Do me a favor and never post in any of my threads that I start. Your contributions are rude and unhelpful.

Whatever.

You are very arrogant. At least, you come off as that.

Part 3:
What is life like as a SRNA in the AF? I absolutely want to be an APN, but I am not sure what my niche is yet (CRNA or CNS). Do you feel the Air Force has helped you reach your goals? Is there a certain amount of years I have to be active duty before I can apply to CRNA or CNS programs? In the end, I am a woman and I need a “career outline.” I’d like to complete my Master’s before having children. This is a concern for me.

I think I have rambled on long enough. Thanks for your time. I appreciate it. It's nothing I want to rush into.


GLAMLIFE

Part 2 (cont):
I love nursing and the place I work, but I want to do "more." I have been looking into the AirForce because of the opportunities it would give me. I understand how to apply, how I will go to commissioned officer training for 4 weeks, then to active duty base, etc. My questions relate to post officer training. What is life as an Air Force Nurse before you started SRNA program? How many hours do you work a week? What other trainings do you do? Have you been deployed? Do they foster a positive work environment? Or is it an "eat your young" mentality?

Part 1:
WTBCRNA-- Good morning. I have been "stalking" you the past thirty minutes trying to read up on your past posts. I'm sorry if I ask questions you have previously discussed. Anyway, I know you are an SRNA and crazy busy (one of my friends are in school as well), but when you have time I would GREATLY appreciate your expertise/advice regarding the military.

About me-- I am a 21 y/o female. I graduated May 2008 with an Associate Degree in Nursing (RN). I started working in the CVICU upon graduation. While working, I am also pursuing my BSN and will graduate May 2010. So, by the time I graduate with my BSN (and eligible to join AF) I will have two years CVICU experience, plus BLS and ACLS certified. I also plan to pass my CCRN.

I sent you a message almost 2 years ago looking for some info about AF Nursing and I was hoping you wouldn't mind helping me out again. I am an AF Reservist (Capt) and went thru an accelerated nursing program & graduated in May 2008. Passed my boards in Aug, but was recalled to AD duty after working only 2 months. Since it seems that I'll be recalled fairly regularly over my reserve career, I thought now it would be a good time to check out the AF. I called a recruiter and am waiting to hear back from him. I was wondering if you have an idea if I would keep my rank or would I have to start over again since I have all but 2 months of nursing experience. I signed up in Nov 2000, was commissioned in Mar 2001, separated from AD in Nov 2006 (transferred immediately into the reserves). I have been an active reservist since Aug 2008. What are your thoughts? Would you give up rank to be on active duty? It's a tough decision after being a Capt for so long. Any perspective would be appreciated!

You would probably be interested in doing Critical Care Air Transport Team/CCATT. CCATT is a part-time job while not deployed and full time job while deployed.
You can start out with your ICU identifier and go straight into ICU. Going overseas has its' pros and cons. Assuming that you are very adamant about your only coming in if you 1st duty assignment is overseas you could probably get an overseas assignment. The only problem is that all overseas AF ICUs are really small (usually 2-4 beds).
Deployed locations vary greatly (I am speaking from friends and co-workers experiences since I have yet to deploy) if your at an AF base and it has been there for awhile you can expect to have fast food, high speed internet in your room etc. Now if you are deployed on Forward surgical team then you should expect very austere conditions with almost no amenities.
You have to wait at least 3yrs minimum to get into CRNA school d/t time on station requirements. The rules on applying change periodically from year to year, but those were still the requirements the last time I looked.

There is no such thing as having CRNA specified in your contract in the AF or Navy.
In general the AF and Army have both been short of CRNA applicants lately. As long as you meet the basic requirements and do the other standard things to make yourself competitive I don't see a reason why you wouldn't have a good chance of getting into CRNA school in the AF. The basic requirements are: 3.0 GPA overall, GRE 1000+ w/ a writing score 3.5 or higher, and 1yr of acute care experience. To make yourself stand out you need to have your CCRN, and I would also recommend becoming and ACLS/BLS/PALS &/or TNCC instructor.

For you I think what any school is really going to look at is your GPA. You might consider taking a couple of graduate level classes and making 4.0s in them to show the prospective schools that you are up to graduate level work.

Hi there,I've read a lot of your airforce/CRNA posts and I really appreciate everything that you've said. It's really helping guide this journey in nursing of mine. I had a couple of direct questions for you that I felt would probably be more directly answered if i just sent you a message. So, hopefully you don't mind.So, from what I've read and heard from different medical recruiters, the airforce and army both sound like great choices, but I'm having trouble deciding if being an officer and active duty is really for me.A little about me:1.5 year ICU exeperience, RN-BSN, CCRN, ACLS, PALS24 years old, single, no kidsAspiring CRNA2.95 GPA, 3.2 (nursing) and studying for the GREGoals: 1) get experience in flight/aeromedical transport, forward surgical teams, or any other unique experiences not found in the civilian sector. 2)utilize loan repayment and opportunities for CRNA school3)live internationallyThat being said, my GPA doesn't make me super competitive for many schools here in the US, but if I don't go military I'll likely apply to many within the next year. So, my questions:1) With my experience, I know I can probably work with an ICU identifier from the start, but is it possible to work internationally? (I really don't want to be stuck stateside for 2 years).2) What are some of the cool/unique critical care nursing experiences that are available in the air force?3)What kind of lifestyle do you live when deployed?4)3-5 years appears to be the average time people wait until they can get into the uniformed serivces university for CRNA school. Does having it specified in your commission contract expedite the process? If scored well on the GRE, do you think I would still have a shot?I would appreciate any response Thanks.