Building the next generation of VA care
Start your career in a health system built for learning, collaboration, and meaningful impact. Whether you’re a medical student, resident, or fellow, we offer mentorship, modern clinical tools, and a mission centered on serving Veterans nationwide. Here, your training powers better care, stronger teams, and a healthier future for those who served. VA also offers dedicated pathways for nurses beginning their clinical careers.
Opportunities for residents, fellows, and early career physicians
We offer more than 160 residency and fellowship opportunities across the country. You’ll train with experienced mentors, work with advanced clinical technology, and gain hands-on experience in an integrated, team-based care environment that spans over 170 medical centers.
- Direct experience with modern tools in telehealth, electronic health record (EHR) modernization, and precision medicine
- Mentorship from attending physicians across specialties
- Exposure to interdisciplinary, team-based models of care
- Opportunities to participate in clinical research and quality improvement
- Freedom to practice anywhere in the country with a single active medical license
- Predictable scheduling that supports learning and well-being
Residents and fellows
Find and apply to residency and fellowship programs
Connect with a recruiter
Directly connect with a VA recruiter to find opportunities for your specialty
Physician job openings
Find and apply to physician job openings across VA
Pathway for Nursing Students and New Nurses
VA offers training, scholarship, and early-practice opportunities for nursing students and new graduate nurses. These programs support skill development, mentorship, and clinical growth across a nationwide health system.
VALOR Program
Paid, hands-on clinical training for nursing students
HPSP for nursing
Tuition and scholarship opportunities for select nursing specialties
Nurse Residency Programs
Transition-to-practice support for new nurses
Programs that Support Your Journey
VA offers several pathways for students preparing for clinical careers. These programs provide financial support, on-the-job learning, and early experience in our care environment
On-the-job training
The VA Student Trainee Experience Program (VA-STEP) gives high-performing BSN nursing students a paid, hands-on clinical trainee experience at a VA medical center while serving America’s Veterans. Working one-on-one with a BSN-prepared RN preceptor, students complete 400 hours of immersive practice designed to strengthen clinical skills, judgment, and critical thinking in real patient-care settings.
The program builds confidence and proficiency through orientation, diverse clinical experiences, and education focused on the unique culture and needs of the Veteran population.
Eligible students who have completed junior year can tailor the hours to their academic track, making VA-STEP a strong bridge from nursing school to professional practice.
VA-STEP
Gain paid clinical experience in a VA medical center while receiving training and mentorship from experienced clinicians.
Scholarship and Loan Support
Scholarships, stipends, and paid training for high-need health careers — with a VA job after you graduate and get licensed.
VA Scholarship Programs
Tuition and financial support for students pursuing targeted health care degrees
Loan repayment
Loan repayment programs for eligible clinical roles
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Qualifying employment for federal loan forgiveness
We have excellent resources here at VA…so it creates a nice setting where you can explore different avenues and just grow within your own career just because you have that safe space to learn.
Almarie Talavera Dietetic Intern
Why Train and Work at VA
Mission-driven service
Serve Veterans nationwide and make a lasting impact through purpose-driven care.
Cutting-edge technology
Train with tools that support advanced telehealth, EHR modernization, clinical research, and AI-assisted decision support.
Work/life balance
Predictable schedules, generous leave, nationwide mobility, and benefits that support long-term well-being.
Team-based care
Learn and practice in collaborative, interdisciplinary teams across more than 170 VA medical centers.
A Legacy of Innovation
Our Veteran care experts have been the driving force behind nearly a century of medical breakthroughs. Many of our proudest accomplishments began with a professional like you who asked a simple question, such as:
This question led to a VA researcher, Dr. Robert Schrek, discovering the connection between sunlight and skin cancer in the Tumor Research Laboratory at the Hines VA Medical Center in 1933.
This question led Dr. George M. Lyon, a previous member of the Manhattan Project, to establish VA’s first radioisotope labs by mid-1948 and lay the foundation for incredible research.
This question led Dr. William Chardack and his team to successfully implant a cardiac pacemaker in a patient for the first time at the Buffalo VA Hospital in 1960.
This question led William H. Oldendorf, a neurologist at the Los Angeles VA Hospital, to patent his groundbreaking design for a commercial CT scanner in 1963.
This question led Dr. Thomas E. Starzl to make medical history at the Denver VA Hospital in 1963 by performing the world’s first liver transplantation on a patient who survived the operation.
This question led Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, the father of modern cardiovascular surgery, to perform the first successful coronary bypass at the Houston VA Hospital in 1964.
This question led Dr. Andrew Schally, a chief researcher at the New Orleans VA Hospital, to receive the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries on peptide hormone production.
This question led Dr. Rosalyn Yalow to develop the now-widespread technique of radioimmunoassay at the Bronx VA Hospital and earn the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1977.
This question led Dr. Murray E. Jarvik and his team to patent the first over-the-counter nicotine patch during his time as chief of psychopharmacology at the West Los Angeles VA Hospital in 1990.
Our work to improve Veteran care is never done, which is why we’re searching for the next generation of forward-thinking clinicians. Find out where this question leads you by applying to join our team.
