About 2,000 physicians were offered jobs with the Department of Veterans Affairs between January and March — and nearly 40% turned them down, ProPublica reported Aug. 8.
Five things to know:
1. The rejection rate is quadruple that of the first quarter of 2024, according to internal documents reviewed by ProPublica.
2. The VA has added medical staff over the past six years but is now down more than 1,900 nurses and 600 physicians in 2025. Between January and June, it lost twice as many nurses as it hired, records show.
3. In March, the department announced plans to reduce its workforce by 70,000. A July 7 news release said it was on track to cut 30,000 by Sept. 30, eliminating the need for a large-scale reduction. The VA had about 484,000 employees at the start of 2025 and 467,000 as of June 1.
The remaining reduction will come through attrition, early retirements and the federal hiring freeze. More than 350,000 roles are exempt from the freeze to avoid affecting care or benefits, the release said.
4. Many applicants expressed concerns about job stability and the agency’s direction, ProPublica reported. In its Texas region, an internal June presentation showed about 90 people rejected job offers because of “the uncertainty of reorganization” and that low morale led current employees to not recommend working at the facilities.
5. Physician vacancy rates reached 13.7% in May, an increase from 12% in May 2024. The VA is working to address the rejection rate by streamlining hiring and using strategies such as private provider referrals and telehealth appointments, a department spokesperson told ProPublica.
