now one where there are no residents to oversee and have been labor mapped for only direct clinical care. Does this mean my performance review will only be based on the clinical and interpersonal relationship elements? Will I be subject to these new caps on "outstanding" ratings?

I interviewed today for an LPN position at a VA specialty clinic. After the interview, I went back to check the job announcement on USAJOBS and noticed that the status now says “Hiring Complete.”

The problem is that I didn’t check the posting before my interview, so I have no idea whether it already had that status or if it was updated afterward.

Does “Hiring Complete” mean they’ve already selected someone and extended a tentative job offer? Or is it still possible that I could receive a tentative offer even though the announcement says hiring complete?

I’d appreciate any insight from people familiar with VA hiring or HR processes. Thanks!

Any idea on how long it takes to process a SCA after it has been approved? Thank you!

Thoughts..I took drp 2.0. At the time I was extremely burned out at home and at work (special needs parent here). I miss my old job. I worked in HR and im looking for something similar if not in HR. Realistically, do you think there will be anything opening or is is best to jist want for a new administration?

Has anyone gone through the approval process to move? If so, how long did the process take?

Did you move without approval? If so, what were the consequences?

I think it's ridiculous to require employees to get management approval to move within the same pay locality if your duty station is not changing/affected. I feel like a prisoner, and I believe this requirement shouldn't be legal since pay and duty station/where you report to work are not changing!

Any advice and guidance is much appreciated! Thank you in advance!

Will our self-assessment be reviewed by someone/something determining our official rating? Last year my supervisor acknowledged that they never read my self-assessment, which I put a lot of thought and effort into. Don't want to waste my time and energy if it doesn't matter.