Office of Nursing Services (ONS)
Office of Nursing Service (ONS) Travel Corps (ONS-TC)
ONS-TC Office: 602- 626-5611| Phone: 866-664-1030 (toll free) Email: onstravelcorps@va.gov
NOTE: additional information for VA staff is available on the ONS Intranet site: vaww.va.gov/nursing.
The ONS Travel Corps Program (ONS TC) is a VHA operated internal pool of clinical staff available for temporary assignments throughout the Veterans Health Administration. The goals of the program are to maintain high standards of patient care quality and safety; reduce the use of outside supplemental staffing; improve recruitment of new clinical staff into the VHA system; improve retention by decreasing turnover of newly recruited clinical staff; support the delivery of VA health care in rural or underserved areas; provide alternatives for experienced clinical staff considering leaving the VA system; and to establish a potential pool of field staff for national emergency preparedness efforts. For additional information, please contact ONSTravelCorps@va.gov or 602-626-5446.
ABOUT VHA ONS TRAVEL CORPS (ONS-TC) PROGRAM
- We recruit clinical staff, who are flexible and mobile to take an assignment at any of our VA medical centers in the U.S. as well as Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- These positions are temporary, intermittent, and the minimum assignment is generally 13 weeks. Employees are required to accept at least 3 assignments each year.
- Intermittent employees are not to exceed 1875 hours worked per year (approximately 10 months).
- Employees of ONS TC are Federal employees and are not considered contractors.
Requirements:
- Graduated with a degree from a program accredited by the ACEN or CCNE at time of graduation
- ONS TC clinical staff are appointed to a temporary, intermittent appointment, not-to-exceed 1 year.
- ONS TC RNs must have at least 1 year of current clinical experience in a hospital setting (Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Patient Aligned Care Teams, Critical Care, Medical Surgical, Acute Mental Health, Operating Room, Oncology/Infusion, Dialysis, Community Living Center)
- ONS TC clinical staff receive a government travel card to pay expenses.
- Lodging and per diem are based on geographic location of assignment and long-term travel rates (reduced to 55%).
- See: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104877 receive overtime, differentials, and premium pay in accordance with VA pay regulations.
- ONS TC clinical staff receive 10% differential for hours worked between 6pm-6am
- ONS TC clinical receive 25% differential for hours worked on weekends.
- Federal Employee Health Benefits are offered as outlined below*.
- Work schedule may include 8, 10 or 12 hours shifts covering day, evening, or nighttime tours. ONS TC may work weekends or holidays.
- Clinical staff are expected to work a minimum of (3) 13-week assignments per year, based on medical center requests.
- This program seeks clinical staff who are flexible in assignment location & shifts.
- The first assignment will be selected by TC Leadership.
*Federal intermittent employees who are expected to work 130 hours per month or more for at least 90 days will be eligible to enroll in a Federal Employees Health Benefit plan (FEHB), but are not entitled to paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, thrift savings plan, or participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System (VA transfers keep Dental/Vision, TSP and FERS).
For FEHB plan and premium information, please visit the Office of Personnel Management website at: https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/plan-information/
Applicant FAQ
HOW TO APPLY TO VHA ONS TRAVEL CORPS
Please fax documents to: 602-626-8663 (do NOT email the sensitive documents)
- Application VA-10-2850a
- Resume (must match application with addendum)
- Applicant Screening Document
- Nursing License (full practice)
- Specialty Certifications (if applicable)
- BLS/ACLS Card (from American Heart Association)
- Evaluations/proficiencies/ECF
- Reference List
- Last SF-50 Notification of Personnel Action listing grade/step (applies to federal employees)
- Transcripts (official directly from school via email or fax 602-626-8663 (applies to Non-VA)
Resume format
Your resume should include all education and work experience from date of first nursing education listed with most recent experience first. Please list the dates of completion on your education and type of degree achieved in this format mm/dd/yy. Work history dates should be in this format: mm/dd/yy to mm/dd/yy. Separate Part-Time and Full-Time work history. Indicate how many hours per week you work in part-time jobs. Clearly indicate what specialty/department you work(ed) in, separate different positions/departments/travel assignments within the same facility/agency. List education, certifications, professional activities, accomplishments, honors/awards, professional memberships, offices held, academic appointments, etc. The preferred format is Word, second PDF. Please do not send picture images.
Self-Assessment:(applies to non-VA)
For ONS TC RNs, pay is set by the nursing board. You have the option to submit a self-assessment (tool attached) for the Nurse Professional Standards Board. If you choose to do a self-assessment it should include specific examples of current or previous work experience in which you demonstrated meeting each individual dimension. Providing general statements for each of the dimensions does not demonstrate your scope and level of professional nursing experience and will not assist the Board in making your grade determination. The easiest way to address each dimension in your self-assessment is to use at least one specific work example that addresses the following questions:
- What was done?
- For whom?
- What difference did it make?
- When?
IF selected you will also be required to do a physical and fingerprints at a local VA hospital. (applies to non-VA)
IMPORTANT VA/FED TRANSFER INFORMATION
- NO Leave benefits. AL is paid out when you transfer, SL remains in storage for retirement or if you return to a permanent position.
- Temporary-Intermittent appointment means you are on a ONE-year appointment.
- Appointment extensions are based on the needs of the VA.
- You can only work 1875 hours a year (approximately 10 months).
- Retirement, Promotions and Periodic Step Increases are pro-rated (you only get credit for actual time work) therefore it takes longer to obtain than in a permanent position.
- TSP is matched but you can only contribute to while on paid status.
- FEGLI is reduced.
- To return to a full-time federal position, you must apply and be accepted at that facility/agency.
- This program may be restructured or discontinued if directed by the VA Modernization efforts.
