Closing the Unemployment Gap in Healthcare With Highly Qualified Military Veterans

A RECRUITMILITARY WHITE PAPER DECEMBER 2013RecruitMilitary.com

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Closing the Unemployment Gap in Healthcare With Highly Qualified Military Veterans

Table of Contents THE PROBLEM: Finding Quality Candidates for the Growing Healthcare Field The Looming Labor Crisis in Healthcare Aging Baby Boomers Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Growth Projections for Healthcare and Supporting Occupations Table 1: Healthcare Practitioner Occupations Projected to Grow by 25% or More from 2010 to 2020

Table 2: Projected Growth of Healthcare Support Occupations from 2010 to 2020

What Key Qualities Do Veterans Bring to the Table? What Corporate Employers Say About Veteran Employees Table 3: Reasons for Hiring Veterans

Leadership and Teamwork Skills

Extraordinary Work Ethic

Time Management Multitasking Skills

Acting Decisively

Success of Veterans on the Team

Resilient and Loyal

Public Relations Benefits

Why Healthcare Companies Seek Veteran Talent St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Catholic Health Initiatives

Bumpy Terrain: Navigating the Confusing World of MOS Codes and Translating Skills

How an Army MortarMan Successfully Translated His MOS Skills No MOS Confusion Here: Healthcare is Healthcare Seamless Transitioning for Veterans Table 4: DoD Medical Manpower Program

Areas of Positive Change for Veteran Healthcare Employment Certification for Veterans Health Centers New Requirements for Federal Contractors

THE SOLUTION: Use a Full-Service Veteran Hiring Authority to Source Quality Veteran Candidates Where are the Veterans? Who Can Help Me Find Them? Employer Efforts to Source Veteran Talent Military-to-Civilian Recruitment Specialists

A Full-Service Hiring Authority Career Fairs Magazine Job Board Active-Duty and Veteran Healthcare Workers

Conclusion

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The healthcare industry will be hard-pressed to fill essential job openings in the next decade.

Employers that are already struggling to find qualified candidates should consider military veterans.

Veterans are well trained and experienced in many healthcare specialties.

Hiring veterans for civilian healthcare roles can help solve a myriad of problems and bring added value to employers.

THE PROBLEM: Finding Quality Candidates for the Growing Healthcare Field

While overall unemployment numbers are getting better, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans remains significantly higher than the rate for the general population – rising from 7.7% in July 2013 to 10% in August 2013. “More than a single report, we know that too many post-9/11 veterans continue to struggle to find employment,” noted Derek Bennett, chief of staff at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “We have made progress as a nation, but there is more we must do to support veterans’ transition from combat to career.” 1

The Looming Labor Crisis in Healthcare

Over the past decade, healthcare has been one of the primary drivers of job growth in the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a part of the U.S. Department of Labor, expects this trend to continue through 2020.2 The main contributing factors will be (1) the retirement of baby boomers, and (2) new national healthcare legislation.

Aging Baby Boomers

In 2011, the first cohort of the 78 million members of the baby boomer genera-tion (people born between 1946 and 1964) turned 65. By 2012, boomers were transitioning rapidly out of the workforce, with 10,000 people per day turning 65. The aging of this population will produce an increase in demand for health-care, sending national healthcare costs skyrocketing.3

According to a report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) titled “Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce,” aging boomers are facing a healthcare system much too small and unprepared to meet their needs.4 Despite the rapid increase in the country’s senior population, the number of geri-atricians is actually decreasing. Taking into consideration the increased life ex-pectancy of today’s seniors, coupled with the disproportionately large utilization of healthcare resources by the elderly, it is not hard to see the issues America’s healthcare workforce will face in the near future.” 5

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Major provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA; “Obamacare”) are due to take effect in 2014. According to analysts, because

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1 Altman, George, “Unemployment rate for Post-9/11 vets jumps in August,” Marine Corps Times, September 6, 2013, http://www.marinecorpostimes.com; http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/apps/pbcs.dllarticle?AID=/2013090 61311/JOBS/309060021 2 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1109649 Occupational Outlook Quarterly. Spring2012, Vol. 56 Issue 1, p24-26. 3p. 1 Color Photograph, 1 Chart. 3 John Feldman, “Effects of the Baby Boomer Generation on National Health Care Costs,” (May 1, 2012), http://www.insperity.com/blog/ effects-of-the-baby-boomer-generation-on-national-health-care- costs/4 Institute of Medicine for the National Academies, http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2008/Retooling-for-an-Aging-America- Building-the-Health-Care-Workforce.aspx5 http://www.insperity.com/blog/effects-of-the-baby-boomer-genera tion-on-national-health-care-costs/

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of those provisions, between 30 million and 34 million people will add their names to health insurance rolls across the country over the next decade.

The program’s emphases on primary and preventive care will prompt the newly insured to find primary care providers and use them for the bulk of their medi-cal care. “We’re anticipating that people who used to go to the emergency room for everything will go to a family doctor, and those offices will have to staff up,” said Dorothy Wax, Senior Director of Career Services and Human Resources at The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.6

In particular, the numbers of medical assistants and nurse practitioners will increase very rapidly. Primary care providers of all kinds will staff up to handle the expected deluge of new patients. Physicians, chiropractors, podiatrists, and others will need qualified medical assistants to schedule appointments, take medical histories, and prep patients. Large physician practices, community health clinics, and hospital stand-alone, non-urgent care facilities will be good bets for new job opportunities. Additionally, physicians and physician assistants will look to medical assistants to take on more patient-care work.7

The PPACA will also increase the need for more mid-level caregivers, making nurse practitioners more prominent components of the healthcare workforce in years to come. A nurse practitioner is a registered nurse who has advanced train-ing and education in nursing. He or she earns a master’s degree in nursing, and can diagnose and treat a wide range of medical illnesses and conditions, as well as write prescriptions.

As PPACA implementation approaches, many health organizations are in a mad dash to ensure that they are equipped with the proper tools and staffs to support a sudden increase in patient demand. Nurse practitioners are often prescribed as a cure for a common workforce shortage, providing an added level of patient coverage between the ranks of nurses and physicians.8

Growth Projections for Healthcareand Supporting Occupations

According to the Spring 2012 issue of the Occupational Outlook Quarterly, published by the BLS, the number of healthcare practitioners will increase by 2 million from 2010 to 2020, the second largest gain of any major occupational group. And that group’s projected overall growth rate of 26% is the third highest of all groups. Driving this growth is increased spending on healthcare services, as the baby boomer generation ages.9

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Photo credits: 2009 CC Walt Stoneburner, Flickr.com

6 Mellen, Sue, “Medical Assistants are Winners with Healthcare Reform, “Health Callings http://career-news.healthcallings.com/2013/08/14/ medical-assistants-are-winners-with-healthcare-reform/#sthash Gt8bWsWv.dpuf 7 Ibid. 8 Supplemental Healthcare Work Force Solutions, http://www.supple mentalhealthcare.com/blog/2013/growing-leaps-and-bounds-nurse- practitioners9 Occupational Outlook Quarterly. Spring 2012, Vol. 56 Issue 1, pp. 24-27. http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2012/spring/spring2012ooq.pdf

Nurse Practitioner: providing an added level of patient coverage

Large physician practices, community health clinics, and hospital stand-alone, non-urgent care facilities will be good bets for new job opportunities.

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Employment in healthcare support occupations will increase by 34% from 2010 to 2020 – making this the fastest-growing occupational group – by adding 1.4 million new jobs.

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Table 1: Healthcare Practitioner Occupations Projected to Grow by 25% or More from 2010 to 20202010 - 2020 Growth

30%37%29%28%38%44%33%33%29%33%25%32%39%30%28%26%28%36%52%

Occupations

The BLS expects employment in healthcare support occupations to increase by 34% from 2010 to 2020 – making this the fastest-growing occupational group – by adding 1.4 million new jobs. Interestingly, just one occupation – home health aides – will add about half of the new jobs. Home health and personal care aides help people who are disabled, chronically ill, or cognitively impaired. They also help older adults who may need assistance. Home health aides alone made up 24% of the occupational group in 2010, and an aging population spending more on healthcare in the future means this profession will represent 31% of all health-care support occupations by 2020.11

The BLS lists eight healthcare support occupations, and projects that five of them will grow “much faster than average.” The BLS expects seven of them to grow by 20% or more between 2010 and 2020. Most people in these occupations work under the direction of healthcare professionals, and the occupations generally require less education to enter.

• Athletic Trainers • Audiologists• Cardiovascular technologists and technicians, and vascular technologists • Chiropractors• Dental hygienists• Diagnostic medical sonographers• EMT’s and paramedics• Occupational therapists• Opticians, dispensing• Optometrists• Pharmacists• Pharmacy technicians• Physical therapists• Physician assistants• Radiologic technologists• Registered nurses• Respiratory therapists• Veterinarians• Veterinary technologists and technicians

10 lbid.11 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home- health-and-personal-care-aides.htm (visited September 13, 2013).

Military Health Practitioner- treating an Air Force sergeantPhoto credits: 2011 CC National Guard, Flickr.com

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Table 2: Projected Growth of Healthcare Support Occupations from 2010 to 20202010 - 2020 Growth

31%69%20%31%6%20%41%45%

Occupation

• Dental assistants• Home health aides• Massage therapists• Medical assistants• Medical transcriptionists• Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants• Occupational therapy assistants and aides• Physical therapist assistants and aides

4.

3.

2.

1.

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Veterans are entrepreneurialVeterans are twice more likely to own a business after leaving the military, and enjoy significantly higher five-year success rates.

Veterans have high levels of trust Veterans show the strong bonds of trust inherent in military service teams. The report illustrates that the ability to trust one’s co-workers and superiors is a strong indicator of high-performing teams.

Veterans are great at transferring their skills to new tasks Veterans have been trained to plan for contingencies, different environments, and new scenarios.

Veterans have and use advanced technical training Soldiers are simply on the receiving end of more high-technology training than their age-group peers, and are better at using it across a variety of fields and tasks.

What Key Qualities Do Veterans Bring to the Table?

Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) published a study titled “The Business Case for Hiring a Veteran: Beyond the Clichés” in March 2012. The study discusses the many strong characteristics that military service develops, and why those characteristics are highly valued in the business world. The study notes, “Leadership ability and the strong sense of mission that comes from military service are characteristics that are highly valued in a competitive business environment,”12 citing academic research sup-porting this position. The paper further explores a veteran’s value in a competi-tive business environment through various research-informed propositions:

12 “The Business Case for Hiring a Veteran: Beyond the Clichés” (March 5, 2012), Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

Dental Assistant - a member of a rapidly growing professionPhoto credits: 2011 CC University of the Fraser Valley, Flickr.com

What Corporate Employers Say About Veteran Employees

“Employing America’s Veterans: Perspectives from Business” by Margaret C. Harrell and Nancy Berglass, (Center for a New American Security (CNAS), June 2012) complements and expounds upon the IVMF report, and further de-tails why hiring veterans is simply good business. The CNAS authors conducted lengthy interviews with 87 individuals representing 69 companies across the United States. The authors found overwhelmingly that although in theory many companies agree that hiring veterans is patriotic and “the right thing to do,” in practice, most will do so only when there is also a solid business reason and when it helps them accomplish their business goals.14

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13 Ibid.14 Margaret C. Harrell and Nancy Berglass, “Employing America’s Veterans: Perspectives from Business” (Center for a New American Security, June 2012), http://www.cnas.org/employingamericasveterans

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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Veterans are resilientThey can adapt in the face of adversity, overcome hardships, and excel even in harsh environments. The study cites research that military veterans show high levels of resilient behavior, and an enhanced ability to “bounce back,” compared to their peers who have not served. The study goes on to note that this quality is critical in a variety of business settings including sales and other areas where outcomes are uncertain, including healthcare.

Veterans are great team-buildersThey excel at organizing, defining goals and team roles, as well as plans of action in order to accomplish the task or mission. The belief that they can successfully merge with and contribute to an existing team has also been strongly engrained in their psyche.

Veterans are committed to their organizationThe report notes, “Military institutions are particularly adept at institutional socialization, and as a result the military experience engenders a strong linkage between the individual and the organization.” Veterans go on to bring this loyalty to their civilian jobs as well, and this can lead to lower attrition rates and higher work quality.

Veterans are used to diverse work settings The report found that “those with military experience are (on average) highly accepting of individual differences in a work setting, and exhibit a high-level of cultural sensitivity…” 13

Veterans have (and leverage) their cross-cultural experiences With today’s military interacting and working more with various groups and forces internationally, a competitive advantage comes from veterans who may speak more languages and have a higher level of cultural sensitivity borne from their international experiences.

5.Veterans are comfortable and adept in uncertain situationsMuch like today’s business environment, the ability to act quickly and with precision is critical. The military experience is replete with making fast, tough choices in the face of uncertainty – especially so in combat environments.

The report discusses various reasons for and impediments to hiring veterans, and makes recommendations on how to increase veteran employment. Most notably, the authors urge that, “Employers, veteran advocates and policymakers should recognize and act on the business case for hiring veterans, rather than relying on reasons based on social responsibility, patriotism or pride.” 15

Nearly two-thirds of the companies sampled actively recruited veterans. Nine more companies did not have a formal veteran hiring program in place, but would likely prioritize a veteran over a non-veteran candidate if both were well-qualified. All companies said in the instance of multiple, qualified candidates, “The tie goes to the vet.” 16

“Lots of younger officers and senior enlisted personnel get more leadership and management experience than civilians with similar years of experience. So they can come in and understand [our core business areas] but also have a good skill sets leading teams and working in a team.” 17

“Ninety-five percent of the kids coming out of college have never managed before. They may be very smart, but they have no leadership experience. To find someone that is very smart and also has real leadership experience is huge for our business.”

8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Leadership,Teamwork

Character Structure, Discipline

Expertise Dynamic Enviroment

Effectiveness Right Thing

Proven Success

Resiliency Loyalty Public Relations Value

Source: Veteran employment interviews, Center for a New American Security

Perc

ent o

f Com

pani

es

Table 3: Reasons for Hiring Veterans

15 Ibid, p. 6.16 Ibid, pp. 12 - 13.17 Ibid, p. 15.

Leadership and teamwork skills were the most commonly cited reasons for hiring veterans cited in the CNAS study:

Leadership and Teamwork Skills

A veteran speaking with a representative from General Electric at a RecruitMilitary Veteran Career Fair, October 3, 2013, Cincinnati

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Photo credits: 2012 RecruitMilitary

Twenty of the organizations polled pointed out the extraordinary work ethic that veterans possess:

“I think veterans work harder, have a better work ethic, and they work until the job is done. It is very rare for a military guy to fail.”

“With the military, what we get is a person who wakes up every morning ready to execute the mission.”

“The vets make a valuable contribution to our company. We find that there is a significant correlation between high performance and military experience.”

“They are also valuable hires because they are mission-oriented, and they understand the concept of getting the job done.” 18

“We search out veterans. In particular, people coming out of high-pressure jobs, high-stress jobs, where they need to make quick decisions without a lot of information. These people are a good fit for [our] corporate culture.”

“Our current environment is very stressful, and when you have stuff coming at you as a business from every angle, it is good to have someone, like a military veteran, who has experienced even more significant adversity and overcome it.”

“Many of our supervisors also are former military, so they know those skill sets and want to hire veterans. So we have lots of people that constantly remind people of the value that veterans bring.” 19

“[We work] irregular hours and in all types of weather. Most civilians have a difficult time working under these conditions, but military personnel are used to all of these factors.”

“I recently completed a study on the turnover rates at [my company] and based on the analysis, the attrition rate was 7% lower for vets than civilian employees.” 20

“We think it’s good to associate our brand with the military brand, which is our country’s most trusted institution. It’s good for our brand’s reputation.” 21

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Time Management Multitasking Skills

Extraordinary Work Ethic

Acting Decisively

Success of Veterans on the Team

Resilient and Loyal

More than 25% of the companies in the CNAS study found that veterans are highly effective, with superior time management and multitasking skills:

Because veterans often work in uncertain environments, they are adept at acting decisively when they must. Nearly one-third of the participating companies in the CNAS study valued this experience:

The success of veterans already on the team leads to more veteran hiring:

Among the other leading factors, veterans are resilient and loyal:

18 Ibid, p. 18.19 Ibid, p. 19.20 Ibid, p. 20.21 Ibid.

Public Relations BenefitsFinally, there are public relations benefits to companies who are perceived as military-friendly employers:

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22 http://blog.recruitmilitary.com/2011/12/veterans-wanted-jobs-in- healthcare-with-catholic-health-initiatives/

Why Healthcare Companies Seek Veteran Talent

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis has long recognized the value of military veterans with medical backgrounds – and has put that value to good use. Deidre Richardson Neal, Manager of Employment at St. Jude said, “Military personnel bring a certain maturity to their role in addition to a sense of pride and responsibility to our mission. They seem to possess an agility in their thought processes, which allows them to adapt quickly to changing work priorities and conditions.” This is likely attributable to their military experience with both mission readiness and mobility. “St. Jude is a highly collaborative in-stitution, and military veterans understand the strength in teamwork,” Neal said.

Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) is a national nonprofit health organization headquartered in Denver. The system operates in 19 states and includes 72 hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted- and residential-living facilities; two com-munity health-services organizations; and home health agencies. Valerie Hayes is a national recruiter for CHI. Her background is in human resources, and she spent three years on active duty in the Army after completing ROTC. She finished her active reserve commitment as a first lieutenant promotable. “Our biggest needs are in healthcare,” she says. “We are looking for nurses, physical therapists, biomedical equipment technicians, and more.”

CHI wants veterans in these roles for many reasons. “They have the core values that we are looking for,” Hayes said. “They strive for excellence, have integrity and compassion. They don’t come with a big learning curve, because they already have a lot of experience and training. We know veterans understand teamwork, and they have great leadership experience. Plus, veterans don’t get rattled easily. That’s important because what we’re doing is often a matter of life or death.” 22

Bumpy Terrain: Navigating the Confusing World of MOS Codes and Translating Skills

The CNAS study cited skill translation more often than any other challenge to veteran employment. Veterans who are used to performing in a team environ-ment often have difficulty touting their individual achievements and explain-ing what jobs they performed. Civilian employers often fail to realize that jobs sounding distinctly military in nature frequently involve many of the same components and responsibilities of a civilian position.

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Photo credits: Buddy Rogers, http://www.panoramio.com/photo/66223699

Photo credits: http://www.winnrichey.comCatholic Health Initiatives headquarters, Denver

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis

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The CNAS report points out that “even relatively junior military servicemem-bers may have had responsibility for maintaining and securing very expensive equipment, or for large amounts of money. They may have managed a small team, determined daily plans, and delegated tasks.” 23

Difficulty with skill translation is common, and many MOS translators available on the Internet do little to ease the confusion. One employer lamented, “Hon-estly, I don’t have enough command of all the codes to be able to translate the lingo into civilian skills.” 24 For example, although the Army 11b infantryman MOS has no civilian counterpart, the close teamwork, discipline, and leadership experiences it provides are helpful in many civilian occupations.25

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How an Army Mortar Man Successfully Translated His MOS Skills

If you ever wondered how an Army mortar man acquires great communication and customer service skills, just ask Pedro Lopez. He attended the RecruitMilitary Chicago Career Fair in March 2013, got a job recruiting veterans like himself at PeopleScout, and hasn’t looked back since.

Lopez decided to join the Army after attending a semester of community college. “I just woke up one day and decided I needed to do something different.” He served nearly five years in the Army as a mortar man (MOS 11C), separating in 2010 as a Corporal (E-4). The most valuable things the military gave him were discipline and structure. He learned to perform tasks before being told by anyone, noting “It’s more a discipline of oneself. If you are disciplined with yourself that tends to organize everything else.”

He thinks veterans are huge assets to civilian employers. “One of the greatest things is that they’re stable and dependable. They go above and beyond every day. It’s a mentality or a feeling like ‘I have to be at the top of my game.’”

Lopez learned of the Chicago Career Fair because he had registered as a candidate on RecruitMilitary’s job board, and received emails about the upcoming event. He brought roughly 30 hard copies of his resume to hand out to employers. Although he was interested in the recruiting field, he made sure to speak to lots of companies, and was impressed with the number and diversity of employers in attendance. He was contacted by several companies to interview within days after the career fair.

23 Ibid, p. 21.24 Ibid, p. 21.25 Ibid, p. 23.

Photo credits: 2013 Pedro Lopez

Photo credits: 2012 RecruitMilitary

Pedro Lopez - from mortar man to recruiter

Chicago, an annual venue for RecruitMilitary Career Fairs

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With zero previous experience in recruiting, Lopez had an idea that he wanted to help veterans make the transition to civilian jobs. When he arrived at the PeopleScout booth, Lopez was interviewed on the spot, and described how his duties on a mortar squad gave him great customer service skills. He explained his belief that customer service goes along with every job, and that communica-tion is critical when firing ammunition. A key part of an indirect fire infantry-man’s duties are operating two-way radios and signal equipment to relay battle orders.26 “You have to talk to your superiors, you have to explain things to your team and communicate with them. We do a lot of radio work and it’s important to relay messages, understand orders and communicate effectively,” he said.

That description must have worked. Soon after, he was hired by PeopleScout, the world’s largest RPO provider. As a veteran career counselor, Lopez is now the one who places veterans directly into civilian employment roles.

No MOS Confusion Here: Healthcare is Healthcare

The Military Health System (MHS) is responsible for providing healthcare to active duty and retired U.S. military personnel and their dependents. It is a partnership of medical educators, medical researchers, and healthcare providers and their support personnel worldwide. The MHS is prepared to respond with comprehensive medical capability to military operations, natural disasters, and humanitarian crises around the globe.27

The primary mission of the MHS is to provide health support and medical care to more than 9.6 million Department of Defense beneficiaries worldwide. MHS executes a $50 billion budget, and maintains a workforce of more than 176,000 active duty and civilian medical personnel and over 66,000 reserve medical personnel. It operates 65 hospitals, 412 clinics, and 414 dental clinics at facili-ties across the nation and around the world.28 The organization continuously strives to improve the development of key medical skills and align its work-force’s capabilities to meet new and emerging medical needs.29

MHS medical personnel may work as a part of a patient-service team in close contact with doctors, nurses, or other healthcare professionals. Some specialize in providing emergency medical treatment in combat or remote areas where medical care is unavailable. Others specialize in laboratory testing of tissue and blood samples; maintaining pharmacy supplies or patients’ records; assisting with dental procedures; operating diagnostic tools, such as x-ray and ultrasound machines; or other healthcare tasks.30

26 http://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/browse-career-and-job- categories/combat/indirect-fire-infantryman.html27 http://www.health.mil/About_MHS/FAQs.aspx28 Ibid.29 http://prhome.defense.gov/RFM/TFPRQ/docs/FY12%20Defense%20 Manpower%20Requirements%20Report%20(DMRR)%20--%20 Apr%202012.pdf30 http://www.bls.gov/ooh/military/military-careers.htm

MHS executes a $50 billion budget, and maintains a workforce of more than 176,000 active duty and civilian medical personnel and over 66,000 reserve medical personnel. It operates 65 hospitals, 412 clinics, and 414 dental clinics at facilities across the nation and around the world.

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Seamless Transitioning for Veterans

Veterans in healthcare occupations offer civilian employers a wide variety of skill sets that they acquired while in the service. In many cases, the skills are im-mediately applicable in the workplace. In other cases, the employers may need to provide job-specific training – but the veterans’ skill levels are already so high that they absorb the training quickly.31

An interesting comparison of the lives of a civilian emergency room (ER) nurse and an Army intensive care unit (ICU) nurse can be found on the Army website.33 A video contrasts the lives of two nurses: Jason Driver, an ER nurse at Marina Del Rey Hospital in California, and Captain Christina Herriott, an Army ICU nurse at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in Fort Bliss, Texas. The two professionals shadow each other for the day at their respective employments. Driver finds himself wishing he had some of the equipment and training tools found in the Army hospital, calling their equipment “top-notch.” He marvels at the computer charting equipment, which allows nurses to view notes, flow sheets, labs, and radiology reports even in a deployed setting to ensure patient continuity of care.

After seeing the “constant motion” of Driver’s ER setting, Captain Herriott observes, “We’re both alike in the sense that we both strive to make sure our patients are safe. We’re both take-charge people. We make sure our patients get taken care of.” She goes on to explain, “In the Army, we’re expected to take charge…that’s not a requirement in a civilian hospital. As a soldier, you leave the hospital and you may be done on the ICU, but you’re still a soldier. All day. Every day.” 34

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MedicalDental NurseMedical ServiceMedical Specialist (Army)Biomedical Sciences (Air Force)Veterinary (Army)Warrant OfficersMedical EnlistedDental Enlisted

TotalFull-time Civilian Equivalents

11,5782,96510,1288,1531,5032,340

494147

74,9905,677

117,97358,408

FY10Actual

11,7103,110

9,8468,0981,4542,108

482143

78,5345,453

120,93858,728

FY11Estimate

11,8273,135

9,8058,2341,5162,113

531143

78,7845,491

121,57856,881

FY12Estimate

3,3621,128

8,9905,4241,137

77221650

42,7842,653

66,516N/A

FY10Actual

4,5361,3227,8946,0861,579

571238119

40,7492,050

65,144N/A

FY11Estimate

4,5001,3217,8285,9941,577

569239118

40,6132,050

64,809N/A

FY12Estimate

Active Component

Corps

Reserve Component

Table 4: DoD Medical Manpower Program32

31 https://staff.recruitmilitary.com/uploads/file_upload/asset/80/Ac tive_Components_Skill_Sets.pdf32 http://prhome.defense.gov/RFM/TFPRQ/docs/FY12%20Defense%20 Manpower%20Requirements%20Report%20(DMRR)%20--%2 Apr%202012.pdf33 http://www.goarmy.com/army-videos.vid-68254262-84b1- 4f60-930b-6fd3a319381a.autostart.html34 Ibid.

Captain Christina Herriott and Jason DriverPhoto credits: 2013 US Army, www.goarmy.com/videos

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Driver calls Captain Herriott “cool, calm, and collected,” remarking that she “has leadership skills built within her.” He goes on to declare, “Captain Herriott definitely has a very strong future ahead of her. I think she could leave the military and work at any hospital in the United States of America, or even the world.” 35

Areas of Positive Change for Veteran Healthcare Employment

Certification for Veterans

Change is also in the air in the emergency medical technician (EMT) occu-pation. Congress has introduced several bills since 2011 to make it easier for military medics to become civilian EMT’s. The current bill proposes to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide grants to states to streamline state requirements and procedures by which veterans who have military emergency medical training can become civilian EMT’s.

Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) introduced the first bill in 2011, but the bill did not reach the House floor for a final vote.36 The same bill was re-introduced in 2012, was passed by the House on September 19, 2012, but was not passed by the Senate. In 2013, the bill was renamed H.R. 235: Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2013. It passed the House on February 2013. According to www.govtrack.us the bill has a 42% chance of being enacted.37

In July 2012, during discussions in the Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, it was noted that many states do not recognize combat medic experience to fulfill their licensing requirements for EMT’s or paramed-ics. Subcommittee Chair Joseph R. Pits (R-PA) stated, “It seems that utilizing those with combat medic experience in our EMT workforce here at home would be good for the returning soldiers, good for the healthcare system, and good for patients”.

Ben Chlapek, chair of the Military Relations Committee of the National Asso-ciation of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), agreed, observing, “The military experience is too rich and too costly to throw away and deny in our civilian communities.… To get these experienced combat medics and corps-men into the civilian emergency medical services community will help our communities and the level of care provided to our citizens.” 38

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35 Ibid. 36 Emergency Medic Transition (EMT) Act of 2011, H.R. 2853 (September 9, 2011).37 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr235#overview38 http://energycommerce.house.gov/press-release/health-subcommit tee-discusses-transition-military-emts-civilian-jobs

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Health Centers

In 2011, the White House, the Health Resources and Services Administration, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, along with the National Association of Community Health centers (NACHC), announced a three-year initiative to help veterans find jobs in health centers across the country – to increase veteran hiring to 8,000.39 A report published in 2012 pointed out that NACHC had reached out to the military services in support of a veteran hiring plan, and that many health centers already employeed veterans.

Dr. John Caron of HealthPoint Community Health Center in Seattle – and a retired Navy officer and former Air Force F-4 pilot – noted, ”We made a strategic decision to give credit to experience when we looked to hire veter-ans…we learned to realize that these men and women have experience working as a team, caring for each other. They understand hardship and perseverance – the qualities we want in any of our employees. Our approach has changed our health center for the better.” 40

Ben Ernst, CEO of Northwest Health Services in St. Louis, echoed that sentiment. He pointed out that “there are plenty of former military physicians, dentist, nurses, administrators, and technicians with great skills, education, and experience for work in health centers, but we need to have a training/transition program to help them with this leap. We owe a lot to these men and women who served the country; and they can bring new ideas and new energy to our centers.” 41

New Requirements for Federal Contractors

In August 2013, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced a Final Rule affecting the hiring and employment of veterans. The rule updates the regulations implementing the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA), which:

• Prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment against protected veterans, and

• Requires these employers to take affirmative action to recruit, hire, promote, and retain these veterans.

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39 Hurley, Brian, “Community Health Centers and Veteran Hiring – Starting Points” (March 2012) prepared for the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHA), grant #U30CS16089.40 Ibid, p. 4, box.41 Ibid, p. 6, box.

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One new requirement calls for contractors to establish annual hiring benchmarks for protected veterans, using either of two methods:

• Set the benchmark equal to the national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force, or

• Use certain data from the (BLS) and the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service/Employment and Training Administration (VETS/ETA), plus other factors reflecting the contractor’s unique hiring circumstances. OFCCP will publish the data in a Benchmark Database.

The Final Rule will be published in the Federal Register and will take effect 180 days after publication.42

THE SOLUTION: Use a Full-Service Veteran Hiring Authority to Source Quality Veteran Candidates

Given the anticipated need for more healthcare workers in coming years, companies that hire veterans receive benefits on multiple levels. Competition for a solid healthcare labor force will be heavy. So the phrase “get ‘em while you can” seems especially appropriate when it comes to hiring veterans for health-care jobs – given the veterans’ strong training and leadership, plus their other intangible skills.

However, one challenge noted by employers in the CNAS study was a difficulty in finding veterans: “It can be difficult for some companies to locate veterans, and the landscape of Internet resources and organizations meant to facilitate or broker relationships between veterans and employers is confusing.” 43 In fact, roughly 25% of companies who participated in the CNAS study indicated that they struggle to find veterans to hire:

“There are just too many websites and resources for employers, and it can be overwhelming and confusing for employers who are just trying to start hiring veterans because they don’t know which resource is reputable or where to start.”

“On any given week, I get 100 emails from military organizations saying , ‘hire veterans.’ Which organization am I supposed to work with?” 44

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42 http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/factsheets/ VEVRAA_508c.pdf43 Ibid, p. 6.44 Ibid, p. 28.

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Where Are the Veterans? Who Can Help Me Find Them?

Employer Efforts to Source Veteran Talent

Employers from coast to coast have launched their own veteran hiring initia-tives, and have established internal support networks and programs for the veterans who are already on their teams. However, many of those firms are not taking full advantage of the consultative and sourcing services available in the military-to-civilian recruitment niche.

Some companies filter the job applications and resumes that arrive at the “careers” or “opportunities” sections of their websites to find the veterans. They then make a special effort to interview and hire veteran applicants. Other companies have a page for veterans in their careers sections, or even maintain military-specific sections.

An employer may also buy a limited amount of recruitment advertising, and may attend a small number of job fairs on military bases or U.S. Chamber Hiring Our Heroes events. It may also post jobs on non-specialized job boards.

The employer may supplement these activities in a number of ways, including:

• partnering with business and trade associations;• having veteran employees disseminate employment information to their own personal networks;• involvement in the Army PaYs Program (Partnership for Youth Success) - strategic partnerships with the Army and various corporations, companies, and public sector agencies;• participating in Wounded Warriors Live Chats;• LinkedIn memberships and searches;• industry-focused veteran initiatives;• career centers at colleges;• attending veteran-focused career fairs;• going to virtual career fairs; and• contingency recruiting.

Military-to-Civilian Recruitment Specialists

To optimize their initiatives, employers can contract with for-profit recruit-ment firms that offer consultative services and a wide variety of products in the military-to-civilian recruitment niche. These firms build, refresh, and maintain veteran candidate pipelines and serve as rallying points for creating long-term veteran hiring initiatives.

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Many employers are unaware of the recent growth and refinement of the prod-ucts offered by these recruitment firms. For example, databases consisting of job candidates who have military backgrounds have become gigantic; and employ-ers can now conduct precise searches of these databases, thanks to progressive filtering techniques. And thanks to the same techniques, employers can also deliver email messages to precisely targeted segments of the databases.

Candidate and employer attendance have grown tremendously at military-only job fairs conducted at commercial venues. These events – at sports stadiums and arenas, racetracks, entertainment complexes, etc. – attract a high percent-age of veterans who already have civilian work experience as well as men and women who are transitioning from active duty to civilian life. The vast majority of the candidates at these venues are actively looking for work; they arrive well-prepared, resumes at hand, ready to interview.

Print is very much alive – and has been growing – in the military-to-civilian recruitment niche. As Forbes reported in 2012, “placing ads in publications such as specialty magazines can effectively reach niche audiences that may be more difficult to target online.” Magazines directed to transition offices at mili-tary bases are a case in point.

Traditional contingency placement has been an essential element of military-to-civilian recruitment from the very outset. Today’s firms offer a wide variety of contingency and retained products. Some firms specialize in the placement of former officers, others place men and women of all ranks and rates. Some spe-cialize in certain occupational groups, others in certain industries. Some handle one job opening at a time, while others provide a steady stream of candidates for multiple positions of the same type – for example, field mechanics for an energy company.

And finally, military-to-civilian recruitment specialists are using the newest of the new – social media – in conjunction with traditional websites to reach out to veterans, engage them, and attract them to the products and services that will help them advance their careers.

A Full-Service Hiring Authority

Since 1998, RecruitMilitary has served as a veteran hiring authority, helping employers, franchisors, and educational institutions attract, appreciate, and retain high-quality veteran talent. All of the company’s officers and the vast majority of its other employees have served in the armed forces. The CEO and president is Peter Gudmundsson, a former officer in the United States Marine Corps. Company headquarters are in Loveland, Ohio (Greater Cincinnati).

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Photo credits: 2013 RecruitMilitaryPeter Gudmundsson, CEO and president of RecruitMilitary

The Advantages of Print

TangibilityCredibilityBrandingTarget MarketingMore EngagingQR Codes

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Career Fairs

RecruitMilitary produces more than 65 military-only career fairs around the nation each year. These hiring events have given over 190,000 veterans and spouses the opportunity to interact with over 15,000 exhibitors and other organizations, and have generated numerous success stories.45 RecruitMilitary has produced career fairs since 2006.46

In 2011, RecruitMilitary partnered with the U.S. Chamber to produce a series of Hiring Our Heroes/RecruitMilitary Veteran Opportunity Expos as part of a nationwide initiative to increase the hiring of veterans and military spouses. The U.S. Chamber is the world’s largest business federation, representing the interests of more than three million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.47 RecruitMilitary career fairs are also produced in cooperation with The American Legion, an association of veterans who served during times of war. The Legion has 2.4 million members in nearly 14,000 posts throughout the world.48

Magazine

In addition, RecruitMilitary helps companies brand themselves as veteran-friendly and gain exposure to transitioning veterans by publishing and distribut-ing Search & Employ®, a bimonthly print magazine.49 Over 55,000 copies of each issue are distributed to military bases throughout the world, National Guard and reserve units, job seekers who attend RecruitMilitary career fairs, veteran employment counselors, and military-to-civilian recruiters nationwide.

Job Board

The company also offers subscriptions (search licenses) to its database (job board) of more than 645,000 veterans, with hundreds of new candidates registering daily.50 Employers can search the database using a list of 117 catego-ries of previous work experience and future job interests. A customer care team is in place to provide personal demos and answer questions. In addition, more than 525,000 jobs are posted on the board.

Among its features, this job board enables subscribers to narrow searches progressively using search facets; set up candidate search agents to get daily emails with fresh candidates; share jobs with candidates; forward candidate profiles to others in the searcher’s organization; capture job feeds; use keywords to narrow searches; save resumes to folders; and restrict searches by ZIP Code and geographic location.

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Photo credits: 2013 RecruitMilitary

Photo credits: 2013 RecruitMilitaryActivity at a RecruitMilitary Opportunity Expo

Search and Employ® magazine

45 http://recruitmilitary.com/employers/expos46 http://www.youtube.comwatch?v=14Eg2f2zrb0&list=UU7eG47 http://www.uschamber.com48 http://www.legion.org49 http://recruitmilitary.com/employers/search-and-employ50 http://recruitmilitary.com/employers/resume-database

Photo credits: 2013 RecruitMilitary

RecruitMilitary job board andadvanced search features

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51 http://www.uschamber.com52 http://www.thesierragroup.com/foundation.htm53 http://www.weddles.com54 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Military Careers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/military/military-careers.htm (visited November 08, 2013).

“RecruitMilitary offers an integrated registration process,” said Gudmundsson. “Every veteran who attends a career fair automatically becomes a registered candidate on our job board. This enables employers to find those candidates even after a specific hiring event. It gives them access to the hungriest candi-dates of all – those who have taken the time to attend one of our job fairs.”

Larry Slagel, RecruitMilitary’s senior vice president of sales and a former captain in the Marine Corps, concurs: “Those are the best kinds of candidates to have – they are hungry, organized, and active in their job search. No one is making them register their names in a database in order to receive benefits or meet other requirements.”

RecruitMilitary’s efforts in veteran sourcing have been awarded. In 2011, the company received the First Annual Lee Anderson Small Business Veteran and Military Spouse Employment Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.51 In 2012, it received the first annual One More Way Award from The Sierra Group Foundation, which recognizes people or companies whose support results in awareness of, and job opportunities for, people with dis-abilities, including veterans.”52 In 2013, RecruitMilitary’s website won a User’s Choice Award from Weddle’s, a publisher of guides and directories that focus on the employment-related area of the Internet.53

Active-Duty and Veteran Healthcare Workers

An excellent source of information on the number of healthcare workers in today’s military can be found in the 2012-13 Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the BLS. The chapter titled “Job Opportunities in the Armed Forces” breaks down the number of officers and enlisted personnel who serve in broad healthcare occupations within the military. In August 2011, there were 247,834 officers in the military; those in healthcare roles comprised 10.5% of that group. There were 1,211,575 enlisted servicemen and -women; 9.5% of them worked in healthcare.54

Even though healthcare workers are in high demand, the percentages of candidates who have healthcare backgrounds and are registered in the Recruit-Military database are only slightly lower than the percentages of active-duty healthcare workers. Not all candidates specify a rank when they register. But of those who had registered by mid-December 2013, about 420,100 said they were enlisted, while roughly 38,400 said they were officers. Enlisted candidates who selected healthcare professions as areas of previous work experience when they registered numbered 6.7% of those enlisted candidates. Officers previously holding jobs in healthcare made up 7.6% of those registered officers.

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Photo credits: 2013 RecruitMilitaryChecking in at a RecruitMilitary Job Fair

Enlisted candidates who selected healthcareprofessions as areas of previous work experience when they registered numbered 6.7% of all enlisted candidates.

Officers previously holding jobs in healthcare made up 7.6% of all registered officers.

RecruitMilitary database

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Higher percentages of the registrants expressed an interest in working in healthcare. About 8% of the enlisted personnel chose healthcare occupations as areas of future work interest when they registered, with the officers coming in at 9.2%.

Conclusion

With the healthcare industry on the brink of dramatic growth, many workers will be needed to fill a wide variety of positions. Veterans have much to offer in the way of specialized training as well as intangible skills such as leadership, teamwork, and dedication to mission. So hiring veterans just makes good business sense.

Finding veterans to hire, however, can be a challenge, even for companies that are solidly committed to increasing the number of servicemen and -women in their work forces. For-profit veteran hiring authorities can optimize this process via consultative services and a wide variety of recruitment products.

© 2014 RecruitMilitary, LLC.

Enlisted personnel who chose healthcare occupations as areas of future work interest in their profiles were at 8%, with officers coming in at 9.2%.

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RM-MB 01/14/14