Civilian Nurse on base in Germany?

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Specializes in Cath Lab/Critical Care.

Are there other military spouses who can tell me how hard it is to get a job as a civilian nurse on a base overseas? My husband is stationed in Heidelberg, and the children and I will be joining him as soon as I finish nursing school. I'm former Army myself, but I've never been an Army spouse following a soldier overseas trying to get a job :) I'm worried that I won't be able to get a job with an ASN degree, my hubby is hearing that the Army prefers civilian nurses with BSN's. And I kinda don't want to be separated any longer to finish another degree, we will be 2 years apart by the time I graduate, sigh. Any insights from those of you who have been there or are doing it now would be greatly appreciated, because all of my fellow students (and my friends and family) think that we're nuts, it's impossible, and I'll be sitting on my license for the 2 years I'm in Germany.

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

I am a RN who lived in Germany when my husband was assigned there. If the hospitals on the military base have civilian openings that you can get into, you can work for them. Working in German hospitals pretty much requires you learn the language. Sometimes I returned to the states for several months here and there to work travel nurse assignments before rejoining my husband in Germany. We did not have children living overseas with us at the time, so it made it easier for me to do that.

Your husband is wrong about the "degree issue". I know because I have an Associate in Applied Science Degree, and have worked as GS-09 to GS-11 status. Experience still counts for a lot in nursing, so don't rule that out.

At one point, I worked a non nursing job overseas on the military compound. I was bored not working, and the little change I made came in handy. :)

Being that you will be a new nurse when you go over, you may not land a job as a nurse. However, you can volunteer at the base hospital and at the American Red Cross that may involve patient care to a certain extent. My husband and I both worked as American Red Cross CPR/BLS instructors for the lay person and the professional during one of the summers we lived in Germany. I also kept up with my CEUs, kept my own BCLS updated, so when I returned to the states, I wasn't behind in those areas.

You can always go overseas and take general college courses that most colleges require. There is an American University overseas you could attend. Check with your local on base education center for advice on this. An academic counselor should be available to offer you some help with this. Good luck to you and your family. You'll LOVE Germany! :)

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Specializes in Cath Lab/Critical Care.

Thank you so much for the information...I figured that I would be able to get a civilian nursing job on base, but knew it might take a while as a new graduate. But that's okay, from what you say I have a chance to work as a nurse. Also, the ideas about being an instructor for BLS and volunteering are great. Thanks again!:p

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

You're welcome. Anytime. Glad to be of service. :)

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It depends on if there is a large military hospital at your base. My husband is AF and the base we are stationed at has a very small hospital. Therefore I know some with nursing degrees that are simply volunteering with the ARC I'm sorry to say.

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Specializes in Cath Lab/Critical Care.

Thanks for the post, Gremlina...my hubby has talked to others on base, and agrees that I will probably be doing a lot of volunteering!:rolleyes:

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I came across this post searching for jobs In Germany. I am currently in school getting a Nursing assistant certification and a Phlebotomy Certification. We have orders to Germany in DEC. My fear after doing some looking is that I wont be able to get a job in one of these field and in return will lose My certifications. If anyone has any ideas on what I should do please share. I know with CNA if you go longer than two years with out working you have to retrain and re take the board. Or would volunteering in this field with the red cross help me.

Thanks

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Specializes in Psych/Travel.

Here's some links that may or may not help, but they are fun. MEDCELL is the Army's Medical Command employment site.

http://cpolrhp.belvoir.army.mil/eur/

https://ermc.amedd.army.mil/heidelberg/index.cfm

http://medcell.army.mil/index.htm

https://ermc.amedd.army.mil/MTF/index.html

http://www.mwrgermany.com/HD/acs/erp.htm

http://www.finditguide.de/

http://www.class-world.eu/

Good luck to you

Steve

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hello there everyone!!! i was wondering if anyone had some advice on how i should go about finding a job in germany....my boyfriend lives in germany and works for the us army there but off post. i am a rn in a busy emergency department in the states. i will be moving to germany and was wondering if i can get a job on base in a military hospital if i'm not in the military myself?? i do not speak german so would i have to learn the language to get a job in the medical field?? if i cant get a job on base then do you think it would be difficult for me to get a job as a civilian in a regular hospital?? very frustrated..................

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Sweetie 614, spouses get preference so if you are bf/gf you will be at the bottom of the food chain, sorry.

As far as a new grad, don't forget you can get your RN-BSN on line.

I was an RN / spouse around 99-01 and for any spouse to get ANY decent job is very hard let alone a nurse. I know things have changed a lot but never plan on getting a job overseas and hopefully you will get lucky and get one. PLUS, very important, their is a spousal preference thing that could bite you in the butt. If you use your preference and take any job when the one job comes open that you want you have already lost your entitlement and you may not get the good job; not sure if that makes sense. The end result is don't do anything unless you understand how to use your spousal preference.

In the mean time, volunteer and work on your BSN on line.

Pam

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Specializes in EMT, ER, Homehealth, OR.

Also remember that there a SOFA agreements with the host country which spell out how jobs are made available. When I was in Germany most jobs had to be made available for the Germans before they could be made available for spouses.

As for learning German, AKO offers Rosetta Stone free of charge for service members. Not sure about for spouses thou.

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THANK YOU! That list was an answer to prayer.

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