Schedule as an AF nurse

[AFFam]

Ok, so we are trying to decide whether I will go to work full-time or part-time once my husband completes NTP. I was wondering if his nursing schedule in the Air Force will be similar to his civilian schedule. Currently his schedule goes out 6 weeks which allows for us to make plans according with few changes. Sometimes he gets put on call or swaps days with someone but other than that, it's pretty straightforward. Will it be this way in the Air Force? I'm wondering because if I pick up a part time job, I hope to schedule it around the days that he is working so that we can avoid the cost of day care.

[HNELLA]

COT 11-02 so I should be rolling into Keesler in Feb 11.

[aktexas]

On a somewhat related note, does anyone know what it is like to be a single mother and a nurse in the AF? Reading all of these posts, I am starting to get worried. My son will be 12 when I get in (hopefully) next year. I'm just worried about going to a new place, knowing noone, and having no family in the area.

[The Little Greek]

I work Langley L&D and our schedule is CONSTANTLY changing--I would know since I am the lucky scheduler. My husband was able to work FT around my hectic schedule, but as others have said, prepare for plan B because there are always conflicts. I have to go to work on my days off regularly--twice or so a month. Then there are my on-call shifts. Work is not impossible, just find an employer who is flexible, which shouldn't be too hard living in a military town because everyone is used to it!

[HNELLA]

I work Langley L&D and our schedule is CONSTANTLY changing--I would know since I am the lucky scheduler. My husband was able to work FT around my hectic schedule, but as others have said, prepare for plan B because there are always conflicts. I have to go to work on my days off regularly--twice or so a month. Then there are my on-call shifts. Work is not impossible, just find an employer who is flexible, which shouldn't be too hard living in a military town because everyone is used to it!

Maybe this is a dumb question, but do you get any type of comp time for working extra, on call or call back? I am starting to get the bad feeling that you never really have a day off to play.

[The Little Greek]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but do you get any type of comp time for working extra, on call or call back? I am starting to get the bad feeling that you never really have a day off to play.

We get time off, but there is just lots of extra duty stuff that you can't get done while you are at work. Plus, shift workers always get screwed because everything takes place at the convenience of the 8-5, M-F folks. The RNs that work L&D at LAFB take 2 12 hr call shifts per month. If we get called in I am usually able to pay them back by giving them another day off. But I'm a nice scheduler and our staffing usually supports it. I can't speak for other units.