Today, we honor Veterans Day.
Did you know that Veterans Day originated as Armistice Day? Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance and November 11th became a national holiday beginning in 1938. President Eisenhower signed legislation in 1954 to change the name to Veterans Day as a way to honor those who served in all American wars.
Veterans Day honors military veterans with parades and speeches across the nation. There’s even a national ceremony that takes place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
At Triage, we are proud to support our veterans. In fact, military veterans can make great traveling healthcare professionals. As of 2014, there were 21.8 million veterans in the United States, many of which struggle to find jobs after serving. Working in healthcare can be a great transition for those that have served in our armed forces.
Military veterans often gain valuable healthcare experience while serving in the armed forces, especially those who provided care to soldiers overseas in areas of conflict. These individuals are able to use their valuable healthcare knowledge and personal abilities, such as teamwork, dependability and attention to detail, into traveling medical careers. In fact, many organizations and institutions of higher learning are establishing partnerships with the armed forces to help veterans transition into nursing careers.
- Helping Veterans Become Nurses Initiative
- Student Veterans Of America (SVA)
- Toolkit for Veteran Friendly Institutions
- Jonas Veterans Healthcare Program
We think of the Armed Forces as our nation’s defenders, but they are also outstanding educators, training young people in hundreds of fields like finance, administration, mechanics, technology and computers. Many of these skills learned in military life translate easily into civilian careers – especially in healthcare.
There is an abundance of opportunity to hire veterans across all industries, but especially in healthcare, which according to The Atlantic, is about to experience a shortage of nurses.
What Do Veterans Bring?
These highly-skilled men and women bring a lot of skills and knowledge to the table. By serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard, these individuals have already worked for one of the largest and most demanding organizations out there.
Military veterans have learned to perform complex tasks on a level that lives depend on, much like healthcare workers experience. They have learned leadership, teamwork and the ability to work under pressure. They have been held to high standards in planning and safety. They have been exposed to social diversity and global cultures. All of this is in addition to the particular occupational skills they may have learned makes for an ideal candidate for the traveling healthcare world.
Speaking clearly and listening carefully are skills that are indispensable for people who hope to be at the bedside providing quality healthcare. Healthcare professionals must communicate effectively not only with patients, but also with physicians, managers, colleagues and patients’ families. The ability to provide accurate and concise documentation is also very important in healthcare.
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Many military personnel not only speak more than one language, but also have traveled extensively and understand the nuances of international communication. Trained in effective writing and professional communications, military personnel know that being successful in today’s world means being able to communicate accurately and efficiently with constituents from all walks of life.
Healthcare organizations are usually overjoyed to employ people with military backgrounds. Veterans who have been on the front lines of a war or conflict have accumulated skills transferable to a fast-paced healthcare job. The consequences are far less dramatic in most jobs than in the life-or-death setting of the battlefield — or emergency department.
However, people with experience working in other high-pressure settings where their adrenaline is regularly pumping probably have a leg up when it comes to managing the stress of a healthcare environment.
We are currently hiring traveling medical professionals! If you are looking for a new assignment or know someone who is either fill out our 30-second application or refer to Triage here.