Dept. of Veterans Affairs laughs out loud at the 8 hour work day

By Emily Jarvis
Internet Editor
FederalNewsRadio

Nancy Nedoma is the G.I. Clinical Coordinator at the Department of Veterans Affairs' Hospital in Gainesville, Florida laughed out loud when Chris Dorobek on the Daily Debrief asked her if federal workers can typically get away with an 8-hour workday!

She also represents the employees that work in the North Florida-South Georgia Veterans Health System. She says, they have outpatient clinics throughout the region, representing about 5,000.

"It's an old and bloated notion," said Nedoma of the supposed 8-hour work day.

This is especially true for VA workers where personnel routinely deal with staff shortages, continuing resolutions, and very long hours.

"We are terribly short staffed, there are never enough hands to go around," said Nedoma.

But it's not just physician assistants, nurses and doctors that are short staffed, lab technicians often work 12 hour days.

"80 percent of diagnosis are obtained through the labs. They have to work overtime to cover the bare requirement. The fact that these people have to work overtime is reprehensible," said Nedoma.

For the VA, 12 hour work days are the norm. A fact that Nedoma says leads to overworked medical staff who are more likely to make mistakes.

"The jist of it is that we're not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1935. That means that anything from the National Labor Relations Board rules does not apply to us as a nurse or Title 38. We are told that we have to stay over, and do mandated overtime. Thank God last year Congress passed a law that capped our professional working hours at 12 hours a day. After 12 hours your mind gets a little foggy especially if you are in a critical care area. You are just not at the top of your game when you hit 12 hours," said Nedoma.

Often times Nedoma admits that she works 14 hours a day. Two hours of which she doesn't get paid for. "I personally will spend 12-14 hours at my desk on a Friday without overtime just to keep my head above water," said Nedoma.

But Nedoma wouldn't change her line of work. "You get to take care of soldiers who protected our country. That is a real honor."

"If you like it for the first three months you will be hooked for life," said Nedoma.

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