Re: New FNP in AF Originally Posted by Melissa17036 
Hello. I am in the application process for the AF scholarship program to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. I completed the application process and I am just waiting to hear next month if I am in or not. I met with a chief nursing officer last month and some of the things he said during the interview do not coincide with what my recruiter has told me. I was wondering if anyone has any input on the facts:
1. Regarding orientation time after graduation:
Chief nursing officer: No NP orientation after graduation. Your NP program will teach you what you need to know.
Recruiter: Up to 8 months orientation (depending how much time you need- less is better)
2. Regarding deployment:
Chief nursing officer: 1 year deployments happen fairly often. Just had a PA return from 1 year deployment.
Recruiter: Most nurses are currently being deployed for 6 months (changed from 4 to 6 months recently). 1 year long deployments almost never happen. Very rare but it is a very small possibility.
Does anyone know how often the year long deployments happen? I have a young daughter and 6 months is hard enough to accept. Also, are Family NPs usually in hospital or clinic setting?
Thanks for any help.
1. What I have seen in the past is that new NPs start out at a reduced schedule, and then work up to the normal work schedule. I haven't worked in a clinic for several years, but that will probably be the same where you will be stationed. There will also be other providers around to answer question that you might have during the day. Military credentailing is notoriously slow so your clinic will probably have you shadow another provider for at least a couple of shifts. You will also goto CHCS/CHCSII training, Command orientation, Hospital orientation etc. I guess the whole thing for providers isn't the same as a formal orientation process as a floor nurse, but I don't think you should feel like your fending for yourself either.
You can forget about 8 months of orientation.....I would expect 3-4 months of reduced scheduling with a slow build up to usually no more than 4 patients an hour. Most clinics also schedule an hour a day to catch up on paperwork.
2. I still think nurses mainly deploy for 6mo. at a time with 1yr deployments being unusual. Using a PA as an example doesn't work, because they belong to MSC where we belong to the Nurse Corps. As NP you can be deployed as a NP or as med-surg nurse (probably no one bothered to mention that).
3. I haven't seen any FNPs work outside the clinic.
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