Questions about the Air Force

I can honestly say that except in cases of deployment I've never seen ANY AF member work six twelves a week. When I was a cop and deployed, we worked three 12's, had a day off, and then worked 3 more 12's - but when you're deployed there's really nothing else to do BUT work - it's really why you're there in the first place.

MAYBE when we were getting ready for an IG inspection we worked a few more shifts than usual, and we used to rearrange the holiday schedule so the folks with kids had all of Christmas week off, and the single folks had New Year's week off (so we DID work six twelves in a row) but that was NOT the usual course of business.

If the AF needed you to you'd work ten twelves - but unless it was REALLY extenuating circumstances, it's far from likely to happen. They're not about killing their people...

I think your recruiter's on crack.

If you're fully qualified, where you're placed is up to the chief nurse at your base.

The thing to remember about these recruiters is that the vast majority of them come from nonmedical line side jobs before becoming recruiters, so they truely have no idea what it is like to work as a nurse in the AF. My recruiter was in aircraft maintenance before becoming a recruiter, but he was very up front about his lack of knowledge and told me I would have to ask a lot of my questions on my chief nurse interview.

Med-Surg pt loads are generally 4-5 per RN with one med. tech per nurse or per every two nurses. The work shifts tend to be 12hr shifts averaging 84hrs every two weeks plus any extra duties/mandatory pt that you might have to come in and do on your off shifts. For most nurses that have worked on the civilian side before coming in the AF they find that the workload is greatly decreased from what they were used to on the outside.

Thanks everyone for your comments and knowledge. From what I'm gathering, you apply, and you have a meeting with the Chief Nurse before being officially accepted and signing the contract?

this is kind of a random question but do you think having dogs be a problem, ie, working too much and fulfilling other duties that you'd never be home to take care of them? i have two dogs that i would take with me and it would be a deal breaker most likely if my work schedule preventing me from having them.

do AF nurses have their own liability insurance or is the military different so that you don't need your own coverage?

what specifically differs from day to day between military and civilian nursing? i keep reading 'not much' but i'm curious what that entails.

are there nurses that come in straight from school? and how to they adapt compared with experienced nurses that come in from civilian hospitals?

I believe you have to do everything else (MEPS, paperwork, personal statement) first.

The Chief Nurse interview is part of the application process, and from what I've been told, a huge part of it. And it actually makes a lot of sense - this is the only chance the operational Air Force gets to see who you are (or at the very least how you can project yourself). This one individual is your only liaison between you and the Air Force (your recruiter really doesn't count - they're the headhunter not the hirer, so to speak - although if you're a tool, your recruiter will filter you out very quickly), and their opinion carries a lot of weight.

The notes from your interview go to the board with the rest of your package. Your package is then evaluated by the board and compared with everyone else who has applied, and then you're accepted based on the needs of the Air Force (a line you'll hear a lot both during this process and your military career).

Once you are assigned to a base (and that happens when your package goes to the board - the AF tells you where you're going when they tell you you're accepted), that medical squadron's/group's chief nurse reviews your information and decides where you'll be working. They then assign you to a position. I found out when I was accepted that I'm going to the oncology unit at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base (Lackland was my first or second choice - I can't remember which) in San Antonio, Texas.

I would assume (and AF RNs correct me if I'm wrong) that nurses are covered by the Feres Doctrine (commonly pronounced the "Ferris Doctrine"), by which members of the Armed Forces cannot sue military health care providers for medical malpractice. However, I don't know how you're covered when you treat civilians - and you will definitely treat civilians (family members, retirees, etc).

About dogs - the difficult thing about dogs is, if you're single, you have to have some sort of plan in place for their care if you're deployed. Plenty of people have dogs/cats/whatnot in the military, but if you're single, it's another ball of wax entirely, and when I was in it was mainly due to deployments. (I was an AF cop, but trust me - we had the worst schedules of anyone. My roommate and I had two dogs, and the only time we had a problem was the one time we both got deployed at the same time.)

The AF does not work you to death - you're able to have a life, you just have to remember that their needs come first.

I know - I remember the shape I was in when I graduated from the AF police academy right after BMT and it makes me feel physically ill...won't discuss what I weighed and could run like the wind...!!

The only thing I really hated about the AF and PT were the so-called "wing fun runs". Give me a break - there is NOTHING fun or even remotely amusing about being ordered to show up somewhere on your (usually) Saturday off to serve as a rent-a-crowd (more like rent-a-formation) for the base colonel/one/two-star (who half the time isn't even there anyway) and run a 5K. I used to swap days with people to have to work that day! HATED that stuff. I hate running as it is, but I'll do it and do it gladly/willingly because I have to - "fun runs" push my limits, though. Grrr.

i'm kind of in the same boat you are in... now that it is getting closer i'm starting to doubt what my reasons were for joining and am actually getting quite scared. but i think if you look at the big picture you might see that it would be worth it to give it a try. i am currently in my first RN position and it's grueling- every day i leave i wonder why i ever went to nursing school- i hate it most of the time. but i know if i stick it out it will get better. so maybe i'll hate the air force too- sure i'm stuck for four years but honestly will it be THAT bad? maybe, but 99% of the threads you read and people you talk to say they wouldn't change their experience for the world. so yeah, maybe it'll be bad but it could be amazing and i'm almost positive that no matter where you get your first RN position you aren't going to love it for a while. so in my opinion i'd rather try the air force and at least live somewhere that i know i'd never pick up and move to and be able to look back and say i did it and look where it got me than to forever wonder what would have happened. at this point i've thought about so much that i know i'd regret it if i didn't follow through. and while you're young enough to move around with minimal committments i'd say give it a try- otherwise you'll never know. don't get me wrong, i'm terrified, but at the same time i'm hoping it's an adventure that will pay off in the long haul! (i went to initial some forms the other day and got physically nauseous when the recruiter asked for my base choices- not even kidding)

on another note- i have no idea how many people they reject. or what the likelihood of not getting accepted is. i'd like to know that myself actually.

good luck!