I was wondering if anyone has dealt with the following situation. I'm a new grad nurse with a BSN and am turning in my air force packet for the March 2011 boards, but I am also looking for a job as a nurse in the civilian sector. The one problem I keep encountering is that many hospitals want their new grad nurses to go through their new grad program and sign a two year contract; however, signing a two year contract with the civilian hospital would result in a conflict if the Air Force accepts me as well. Does anyone know if you can get out of a civilian hospital contract if you are going active duty with the military?

You can break any contract, it depends on how seriously they take it if they press for consequences. I would think that would be a poor start with the military. You are supposed to show integrity. I don't know how long you might expect to wait for entry but it's been 13 months for me waiting for the ANG to produce an offer. You could easily take a two year contract now and apply for the military a year from now, get your two years experience, and possibly enter when your two year contract ends. Otherwise, I would take a job that doesn't require a contract. Best of luck.

People break civilian contracts all the time. If you're given money for it, you'll probably just have to pay it back.

I took a civilian job (after leaving a travel assignment and not being able to find another one) 7 months before I went to COT. I didn't tell them I was in the process of applying to the AF. I had no idea how long the process was going to take, and I needed to support my family. There was a deal to take $3000 for relocation if I signed a 1 year contract. When I went to human resources the day I filled out all of my paperwork, I just told them I wasn't signing the contract because I wanted to leave my options open. They looked at me like I was crazy for not taking $3000, but they had already hired me.

The thing is, the AF is not accepting as many nurses this year as last year, so it's hard to say how long it will take for you to get through the process. You might as well start in the civilian world and get the experience. If you want to be an AF nurse, then go for it. I wouldn't wait to apply, because you don't really know how long the process will take. Good luck!!