Recruitment Newsletter - Volume 9 Issue 1

Recruiter Quarterly ROSE L. BROWN, MHA, BSN, RN, CHCR; NURSE RECRUITER

NEWSLETTER Volume 9 Issue 1
April 2021
INSIDE
THIS “Bteotwhoertkypweitohf ”n…uNrsuerysoeuslawbasnt
ISSUE
1
PG. 2

Certifications and
Transcripts

PG. 3

VAMHCS Scholarship
Application Cycle

PG. 4

Intermittent Nurses

PP. 5-6

Governor’s Order

PP. 7-8

Pre-employment
Processing/VALOR/SNTs

PG. 2

Certifications and Transcripts

How to ensure this information gets into your personnel/VetPro file

For nurses who have acquired higher nursing degrees or have passed the exam for a
VA approved Certification, the following processes apply:

Certifications:

• Although there are hundreds of certifications that can be obtained in services
that encompass most, if not all, areas of nursing, not all certifications are VA
approved. For certifications not approved by the VA, the holder of that
certification does not receive VA recognition or a financial award for that
certification.

• For those possessing VA approved certifications, processing is provided in one
of two ways:

▪ New employee: when a new hire presents a VA approved certification
during the pre-employment process, that new hire receives credit for
that certification. Credit is given in the form of points which are added
to other points awarded for appropriate qualified roles, skills, and
experience. A new hire can receive credit for a total of two VA approved
certifications. Collectively, all points earned determine the starting “step”
in the salary for that employee.

▪ Existing employee: when a VA employee obtains a VA approved
certification, he/she must first make their nurse manager aware upon
receipt of the certification. This is significant because the employee is
eligible for a cash award. Employees should reach out to the HR
Credentialing section (VAMHCS MSO – Dependent Credentialing) to
provide a copy of the certification certificate and to acquire access to put
the certification information in their VetPro file. Only VA approved
certifications are to be placed in VetPro.

Transcripts:

• higher nursing degrees obtained as an employee need to be processed for placement
in VetPro and the employee’s eOPF file. The employee need only to provide the
Nurse Recruiter (NR) with an official, electronic copy of their transcript. The NR
will complete the appropriate forms and submit all documents to HR Credentialing
and HR Nursing along with the official transcript for processing. HR Credentialing
will provide the employee with access to update their education in VetPro.

2

PG.3

From the desk of LaTonya Alexander-Lilly

EMPLOYEE INCENTIVE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (EISP)

LaTonya Alexander-Lilly, MSN, RN
Career Development Coordinator
Annex, 209 West Fayette Street
Nursing Suite #714
Baltimore, MD 21201
Office: 410-637-1833
Cell: 443-421-5628
[email protected]

3

PG.4

Acquiring Intermittent Nurses

* Experience Requirement Change *

Effective January 25, 2021, Intermittent only need one (1) year experience in the
clinical service for which they are applying to work.

Nurses outside the VA: applies to nurses who are not affiliated with the VA. They may
be referred by VA nurses or contact the Nurse Recruiter directly to inquire about processes
required to work at the VAMHCS as an Intermittent nurse. These nurses submit updated
resumes to the Nurse Recruiter who begins the process by ensuring the resume reflects the
required year of experience in the desired service of interest. The resume is then forwarded
to VAMHCS Nurse Manager mail group with bullet points highlighting the education level
and clinical/administrative experience the nurse possesses. Interested managers are
instructed to reach out to the prospective hiree for additional information and to schedule an
interview if the intent is to hire. The nurse manager contacts their HR Specialist to inform of
intent to hire and to ask about HR hiring requirements.

Retiring nurses: these nurses are informed that they must wait 90 days after retirement
before they can return to apply for Intermittent employment at the VAMHCS. Prior to
retiring, the nurse should contact the Benefits section of HR to be briefed on salary, loss of
benefits, etc. If in agreement with the terms of employment as an Intermittent nurse and is
interested in returning to the unit from which he/she retired, discussion should take place
with the Nurse Manager. After the 90-day waiting period, the retiree has the option to reach
out to that nurse manager or, he/she could forward their resume to the Nurse Recruiter for
dissemination to all VAMHCS nurse managers. HR will inform the Nurse Manager of hiring
requirements.

Conversion from Full-time employment to Intermittent status: when a full-time
nurse expresses intent to convert to Intermittent status, that nurse informs the Nurse
Manager, gains approval, and is then instructed to contact the Benefits section of HR to be
briefed on loss of benefits, etc. The Nurse Manager contacts their HR Specialist to
communicate plan to keep this nurse as an Intermittent. HR will inform the Manager of the
administrative requirements for completing the conversion process. A conversion 52 is
initiated for the Intermittent position. To avoid a break in service, the effective date to convert
from full-time should be at the end of a pay period so that the Intermittent status can start at
the beginning of the following pay period. The position formerly held by this nurse now
becomes a “Vice” position and creates an open FTE. The Nurse Manager works with HR to
create a job announcement for the open position.

4

PG.5

GOVERNOR’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON EXPIRATION DATES OF LICENSES

EXCERPTS FROM THE ORDER ARE PRESENTED BELOW; ENTIRE ORDER CAN BE VIEWED
ON THE MBON WEBSITE

Section II: Extension of Certain Licenses, Permits, Registrations and Authorizations

a. This Order applies to all licenses, permits registrations, and other authorizations issued
by the State of Maryland, any agency of the State of Maryland, or any political
subdivision of the State of Maryland, including, without limitation, driver’s licenses,

5

PG.6

vehicle registrations, and profesional licenses (collectively, the “Covered
Authorizations”), that would otherwise:
b. This Order applies to all licenses, permits registrations, and other authorizations issued
by the State of Maryland, any agency of the State of Maryland, or any political
subdivision of the State of Maryland, including, without limitation, driver’s licenses,
vehicle registrations, and profesional licenses (collectively, the “Covered
Authorizations”), that would otherwise:
i. expire prior to June 30, 2021 during the state of emergency and catastrophic

health emergency; and
ii. be renewable during the state of emergency and catastrophic health emergency

under applicable laws and regulations.

c. The expiration date of each Covered Authorization (other than Covered Authorizations
excluded pursuant to paragraph II.c below) is hereby extended to June 30, 2021.

d. The head of each unit of State or local government may opt to exclude any Covered
Authorization from paragraph II.b abovep provided, that the unit head shall provide
reasonable public notice of each exclusion pursuant to the is paragraph II.c.

Please note:
“All licensees and certificate holders who have not yet renewed their licenses or certificates based on
the previous Executive order should do so at their earliest convenience and, at a minimum, at least
30 days before June 30, 2021 deadline, so that there is sufficient time to process the renewals.”

Posted on the MBON website

6

PG.7

New Employee Pre-employment Processing

External Applicants

EOD Name Unit Select VETPRO SENT TO DATE
Date Boarded
5/23/21 Marsell Metts, LPN LR LR2 submitted Board/HR
5/23/21 Sharon Johnson BT Risk Mgr. 9/25 10/9 10/9 N/A
5/09/21 Modupe Anthony 10/22 10/28 11/3 11/4
5/23/21 Malinda Maxwell BT 3Med 10/22 11/5 11/17 11/18
Sigrid Mays PP GEC 14A 11/24 12/4 12/4 N/A
5/23/21 Ma Jeanoraver Marquez 12/2 12/17 12/22 12/23
Binta Traore, SNT BT CICU 12/11 12/23 1/5 1/6
Kirsten Sharp, SNT BT MICU 12/15 N/A 12/17 N/A
Shakyra Webster BT 3Med 11/25 N/A N/A N/
Solange Vargas, LPN BT 3Med 1/20 1/29 2/3 2/3
Alecia Chambers, LPN PP MH Int. 3/4 3/4 N/A
Judith Lowitz LR PACT 2/2 2/17 2/17 N/A
Tracie Brown, LPN LR2 GEC Int 2/8 2/26 3/9 3/10
Jackqueline Easley LR2 GEC Int 2/10 2/17 2/17 N/A
Metzel Tropia PP 14B GEC 2/11 2/24 3/2 3/3
Rubie Principe BT Nurse Ed. 2/11 3/1 3/10 3/10
Olusola Akanbi, LPN BT 3Med 2/11 3/1 3/9 3/10
Vaida Meizys BT MICU/CICU 2/11 2/24 2/24 N/A
Ericka Sapp LR2 GEC Int 2/12 3/12 3/16 3/17
Katrina Garcia, NP BT PACU/SDS Int 2/16 3/10 3/16 3/17
Heather Magowan, LPN BT Dermatology 2/17 N/A 3/10 3/10
Ukegbu Kalu BT SICU 2/17 3/12 3/12 N/A
Dawn Ford, LPN PP MH 2/17 3/2 3/9 3/10
Jovy Torlao LR2 GEC Int 2/18 3/11 3/11 N/A
Anne Muntuerto, CRNA LR1 GEC 2/19 3/12 3/16 3/17
Monica Brown 2/24 3/15 3/15
Lisa Brown BT ED 2/25 3/15 3/23 4/7
Claudia Ciobanu Anesthesia Int 3/3 3/16 3/23 3/24
Pamela Lewis 3/4 3/25 3/30 4/7
Ferdinand Sarausa Nsg. Ed/Imp. Coord 3/11 3/30 3/30 4/7
Maribelle Zylstra 3/19 3/30 3/30 4/7
Adunni Ojo PP ANM GEC 3/20 3/29 4/6 4/7
Chantel Walker BT 3Med 3/20 4/2 4/6 4/7
Shirley Paruch 3/23 4/5 4/13 4/14
Charmony Pounds BT SICU Int 3/25 4/9 4/13 4/14
Deborah Kadamian BT SICU Int 3/25 3/25 3/30 N/A
Glory Akpan 3/29
Jennifer Meyers BT ED 3/30 4/12 4/20
Geraline DelCastillo LR Hospice Int 4/5
Erin Foley 4/5 4/26 4/27
Kristine Santos, CRNA BT MICU 4/8 4/23 4/27
Debra Walters PP MH Int. 4/9 4/28
Dyese Beaton LR Geri PACT 4/12 4/20 4/20
BT P/I Spec. 4/12 4/26
LR2 GEC Int 4/14

BT MH
BT SDS/PACU Int

PP CITC
BT Anesthesia

PP CITC
BT ED

7

PG.8

New Employee Pre-employment Processing

Internal Applicants

EOD Name Select VETPRO SENT TO DATE
Unit Date submitted Board/HR Boarded

5/9/21 Jose Sanariz, CRNA Bt Anesthesia 1/29 N/A 1/5 4/21
Krishna Siota BT Outpt. Infusion 2/17 N/A 2/23 2/24
5/23/21 Yvonne Beachum 3/23 N/A N/A N/A
5/23/21 Erica Arhing PP GEC 14A 3/10 N/A N/A N/A
Charity Ogunbo BT 3 Med 4/1 N/A 4/6 4/7
Juliet Hardwick 4/11 N/A 4/20
Binta Traore, GNT BT GYN 5A Cl. N/A N/A N/A N/A
Kirsten Sharp, GNT FT. Meade PACT N/A N/A N/A N/A
Rebakah Adams 4/21 N/A N/A N/A
BT 3Med
BT 3Med
BT CCC/Liver

VA LEARNING OPPORTUNITY RESIDENCY PROGRAM

Each Spring, the VAMHCS participates in the VA Learning Opportunity Residency (VALOR)
Program. The VALOR program enables one high performing, junior level nursing student in a BSN
program with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher to train and develop clinical skills here at the
VAMHCS during the summer months. Nursing students from local colleges and universities compete
for the single VALOR position. Each student is interviewed and selection for the position is based on
their responses to nursing focused and performance based questions, in addition to identifying and
applying the steps of the nursing process to a patient care asssignment completed during their clinical
training. The program provides focused training, competency based clinical practice with a dedicated
preceptor, and individual development opportunities. The aim is to cultivate, support, encourage,
and provide a structured, student-centered approach to learning, with the intended purpose of
producing a future VA RN.

STUDENT NURSE TECHNICIAL (SNT) PROGRAM

For those not selected as the VALOR student, they are offered the position of SNT. ASN students are
also eligible for this position. The SNT program offers an equally beneficial training opportunity for
the student, working under the supervision of a RN. SNTs are not assigned dedicated preceptors,
instead, have the opportunity to work with different RNs who understand and uphold the objectives
of the program. SNTs receive focused training that is student-centered and designed to develop
clinical competencies comparable to those outlined in the VALOR program. The SNT program is not
a summer program, as such, gives these students the opportunity to work until their graduation date.
As with the VALOR student, the goal of the SNT program is to produce a future VA RN.

I am pleased to announce that this current cycle has yielded a VALOR student and 5 SNTs!

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