flight nursing in the air force?

Specialties Flight

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  • by KR
    Specializes in ICU, Agency, Travel, Pediatric Home Care, LTAC, Su.

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PACUNurse1

2 Posts

I am a AF Flight Nurse in the Reserves. I am stationed at McChord AFB in Washington. Here are a few things to think about when making the decision to join.

1. I interviewed with the Senior ART at the squadron, suit, tie and resume'.

2. The Reserves provide 80% of all aeromedical evacuations for the Air Force.

3. The minimum time required by the reserves per year is 48 days. The average days per year in a flying squadron is over 110 days.

4. The types of missions vary. Strategic Aeromedical Evacuation (AE) is the transport of patients from one theater to another i.e. Kuwait to Germany or Germany to Andrews AFB MD. There is also the Tactica (smaller planes c-130 vs c-17 or c-141). Tactical is low level, blacked out, shot at- working on patients that just came from the battle field, who may or may not be stable.

5. My squadron will have some openings in the near future. I am sure other squadrons will also. War has that affect on some people.

6. If you have critical care experience they have what is called C-CAT teams, Critical Care Air Transport teams. Basically they are flying ICUs.

7. ACLS, TNCC, PALS or ENPC are manditory or highly recommended.

Contact your local Air Force Reserve Healthcare Recruiter. Find a local AES (Aeromedial Evacuation Squadron). There are also State Guard units in PA that have FNs.

Good luck.

I love what I do. We are providing a needed service for the men and women that are fighting for us.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.

Flying Ed, are you still in the AF reserves? I'm waiting for the final thumbs up on my package...was a former Navy Nurse (active duty) who has crossed over into the blue...can I pick your brain? I will be assigned to the 439th at Westover ARB.

catamounts303

42 Posts

Hi PACU,

How are things going over at Westover? I'm starting an accellerated BSN program soon in Worcester and have been wanting to join the Reserves as an Officer for some time now. Let me know how its going.

All the best

FlyingED

73 Posts

Hi PACU,

How are things going over at Westover? I'm starting an accellerated BSN program soon in Worcester and have been wanting to join the Reserves as an Officer for some time now. Let me know how its going.

All the best

I no longer at Westover. I am no longer drilling with the USAFR, I am a full time student in Florida. If you have any questions about the USAFR, i out of touch. If you want to know about grad school, CRNA, then I might be able to help.

Cory

FlyingED

73 Posts

I am no longer at Westover. I am no longer drilling with the USAFR, I am a full time student in Florida. If you have any questions about the USAFR, i out of touch. If you want to know about grad school, CRNA, then I might be able to help.

Cory

Sorry about the screw up, did not notice that you were not talking to me. FlyingED

ugaRN

30 Posts

Specializes in Peds Neuro/Neurosurgery/General.

Hey guys! I know this an older post but thought I could post on here rather than making a new one.

I am currently a Pediatric nurse in Atl, GA (work on a neuro, neurosurgery floor although planning on going to go ICU soon if I dont go into the AF) I have a BSN and a prev degree as well. I have almost a year experience so not too much...I have been more interested recently in the reserve rather than AF nursing - had a few questions if someone can answer.

I am really interested in becoming a flight nurse and have heard that you can go straight into in the reserve rather than just reg branch, is this true?

1) Do you think I would be accepted as a ped nurse?

2) what are the commitments like?

3) I know it is part time but what is the normal schedule like, as well as the pay?

4) I want to keep my civilian job, is this possible with training as well later commitments?

5) what is the normal training and later, job, like?

6) Does anyone know if the AF reserve base in GA (Dobbins AFB) any "good"?

ANY input/opinions are GREATLY apprceciated. I am serious about the decisions I am wanting to make in the next 2 months and really am interested.

Thanks so much in advance. Have a great day....

FlyingED

73 Posts

Hello,

I am probably not the best person to ask at the moment. I am currently in Grad school at UNF in the Nurse Anesthesia Program. But, I have an opinion on several of your questions.

1. Yes, I have a friend in Texas who is in my squadron who is PICU nurse. She would be a great reference for you. If you want her number let me know.

2. The Air Force Reserve Flight Nurse is not a normal reservist. We fly, we fly a lot. When I was flying I served around 90-120 days a year. Not a normal one weekend a month, two weeks a year job.

3. The pay is worth it. Granted a 2nd Lt does not pay the greatest, but pay increases nicely with rank. Active duty; if you decide to go that route, is very nice financially for a nurse. The problem is the time commitment away from your family. Time goes by quickly, depending on your nursing experience and negotiating skills you may get 1st LT when you get your commission. Promotions are about every two years up to Captain, then after that you need to complete extra training, and have an open rank position in your squadron for promotion. A lot of my friends are getting ready for LtCol positions. We joined in '99 so that is a nice rise in the ranks for a short period of time.

4. It is a federal offense for a company to punish or refuse a reservist the opportunity to serve their country. If at any time your threatened, or implied a threat, a quick call to your base JAG office will solve the problem. I personally worked as an agency nurse and had an extremely flexible schedule.

5. If you are looking for a challenge as a nurse and as person I highly recommend the USAFR. As a flight nurse you will not only have to be a nurse you will have to be flight qualified. Missions are either "training" or "live". The links below are to my squadron in Washington.

http://www.446aw.afrc.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/070410-F-2974K-001.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.446aw.afrc.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/070410-F-2974K-001.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.446aw.afrc.af.mil/photos/index.asp%3Fpage%3D6&h=997&w=1500&sz=1424&hl=en&start=4&um=1&tbnid=hXQ1Q6KruCyrsM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3DUSAF%2Bflight%2Bnurse%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DN

6. Dobbins is like working any other job. They have good points and bad points and they change continuously. I don't even know what sort of airframe that they fly, my advice to you is contact the Director of Operations or the Senior Air Reserve Techni

cian (Senior ART) and request a face to face. The senior ART is an Officer and a GS employee who works full time for the squadron. The ART knows everything about the squadron and will be able to tell you what they need and whether you will be a good fit. I interviewed like a new job.

7. The commissioning process is fairly extensive and a pain in the butt, so don't be in a hurry.

8. Being an Officer in the Air Force requires that you be able to lead and follow, think hard about who you are and what you can offer to the Air Force, this is not a normal job. It is a commitment that will change your life. For example, in August of of '05 my wife and I had a new baby and with 2 wks notice i was in Afghanistan. I missed my family and my new baby, but there was no doubt in my mind about going. Ask yourself if you can do that.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask. I will put you in touch with my friend from Texas for more input r/t PICU and Flight nursing.

Good luck

FlyingED

QUOTE=ugaRN;2832349]Hey guys! I know this an older post but thought I could post on here rather than making a new one.

I am currently a Pediatric nurse in Atl, GA (work on a neuro, neurosurgery floor although planning on going to go ICU soon if I dont go into the AF) I have a BSN and a prev degree as well. I have almost a year experience so not too much...I have been more interested recently in the reserve rather than AF nursing - had a few questions if someone can answer.

I am really interested in becoming a flight nurse and have heard that you can go straight into in the reserve rather than just reg branch, is this true?

1) Do you think I would be accepted as a ped nurse?

2) what are the commitments like?

3) I know it is part time but what is the normal schedule like, as well as the pay?

4) I want to keep my civilian job, is this possible with training as well later commitments?

5) what is the normal training and later, job, like?

6) Does anyone know if the AF reserve base in GA (Dobbins AFB) any "good"?

ANY input/opinions are GREATLY apprceciated. I am serious about the decisions I am wanting to make in the next 2 months and really am interested.

Thanks so much in advance. Have a great day....

ugaRN

30 Posts

Specializes in Peds Neuro/Neurosurgery/General.

FlyingED -

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I really appreciate it. If you flew that much (which I dont mind) how did you work another job? Did you do PT at another position (that is what I am concerned about) - I dont mind working PT and doing reserve as long as I do not really suffer financially, ya know.

Dobbins flys C130s - or I could go to motgomery, AL and do c-17s (that is about 2.5 hours away but more than likely Dobbins would be better, esp if we fly that much)

I would love if you could put me in contact with the PICU nurse. Feel free to PM me for email- if they feel more comfortable contacting me. Either way is fine. I would greatly appreciate their input and guidance. ;)

So did you join reserve or active duty? I was confused as to the path you took.....

do you think it is better to be a reservist or for me just to commission in active duty - that is what my decision is coming down to, although I am really leaning toward reserve. Do you know anything about them paying for a masters? Although I dont know when I would have the time. Ha.

Thats funny that you sent me those links, I actually looked at those last night....

Lastly, do you think I should just contact the Senior ART before I hear from a recruiter? I am waiting for a call back.....

Thanks so much again and good luck in school!

al2004

3 Posts

I am looking into one day going into nursing and I was also thinking of joining the AFR as an aeromedical evac technician. I wanted to make sure what the training pipeline consists of and how much time as a reservists you would normally spend deployed. As a prior service Marine I wouldn' mind flying the the tactical type of evacution missions. Also, I was thinking montgomery had C-130s. I just came across this thread and would appreciate any input into the 4N aeromedical field. Great stuff!

tx04

1 Post

hello,

i will be graduating high school next summer and i'm trying to hammer out my plans for the future. i've been searching the internet for info on what to do to become a flight medic in the air force and am stumped. i found that this website was the most helpful but some of the threads on the subject did not answer some of my questions. do i need to become an officer? what kind of training will be provided and how long will i be in college? what classes should i take? if you could PLEASE help me, i would be VERY grateful.

CraigB-RN, MSN, RN

1,224 Posts

Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency, Education, Informatics.
hello,

i will be graduating high school next summer and i'm trying to hammer out my plans for the future. i've been searching the internet for info on what to do to become a flight medic in the air force and am stumped. i found that this website was the most helpful but some of the threads on the subject did not answer some of my questions. do i need to become an officer? what kind of training will be provided and how long will i be in college? what classes should i take? if you could PLEASE help me, i would be VERY grateful.

First thing is to talk to a USAF recruiter.

You will have to go through basic training, then the 4NO medical service specialist course, The last time I checked you couldn't go directly into a flight position, you had to work as a USAF Medic then apply for flight school. If accepted you head off to wonderful San Antonio TX again for some more training.

You don't go to "collage" and there is nothing you can take in the way of classes specificly. There are things you can do to help. Take an EMT class, things like that. If you jsut looking at college, start with the core stuff,english, math, chem, bio and the like. That will set you up for whatever you want to do.

The other thing to remember, is that altough USAF flight medics are doing some front line work in Afghanistan, the vast majority are working fixed wing, multi patient long distance transports.

Oh and besides talking to the recruiter, you could find a base that has a flight unit and talk to them there.

I am a flight medic at march afb in ca and a nursing student. what do you want to know.

B141emt,

I am an enlisted aviator right now with 4.5 yrs in service. I am seeking an AF commission into a nursing career field. I would LOVE to remain as a professional aviator as I LOVE flying, but i'd also like to do nursing. I was thinking flight nurse would be a great avenue. I am going to apply to the NECP or AECP for nursing next year. I believe they will send me to school for a couple of years and then commission me, how then do i become a flight nurse?

Thankyou

neurodale

2 Posts

Hey FlyingED,

I was reading your note here about flight nursing in the Air Force Reserve. I have a few questions for you if you have the time. I am currently talking to an AF reserve recruiter about the flight nursing. I am about 4 hours away from Dobbins, Charleston, and Pope. Charleston is the prettiest area, Dobbins is small and has been almost closed down before and Pope is starting a new program I believe.

1. In your opinion, is a 4 hour drive something I will do much more often than once a month on my dime?

2. Do you know anything about these bases or how I would go about finding out more?

3. How do I go about comparing the programs on the different bases?

4. Do you recommend any readings/books for a person new to military reserves?

5. Do you have any other recommendations or insight as to understanding and finding out everything I need to know about this process? At times, I am not even sure what to ask, who to ask, and I feel like I am in the dark about lots not having any military background.

Thanks for any help,

Dale

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