Better Workforce for Veterans Act of 2017

This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to appoint qualified graduates and post-secondary students to competitive service positions without regard to certain federal civil service employment and retention provisions.

The VA shall allow for excepted service appointments of qualifying students and recent graduates leading to career or career conditional employment.

The VA may appoint: (1) highly qualified candidates without regard to competitive service provisions if the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) determines that the VA has a severe shortage of highly qualified candidates, and (2) former highly qualified federal employees to high-demand VA positions without regard to such provisions.

The VA shall: (1) develop a resume-based application method for senior executive appointments comparable to the OPM resume-based application method; (2) establish a single database that lists each vacant position that is critical to the VA's mission, difficult to fill, or both; (3) measure and collect specified information on hiring effectiveness; (4) develop a standardized VA exit survey; (5) publish information on VA nurse staffing levels; (6) develop a tool for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) human resources employees to assess their knowledge relating to how certain VA health care providers are treated differently than other VA employees; (7) include mental health professionals and marriage and family therapists in the VA education and training program; and (8) provide VHA human resources professionals with employee recruitment and retention training.

The VA and the Surgeon General shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for the assignment of at least 500 commissioned officers of the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service to the VA.

The bill revises provisions regarding: (1) pay for medical center and veterans integrated service network directors, (2) the hiring preference service requirement, and (3) VA reductions in force.