When I was working at the VA, I did a little study called:
How VA Time Equates to Real World Time
Introduction: Things seem to happen really slow at the VA. But nobody has yet quantified exactly how slow the VA is.
Objective: To obtain an accurate representation of time equivalents at the VA.
Methods: When I was started at the VA, I was told we would be moving to a different floor of the building in two weeks. I then waited to see how long it would actually take to move.
Results: Four weeks passed since I was told that we would be moving in two weeks. I was then told that we would be moving in another two weeks. It ended up taking another four weeks.
Discussion: Results suggest that at the VA, two weeks seems to be the equivalent of no less than eight weeks. Therefore, when I am told something should take one day, I should expect it to take no less than four days. If I am told something should take six months, I should expect no action to be taken sooner than two years.
Conclusion: The VA is freakin slow.
When I first started working at the VA, I was told that we would be moving to a different floor in 6 months. That was nearly 6 years ago, and we still haven't moved. We get periodic updates on our impending move every few months.
ReplyDeleteOh, and since we'll be moving "in just a few months," no maintenance is done on our unit. We have multiple exam rooms and offices with no AC or heat, and water coming through the walls, because all that will be taken care of when the place is renovated when we "move."
but they can certainly burn thru our tax dollars pretty quickly can't they?
ReplyDeleteVA built a brand new procedure room for our department. Beautiful, fully up to date equipment, tons of space. It has gone completely unused for 2 years because they have yet to hire trained technical staff.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to study staffing patterns and priorities at the VA, take a look at the parking lots on weekdays vs. weekends. The hospital always has about the same census, but on weekends or federal holidays, the parking lots are deserted. The place is overloaded with administrators and office sitters.
ReplyDeleteAs a VA employee, I completely agree!
ReplyDeleteThe most amazing. wonderful care my husband ever got was ay a VA hospital
ReplyDelete