My Life in the Va: Lessons in Leadership

In the career memoir, My Life in the VA: Lessons in Leadership, a thirty-seven year employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs shares an insiders view and valuable insight into the inner-workings of a bureaucracy. Fred Malphurs worked in both the central office as well as the VA healthcare system and spent the last twenty plus years of his career in senior executive service. He provides a compelling look inside the leadership of the VA as well as an interesting commentary on healthcare. Malphurs begins with detailing his experiences learning the ropes as he grappled through his first few years on the job and moves through his career in chronological order. He openly shares the lessons he learned along the way, his challenges both personal and professional, and the high and low points of his career all while shedding light on the political processes, the uncoordinated public policies, the failure to report real information, and the politics of doing or not doing the right thing. His recommendations for healthcare reform and improved government are included. Malphurs fascinating autobiography offers a unique perspective on healthcare, political science, and the distinguished career of a Federal executive.