Ms. McVey has held progressively responsible leadership positions with VA Nursing Service since beginning her professional career in 1972. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Boston College School of Nursing in 1972 and completed a Certificate Program in Nursing Administration at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1986. She received her Master of Science in Health Administration from Clark University in 1988. 

Ms. McVey 's professional memberships include Sigma Theta Tau, the Mass. Association of Registered Nurses, Organization of Nurse Leaders Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut, and she served former National President of the Nurses Organization of Veteran Affairs (NOVA), from 2008-2010. Ms. McVey formed the Northeast Region VA Nursing Alliance in 2009, and she served as Co-Chair of the Mass Action Coalition Committee on the Future of Nursing Core Competencies Committee, whose purpose was to embed these competencies in every practice and academic setting in Massachusetts.

Ms. McVey served as a member of the CCNE Committee to revise the Nurse Residency Standards nationally and at several of the academic partner School of Nursing Advisory Boards. Currently, she is the National Legislative Co-Chair for the Nurses Organization of Veteran Affairs. Ms. McVey has authored and coauthored numerous publications, and is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.