Any CRNA in Air Force?

MmacFN · Jul 3, 2006

One of my friends is in the Army and did her CRNA through there as a reserve.

In peacetime she said the short stints she did as a CRNA for the ARMY (which i believe has more hospitals than either of the 2 other services now) were quite standard.

However, the 2 times she has been deployed she got experience all the rest of us only wish we would get (or maybe not)

I called her to ask what advice she would give you. She said a couple of things:

1) Good choice on the Air Force

2) Its a guarentee you will be deployed.

3) The money a military CRNA makes is 1/2 what a private one makes.

4) Its a big committment. Make sure you really want to be in the military.

I hope that helps.

texas_lvn · Jul 3, 2006

Just wanted to subscribe to thread, good luck on what you do.

cowpaper · Jul 4, 2006

Thanks for the imput!

I am going to see how this first semester goes, then possibly sign up in the spring. We will see.

nurseabc123 · Jul 8, 2006

Thanks for the imput!
I am going to see how this first semester goes, then possibly sign up in the spring. We will see.

Good luck to you. Keep us updated!

I am considering the same thing, however, it is a little ways away. I will grad from my bsn program in may.. and have a position in a busy CICU lined up. Then I am considering commisioning into the AF reserves.

Just a CRNA · Jul 11, 2006

Please don't consider the reserves if all it means to you is a source of funding for your education. It means a lot more than that to those of us who serve in the military, and I can assure you that you won't really like the commitment and mission if your only motivation is $$. Take out a little larger loan and pay it back with your higher civilian salary after graduation if that's the case. By the way, I don't know of a single Air Force reserve CRNA who has been involuntarily deployed since the first Gulf War in 1991. The Army is deploying their reserve CRNAs, not the Air Force.

sherry62 · Jul 11, 2006

I have just been accepted to Murray's CRNA program and am in the process of a completed application for ANG, I was a previous Marine. I just don't want the issue of possible deployment while in school-will have to wait and see what my contract options are before I commit.

Just a CRNA · Jul 11, 2006

All residency programs make you pretty much untouchable for deployment. Military medical services would rather have a practitioner later than a staff person now, unless they are just overwhelmed. I know that the Army NG has a policy letter in force that precludes the involuntary deployment of nurse anesthesia students/residents. That may not be the case if you are not in a medical unit. One anesthesia student was an enlisted admin clerk in his Army National Guard combat unit, and they weren't bound by that directive...but he was able to avoid deployment as long as he remained in school.

I didn't mean to sound negative in the previous post, but service to your country should be a major part of your decision to join the military, not just the financial benefit.

sherry62 · Jul 11, 2006

I totally agree. The pride experienced from a military obligation cannot be matched by any other life experience. It justifies the term, "proud to serve," IMO. Semper Fi My application is as an ICU nurse, so it would be in the medical field.

cowpaper · Jul 12, 2006

Thanks for the input everyone. As I said in my previous post, I am a former Marine and fully understand what it means to serve. I simply asked if anyone had any information on what is was like in the Air Force as a CRNA, and information on both active and reserves is welcomed, though I did not specify in my original post. If I wanted a lecture on patriotism and service I would have gone to a different message board. I miss the days when people would just serve and not feel the need to make themselves a martyr.

Just a CRNA · Jul 12, 2006

Sorry if you were offended. As I said in my previous post, I didn't mean to come on too strong. HOWEVER. I am not a martyr, just a realist. As a member of the Air Force Reserve and a CRNA, I am bombarded by this question on a regular basis. Far too many of the people who ask have no clue about the responsibilities that go along with the perks. Those who join anyway are miserable, and they make those around them equally miserable.

As far as practice issues: In the reserves, the mission is training. Since there are few Air Force hospitals open for surgery on Saturdays, you can assume that you will do absolutely no anesthesia on drill weekends. For "summer camp" or the two weeks of active training, these tend to go in cycles where you will go to Medical Readiness Training one year, Specialty Sustainment Training one year, possibly home station training one year, and then possibly a tour at an active duty hospital one year. If you have not been a commissioned officer, then your first summer camp will be Officer Training School. As you can see, there is precious little time to do anesthesia in the Reserves. Your time will more likely be spent teaching inservices to the medics and staff nurses, keeping up with LOAC, small arms, etc. If you choose to deploy, then the possibility exists that you can be put on orders for 120 days and head over. As I said, I don't believe any reserve CRNAs have been involuntarily deployed by AFRC. If you choose to go active duty, CRNAs are in two arenas; small hospitals and major medical centers. The small hospitals are drying up and closing like mad. Twenty-five years ago, there were almost 60 "two-man shops" staffed exclusively by CRNAs. Now they are fewer and fewer. The major medical centers are also downsizing. I suspect that in another 5-10 years, only Travis, Wright-Paterson, Andrews, and possibly 1 or 2 others will still exist. Overseas billets still exist, but those are possibly joint assignments with the Army. As a rule of thumb, military CRNAs perform more regional anesthesia than most civilian CRNAs, and probably get a little more opportunity for other procedural skills.

ashfost, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 2007

Hello all, I decided to bring this convo back to life and hope to get some insight. As of now, I am a nursing student with goals of becoming CRNA. I am interested in the Air Force Reserve but was told my a recruiter that even though I would be a student (in CRNA school) that doesn't make me "untouchable" for deployment. Is this correct? I don't think the recruiter was very knowledgeable about nursing in the first place so I don't really trust what they said. She also said that the GI Bill would be available to me upon completion of COT. So does that mean that I could go to school first before I serve? Again, thanks for any advice!