personal development Archives

Schedule

September dates:

York Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and The Hamilton Assisted Living, 9 a.m.-noon Monday, Sept. 25

Coliseum Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 1-4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25.

James River Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26.

The Newport Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and The Huntington Assisted Living, 9 a.m.-noon Wednesday, Sept. 27.

Northampton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 1-4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27.

Lancashire Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 9 a.m.-noon, Thursday, Sept. 28.

Walter Reed Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 1-4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28.

October dates:

York Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and The Hamilton Assisted Living, 9 a.m.-noon Monday, Oct. 23.

Coliseum Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 1-4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23.

James River Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24.

The Newport Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and The Huntington Assisted Living, 9 a.m.-noon Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Northampton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 1-4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Lancashire Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 9 a.m.-noon, Thursday, Oct. 26.

Walter Reed Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 1-4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26.

How to be a successful applicant

Colleen shared ways to stand out among job applicants to Virginia Health Services. She sees hundreds of applications and conducts about 15 phone interviews a day. Make yourself standout.

“I’ll take a chance on people for a phone interview if the application looks like a professional effort was made. If you’re not making the effort in the application, hard to think you’ll put an effort into the work. Put your best foot forward to get to the interview process and sell yourself,” Colleen says.

Application tips

Complete all application questions.

Spelling and grammar should be correct.

Create a professional email address to use when applying. Use your correct contact information so you are reachable.

Have a professional resume (regardless of work history).

List any transferable skills

Be professional (avoid personal details)

List work experience

For those with limited or no work history, such as high school students, please list any part-time work experience or have an objective statement with a career goal listed. Be sure to include school and graduation date.

How to successfully interview by phone

Research Virginia Health Services (information is easily accessible at vahs.com). Colleen says, “Tell me why you want to work for VHS and what you know. Take the time to visit the website. I always ask, ‘why do you want to work for Virginia Health Services?’”

Ask questions about the job and company.

Read the job description so you can best speak to how your qualities and skills make you the right fit for the job to which you are applying. Talk up your skills – hard (like clinicals) or soft (such as organization and time management).

Be on time. Answer the phone. Give advance notice if possible to cancel. “Life happens, but keep it at a professional level at all times,” Colleen says.

Know your resume. Clarify when you were licensed. Colleen says, “Know your own work history and those important dates.”

Send a thank you message to follow up to everyone you spoke to.

How to successfully interview in person

Be professional.

Be on time.

Dress business casual for an in-person or virtual interview.

Be prepared. Know your work history.

Present yourself in a professional way.

Be prepared with questions. Ask about the position or VHS. “You have to make sure it’s a good fit for you the same as we need to make sure it’s a good fit for the company. … You have to make sure you know where you’re going,” Colleen says. (This applies to phone interviews as well.)

Send a thank you message to follow up.

“Everyone serves a purpose on the team,” Colleen says. “Tell me how you think you’ll fit in the organization and what you bring to the team.”

VHS focuses on career development, promotion from within

Andi Petrini on September 27, 2022

Haley Holland had a good feeling about her test when she left the exam room on a Friday morning. She turned in her exam without reviewing it to prevent her from second-guessing herself. And her proctor indicated she likely passed her long-term care administrator’s licensure exam.

The weekend was more celebratory than stressed. The Virginia Board of Long-Term Care Administrators confirmed her license by Tuesday.

Haley started at Virginia Health Services as the recreation director at Coliseum Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She entered the Administrator-in-Training (AIT) program near the beginning of the year and completed her hours while on the job. She was promoted to Coliseum’s Assistant Administrator in the spring.

“Coliseum is so diverse, anything that’s going to happen in long-term care, it’s going to happen at Coliseum,” she says. “I know that I am where I need to be right now so I can get the best experience that I can.”

AIT

Haley shadowed employees in all departments to understand their roles during the AIT program. While day-to-day focuses on operations and environmental services, Haley said she also needed to focus on finance, management and leadership.

The exam sections covered finance, customer care support and services, human resources, environmental services and management.

Time with Coliseum Administrator Dudley Haas and several VHS vice presidents was valuable to the learning process. Those conversations and notes of encouragement also were valuable personally.

“I really felt encouraged, like people cared that I was taking this test and wanting to advance in VHS,” Haley says.

She observed Dudley’s leadership through interactions with team members, Residents and their families. Haley walked through financials and asked questions all while helping to manage the day-to-day operations at Coliseum.

“The last two weeks of preparation, I studied any time I had free time. Any time. I had my flashcards everywhere,” she says. “I was constantly taking practice tests; looking at my flashcards … I asked anybody who walked through Coliseum questions. I recruited a lot of people to help me study.

“Dudley said, ‘I want to see you do well.’ ”

A majority of the questions on the licensure exam focused on Resident care, or regulations regarding Resident care and environmental services.

“It gets you to think about what’s the best route for everyone involved. … A lot of the questions were things I do day-to-day,” Haley says. The study materials helped immensely.

Haley Holland is “where I need to be” at Coliseum Nursing and Rehabilitation Center as Assistant Administrator.

Drawn to senior care

Haley says her first job out of college was in an assisted living with focused memory care.

“I just knew it was going to be older adults the rest of my career,” she says after initially considering being a teacher.

She loves the Resident stories and learning from their life experiences. Eventually she says she may want to be an administrator for assisted living, where there are fewer regulations that control the Resident experience.

“At the facility, you see exactly what your efforts are doing. You have a direct line to the Residents,” she says.

Promoting from within

Haley said she was encouraged to enroll in the AIT program and used her time on the job to gain the hours needed to complete the program.

She says the administrator’s license provides her with multiple opportunities in long-term care. It was the best way forward in her career.

“It broadened my horizons with my future … doing the AIT and taking my exam, the possibilities are endless,” she says of what might be next. Right now, Coliseum is where she wants to be.

She plans to keep up her continued education credits for her license. Haley’s future paths could include assisted living, independent living or a specialization within long-term care, such as memory care or dialysis.

“It’s just exciting – opens up possibilities for a lot of things with my license,” she says.

VHS is committed to workforce development and promotes from within.

“The support that I get (from the team at VHS) is incredible,” she says. “Things like that, people really care; you feel supported and you can keep moving. I’m really thankful VHS helped financially with the test and the AIT. Overall, I’m grateful for the VHS community.”

Join our team

Be part of a team who wants you to succeed. Our career pathways include leadership, nursing, dietary, housekeeping, environmental services, social work and more. Visit vahs.com/careers and apply for a position that fits you.

Meet the VHS team during the autumn Recruiting Roadshow

Schedule

September dates:

October dates:

How to be a successful applicant

Application tips

How to successfully interview by phone

How to successfully interview in person

Join our team

VHS focuses on career development, promotion from within

AIT

Drawn to senior care

Promoting from within

Join our team

LATEST NEWS

Meet the VHS team during the autumn Recruiting Roadshow

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