Hiring Veterans for Your Medical Staffing Needs

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If you’re on the hunt for reliable, professional medical staff you can count on, consider hiring a veteran.

Young veterans today are facing a very high rate of unemployment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in June that the unemployment rate for Afghanistan and Iraq veterans was 12.7 percent, while the unemployment rate for veterans ages 24 and under is 29.1 percent, a full 12 percent higher than for civilians of the same age. This also compares to the 8.2 percent national unemployment rate. In addition, the unemployment rate for all veterans is just 7.5 percent.

HireHeroesUSA.org, a website that says is “dedicated to creating job opportunities for US military veterans and their spouses through personalized employment training and corporate engagement,” offers the following reasons to hire veterans.

Veterans, the site days:

  • Offer employers an accelerated learning curve;
  • Provide leadership skills;
  • Possess a deep understanding of the importance of teamwork;
  • Work well in diverse groups and tend to include others in their groups regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, etc.;
  • Perform efficiently under pressure;
  • Show respect for procedures;
  • Are up on technological trends and bring a global outlook to their work;
  • Are sincere and trustworthy;
  • Are conscious of health and safety standards; and
  • Tend to triumph over adversity.

In addition, employers may be eligible for specific tax credits. As just one example, the Returning Heroes Tax Credit offers companies that bring veterans onto the payroll a maximum tax credit of $2,400 for every short-term unemployed hire and $4,800 for every long-term unemployed hire.

A Monster.com blog post on hiring veterans specifically in healthcare or medical environments states:

Healthcare organizations readily recognize the value of candidates’ military backgrounds. “Employers don’t question the ability of military people to deal with high-stress environments,” says John Harol, a partner at Lighthouse Recruiting in Avon, Connecticut. Harol, a staff sergeant in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was on active duty for eight months in Iraq, where he set up satellite communications for a hospital.

In addition, veterans who worked in healthcare in the armed services already have the skills employers need and, according to the Monster.com article, military healthcare veterans have an “easier transition” because “Federal standards and patient load are the same in the military as in civilian life.”

Have you hired veterans who recently discharged from the armed services? If so, what is your take on this issue of veteran unemployment? How good – or poor – are these workers?

Have you bookmarked the Snelling Medical Blog yet? If not, be sure to do so, because next week we’re going to discuss what ramifications the Affordable Care Act will have on your facility. Let us know what you think!