Rehire VA Doctors And Nurses Before Veterans Pay The Price

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Thousands of VA doctor and nurse roles have vanished while veterans still need care sign now to demand the staffing and compassion our heroes were promised.

Rehire VA Doctors And Nurses Before Veterans Pay The Price

The Department of Veterans Affairs has eliminated roughly 14,400 unfilled medical positions, including more than 1,500 physician roles and nearly 4,900 nursing slots1. These cuts equal about five percent of the VA’s medical workforce.

The VA serves approximately nine million veterans nationwide2. For many, it is their primary source of health care.

These reductions follow a wave of retirements and resignations. Instead of restoring those roles, the agency removed thousands of them from its staffing plans1.

Facilities Already Faced Severe Shortages

The staffing losses come on top of serious workforce gaps. A 2025 inspector general report found that more than 90 percent of VA facilities reported “severe shortages” of physicians, and nearly 80 percent reported severe nurse shortages2.

Earlier this year, the VA also dismissed more than 1,000 newly hired employees, including doctors and nurses, as part of federal cost-cutting efforts3. Officials said the move would save $98 million and would not affect care3.

At the same time, thousands of experienced clinicians and leaders have left the department. Reports describe growing burnout and rising vacancies across nursing, psychology, and social work roles4.

Veterans Deserve Fully Staffed Care

Veterans rely on the VA for primary care, mental health treatment, crisis intervention, and specialized services. Many live with complex injuries, chronic illness, and trauma connected to their service.

When doctor and nurse positions remain empty, appointments stretch out. Staff work longer hours. Pressure builds. Veterans feel it first.

Those who served this country put their lives on the line for freedom. They deserve a health care system built on stability, compassion, and adequate staffing — not one strained by preventable workforce cuts.

The VA must rehire enough doctors and nurses to ensure uninterrupted, high-quality care for every veteran who walks through its doors.

Add your name now. Tell the Department of Veterans Affairs to restore frontline medical staffing and protect the care our veterans have earned.

More on this issue:

  1. Nicholas Nehamas et al., The New York Times (3 March 2026), "Despite Promises, Veterans Affairs Department Cut Thousands of Roles for Doctors and Nurses."
  2. Joe Sommerlad, The Independent (3 March 2026), "Trump admin promised to care for veterans. Thousands of VA healthcare positions were just eliminated."
  3. Angelina Walker, Nurse.org (17 February 2025), "VA Fires 1,000 New Nurses, Doctors and Other Employees To Help Trump Cut Federal Costs."
  4. Jasper Craven, The American Prospect (18 February 2026), "How Trump Put Veteran Care in Crisis."

The Petition

To the Secretary and Leadership of the Department of Veterans Affairs,

We write to urge the Department of Veterans Affairs to immediately rehire enough doctors, nurses, and frontline medical professionals to ensure uninterrupted, high-quality care for America’s veterans.

Across the country, veterans depend on the VA for primary care, mental health services, crisis intervention, specialized treatment, and long-term support. When physician and nursing positions go unfilled, the burden shifts to already strained staff. Appointments are delayed. Follow-ups take longer. Burnout rises. Veterans feel the impact first.

Our nation made a promise to those who served. That promise was not conditional. It was not temporary. It was a commitment that if they put their lives on the line for our freedom, we would stand by them when they returned home.

Doctors and nurses are not administrative overhead. They are the backbone of patient care. They diagnose strokes in minutes. They intervene during mental health crises. They manage chronic illness. They sit at bedsides when families cannot. Every vacant position represents real care that is harder to access.

Veterans often carry visible and invisible wounds. Many face complex medical conditions, service-related injuries, toxic exposure illnesses, and mental health challenges. They deserve a system that is fully staffed, stable, and focused on healing — not stretched thin by workforce gaps.

Compassion is not abstract. It is measured in wait times. It is reflected in whether a veteran can see a mental health professional without delay. It is evident in whether nurses have the time to provide careful, attentive care rather than rushing from one urgent need to another.

We ask the VA to take immediate action to restore staffing levels by rehiring doctors and nurses sufficient to meet current demand. This includes prioritizing recruitment in facilities that report severe shortages and ensuring that critical specialties such as mental health, geriatrics, and primary care are fully supported.

Veterans answered the call when this country needed them. Now the country must answer theirs.

Reinvesting in clinical staff will protect patient safety, reduce burnout, strengthen morale, and restore confidence in the VA health system. Most importantly, it will honor the dignity of those who served.

By committing to fully staffed, compassionate care, the VA will help secure a healthier, stronger veteran community — and in doing so, ensure a better future for all.

Sincerely,

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