OIG Determination of Veterans Health Administration’s Severe Occupational Staffing Shortages Fiscal Year 2024

The VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017 (VCQEA) requires the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) to determine, annually, a minimum of five clinical and five nonclinical Veterans Health Administration (VHA) occupations with the largest staffing shortages within each VHA medical center (facility). The OIG conducted a review to identify those severe staffing shortages by occupation. The OIG also compared the number of severe occupational staffing shortages against the previous six years’ reports to assess changes.

The OIG surveyed VHA-identified facility points of contact to determine severe occupational staffing shortages at each facility. Among the most significant findings in this year’s staffing report were the following:
•    Facilities reported 2,959 severe occupational staffing shortages in fiscal year (FY) 2024. This was a 5 percent decrease from FY 2023. 
•    Every year since 2014, the Medical Officer and Nurse occupations were identified as severe shortages in OIG’s annual determination of occupational staffing shortages reports. In FY 2024, 86 percent of facilities reported severe occupational staffing shortages for Medical Officer, and 82 percent of facilities reported severe shortages for Nurse.
•    Psychology was the most frequently reported clinical occupation with severe staffing shortages and the most frequently reported Hybrid 38 severe shortage occupation. Custodial Worker was the most frequently reported nonclinical occupation staffing shortage.
•    Of the 139 facilities surveyed, 137 reported at least one severe occupational staffing shortage, while two facilities identified no severe occupational staffing shortages.

The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act and VCQEA provide a mechanism for the VA Secretary to grant VHA the authority to waive veterans’ preference requirements for external applicants to Hybrid Title 38 occupations, expanding the candidate pool for these occupations based on severe shortages.

The OIG made no recommendations.