In the Spring of 1971, I started thinking about where I should go to work upon graduation from the Nursing Department at Russell Sage College. I was doing a mental health rotation at the Albany Veteran’s Affairs Hospital (as it was called at that time.) and liked it there. However, it was about an hour away from my home because the arterial to Albany was still under construction. I had worked at Samaritan Hospital in Troy, the three previous summers as a nursing assistant. The hospital was a ten-minute drive from home and I knew a lot about the hospital and knew most of the employees.
I applied to both hospitals. The Director of Nursing at Samaritan Hospital told me that they usually only hire their own graduates, but would make an exception in my case. The Albany VA offered me a job, but told me that if I failed my nursing boards, I would be terminated. Since I would have a degree, they would pay me more than what Samaritan offered. I did not want any “favors” from the Director of Nursing at Samaritan and I was afraid I might fail by nursing boards and get
fired from the VA. So, what to do?
I asked Dad which one he thought I should take. Dad told me it was up to me, that it was my career, but he thought the VA was a better choice. He said, Samaritan Hospital could run out of money at any time and then I would be without a paycheck. The VA was backed by the government and I would always get paid unless the country ceased to exist and if that happened, I might not need a paycheck. So, I went to work at the VA and I did pass my nursing boards.
Sometime during the 1990’s and the Clinton Administration, Congress failed to pass the budget and nonessential VA employees were furloughed. As an RN, I was considered essential and continued to work. The problem was all the support staff were sent home, so I found myself running specimens to the lab and emptying trash among other things. It is a good thing that they did not ask me to cook. I did not mind doing this, but the VA was paying me about $40 an hour to perform tasks that were worth about $15 an hour and this took me away from caring for my patients. Also, even though I was working, I wasn’t paid. The hospital director gave us letters to give to our creditors explaining that we were Federal employees and would be paid when the budget was passed. Therefore, please be considerate, if we did not pay our bills. I couldn’t wait to call Dad up and point out to him that the country was still in business and I was not getting paid. For once I left him speechless.
I would like to point out something. The furloughed employees were out of work for about two weeks. A friend thought it was great that the country was saving a lot of money not paying them. What Americans don’t realize is that after the budget got passed, everyone got paid including the furloughed employees. No money saved and patient care impacted.
