new Army Nurse going Landstuhl, Germany

[Pink-Rated]

Hello. I'm new to this but I just wanted to get some get some more information. I am a nursing student (RN-BSN) and Army ROTC cadet on my last semester of nursing school and Army ROTC. In May, I will be graduating as a nurse and commissioning as a 2nd LT in the Army. Anyways, I just found out that I got my first choice for my First Duty Station and it's Landstuhl, Germany. Of course, when I found out, I completely freaked out and it's probably the best early Christmas gift ever!

I don't know anyone who has been to Germany as an Army nurse and was wondering how the area was and if you liked living there. So far, I've read only good things. Are there things to do around city? Is there a beach or something? How's the weather? Is it a big city? congested? Also, how was working in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center? I know there will be a lot of injured soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan so maybe a lot of critical care cases. Was it stressful? big? Did you feel lost? Did people help you? Are the native people there friendly? do they speak English? Do I have to learn how to speak German or is English good enough? Is housing easily available and is it affordable? How about the cost of living there? I know the Euro is more than the American dollar. Will I have enough time to travel through Europe while working as an Army nurse? How about a car? Do I need to buy a car? a little off topic, but are Mercedes or BMW's cheaper there? Is there anything else that I should know? Anything that I need to steer clear of?

I know these are a lot of questions but I've never been too far from home and on my own, plus living and starting out a whole new life in a foreign country (I'm single, so no family or friends in a big, foreign place! lol.). Just really want to know any information that you have or any of your own personal experience living there. I kind of need to prepare myself for this whole new life and adventure before it happens. Thanks!

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

I grew up right near Landstuhl -- graduated from high school at Ramstein. You will LOVE it, I am sure!! I miss Germany so much. :) Good luck!!!

[stevefl]

Lunah

There are a few civilian job openings at LRMC if your interested:-)

Steve

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Lunah

There are a few civilian job openings at LRMC if your interested:-)

Steve

I've applied! :) I'm also going to be talking to an Army recruiter next week as well, just to pursue things from another angle. But I would love to go back over to Germany in a civilian capacity, at the very least.

[emtneel]

Lunah

There are a few civilian job openings at LRMC if your interested:-)

Steve

Do you have any specific contacts? I've been applying since Dec 2007 and even had 3 interviews in person in Heidelberg and Eastern Germany but there just weren't any positions available... I am a Family Nurse Practitioner and would love to return to Germany to work, as my German boyfriend is in Stuttgart working on his PhD so long distance relationship is tough.

I am applying to CPOL, USAjobs.gov, as well as some jobs in Switzerland (not military) they have something similar to NPs so we'll see, but the best would be if I could get a job at ANY base in Germany as a FNP.

Thanks!

Neelia

[stevefl]

I can't find the one site that had several current job posts but here are a couple links that might help.

http://www.landstuhl.healthcare.hqusareur.army.mil/sitemap.aspx

http://www.medcell.army.mil

Medcell is a little more specific then CPOL.

Also if you try the LRMC link there is contact info all the different departments at the hospital.

Then again you might want to try a civilian job in the KMC area, try http://www.kaiserslauternamerican.com and try the contact page there was a large area for civilian health care for Americans around KMC.

Hope this helps

Steve

[estursa]

My husband and I are currently stationed at Ramstein and I am about to go back to the states for an accelerated BSN program. When I come back I want to try to get a civilian job at Landstuhl. I am wondering if they generally hire many RN's who are fresh out of a program, or if it will be extremely tough for me to get a job. I know we have spousal preferance here, but I am not sure how far that gets you. Anyone with insight?

[armyicurn]

Where do you want to work at specifically?

[estursa]

Well, I suppose I should not be picky if it means that I will have a job at all:). I would not mind working as a floor nurse, but I would like to work in a high acuity environment. I do not have a specific medical specialty that I find more appealing than another (of course I haven't gone through clinicals yet), but I really would not enjoy a job that places me at a desk for the majority of the time. I understand that training a graduate nurse takes a lot of time and money, and I didn't know if this was something that they would even want to invest in.

[ri07093]

I was just reading your post and I noticed you posted this in 2008 so I am assuming you are in Germany now. I am direct commission and I choose Landstul as my first choice. So how are you liking it. Do you live on base. Is it really cold. I would appreciate any feed back. :)

[estursa]

I was just reading your post and I noticed you posted this in 2008 so I am assuming you are in Germany now. I am direct commission and I choose Landstul as my first choice. So how are you liking it. Do you live on base. Is it really cold. I would appreciate any feed back. :)

We moved to Germany in Aug 09, stationed at Ramstein about 10 minutes away from Landstuhl. We live off base, the BAH is good and there are no issues finding a house under your cap. Housing is different here, but hey, it's Germany. The weather is pretty mild in general. Summers average 65ish and with exception of a few days this winter, it hasn't been bad. It snows/rains close to everyday but a lot of times this winter when it snowed its around 30* so it really isn't bad. Most people love the country and the travel opportunities in Europe. The one thing people are generally disappointed with is the lack of comradary, I am not sure why bonds fall short here, but I am always hearing that complaint. Jobs for dependants can be sporifice too if they don't want to work for AFFES. Short of that I don't have many complaints. Some people come here and want to homestead, others are done after their 3 years.

If you have any other questions, I would be happy to try and answer them.

[ri07093]

Thanks so much for replying. I appreciate all the feedback; I hear that most direct commissions get their first pick so this is a huge choice for me. I do have a couple more questions;

The place where you live, is it like living in big city? In your "neighborhood" are you surrounded by other Americans? Also, you worked at LRMC correct? How is it working at this hospital? Are there many opportunites to deploy? Also I heard that if you are stationed over seas, you may have to wait longer to go into your chosen speciality (for example, ICU etc..) Is this correct? Finally, although you may not have much information on the base in Hawaii, but based on your experiences in the Army and in Germany, which do you think is the better choice!? Again, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions!

Rachel

[armyicurn]

Choice of station for direct commission candidates is a 50/50 thing. You have to think hard and carefully what you want. If you stay stateside, then your next move could be overseas. The army likes to do this move a lot with new officers. They get you for a 3 or 4 yr contract and then right about 2-3 yrs you get move overseas. Here is where they get you because most tours are 3 years while oversas. This includes Hawaii. This would mean that you will end up doing more than what you actually signed for. The bottom line is what you are going to make out of it.

New RNs do not get deployed right away. This was tried and it really came and bit the army in the you know what. You will have to first develop your skills and then after a year or so, they will come and tap on your shoulder.

What kind of info are you looking for Hawaii? If I were you and never been to Europe, take Europe. You can always do Hawaii on your own time. There is only so much of Hawaii to see and if you do not mind being landlocked, then take Hawaii.

The latest brief I was given by branch is that they claim to be making their numbers... This could have a change for you in the future...no bonuses or other perks to keep you in... but we will have to sit tight and see what actually happens...Since we are a country that we like to stick our noses in almost everything, you may get your chance to deploy to some other place besides AFG...