Maybe stationed at Ft Bragg...have questions

military spouse · Jul 27, 2005

Hello,

Haven't lived in the Bragg area for almost 10 years, but you should have no trouble getting a job. Look at Cape Fear Valley and there are several other hospitals in the area. We've always done the private schools for our daughter, so can't speak to the quality of public schools-probably some pretty rough areas. There are beautiful neighborhoods around Bragg that are quite reasonable in price. I worked at the hospital in Lumberton, NC right out of school and base pay was $14.77/hr (this was 10 years ago). I think you will find the pay in that area is probably pretty good considering the cost-of-living!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2005

My sister worked at Wommack as a civilian nurse in the ER and said she made a lot more money. But she also worked at Cape Fear Valley and liked that as well. Sorry, I can't give you a figure as to salary.

I grew up in Fayetteville as an Army brat and back then the education system was poor, but I think they've made strides.

As far as I know there are no local BSN programs. There's a great ADN school, so naturally the area hires ADN's without batting an eye. Why not look into RN to BSN schools?

Fort Brag is a huge base with an awesome PX and Commissary and other benefits and I think as an Army wife you couldn't do better.

Good luck to you.

military spouse · Jul 27, 2005

I believe there were rn-bsn programs at Fayetteville State and Pembroke. Verify that, though :)

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2005

I believe there were rn-bsn programs at Fayetteville State and Pembroke. Verify that, though :)

That would be great! It's been 14 years since I graduated from Fayetteville Tech. I should have realized with advent of more and more RN to BSN programs, there should be some locally. Has it really been 14 years....sheesh!

Aneroo, LPN · Jul 28, 2005

I live probably two hours from Ft. Bragg. Yes, NC hires ADN's. East Carolina University (http://www.ecu.edu) and UNC-Chapel Hill both have online BSN programs, so a local one shouldn't be a problem (those are the closest anyways).

As for pay and where to work, I have not a clue. :) Good luck! -Andrea

Aladosha · Jul 28, 2005

Thought I'd throw in my two cents since I have posted in a long time. I claim Ft. Bragg as my hometown as I was born and partly raised there (former Army bratt). In fact, my parents and most of my family live in the area today . As far as jobs go, I think you'll have no problem finding a job with one year of experience. Womack is the hospital on base. It is pretty big and you can get a job there as a civilian. Not sure what the starting rate is, but I'll post a link for you to check out jobs and it should have the salary range and benefits. You'll have to apply thru USA jobs or civilian personnel online. I don't know much about the Cape Fear Valley hospital. There is also the VA Medical Hopsital in Fayetteville that employs civilian nurses. My mother works there in human resources and tells me the nurses get a generous sign on bonus, but I think the VA may have some morale issues as they have a hard time keeping nurses. Overall, I would highly reccommend seeking employment at Womack because you'll become a government employee and whenver you PCS to another bases you'll be in the "system" already if you chose to work at another base hospital.

Unfortunately, I can't offer much advise on schools for your children. I completed elementary school before moving to Saudi Arabia and we never moved back to the area until I started college in Charlotte.

Like the other posters mentioned there are several RN to BSN courses in the area. Fayetteville State has a RN to BSN program. Fayetteville and Ft. Bragg are right next to each other so there not much of a commute to that campus. Anyway, check out the links below. Good luck with your decision! If you chose Ft. Bragg you'll find it very millitary friendly!

Womack job postings http://www.wamc.amedd.army.mil/sitetemplate1/externaldata/jobpostings.aspx

Fort Bragg's site

www.bragg.army.mil

Fayetteville State

http://www.uncfsu.edu/

gallagher1103 · Jul 31, 2005

Hello!
I am an Army wife and a nurse. My DH and I are trying to make the best decision regarding our next duty station with one of the choices being Ft Bragg, NC. I have a few questions and would like any input I can get.
1) I have an ADN and by the time I move will have about 1 year of nursing under my belt. Do hospitals in NC hire ADNs? If so, what is the avg starting rate?
2) What are the schools like? Not only school for me to continue to the BSN level, but schools for the kids? My oldest son will be going into 7th grade and my youngest will be going into 2nd grade.
Again, any info would be great!
Thanks in advance!
Sara

Sara

I am presently living in fayetteville,

Working at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center for over 4 years and am an ADN nurse, starting pay (i think ) is $18-19 (I am not a 100% but it is somewhere around there) I have lived in fayetteville over ten years.

I am working on my msn through UNC-chapel hill online. LOVE IT~ you can also get your BSN entirely online through UNC-CH.

SChools, I dont do Spring lake (which is 1 mile north from post).....let me know if you have any more questions

live4today, RN · Jul 31, 2005

Hello Sara

I, too, used to reside in Fayetteville, and also lived at Fort Bragg. I have also worked at the army hospital there and Cape Fear. I did prn for an agency at High Smith Rainey Hospital (sp?). I enjoyed working for them all. I remember the staff being pleasant to work with but that was back in the early to mid nineties.

When I lived there, Fayetteville University was not yet an accredited college, so make sure they have become accredited before you choose to attend their college. The community college there is a nice school on a nice campus. I worked as a cna clinical instructor through their continuing education department.

North Carolina...like most other states...hires licensed registered nurses....while some hospitals in many states may seek "bsn preferred" they know they are lucky to simply get and retain a nurse no matter the educational route taken. :uhoh3:

Fayetteville and surrounding areas there did not have good quality schools for kids in the nineties. I can't imagine they've improved much since that time, so you may want to consider homeschooling or private schools for your child. When I lived there, my kids attended Christian schools. Some of the neighborhoods are nice, and some are not. Check with the local police department if you plan on living off base, and ask for a crime report for the neighborhood you are planning to move in to. I have ALWAYS done this BEFORE moving into any neighborhood when raising my children. Can't be too cautious these days ya know. :) Best of everything to you!

studentnurserachel · Aug 27, 2005

I am a nursing student going to college in Lumberton (mentioned above), but living in Fayetteville with my husband who is in the 82nd at Ft. Bragg. I can't speak for the working conditions, except what I've heard, but yes the hospitals here hire ADNs and you will have no problem finding a job. Even if you don't want to get into the government service jobs at Womack, they have contract positions (which pay better) that only require a year of experience. I've heard that overall, Womack has the best staff ratios and reputation in this area. I do my clinicals for school at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton, which is probably the hospital the first responder mentioned as starting their new grads at 14+ an hour 10 years ago. Their current pay rate is about 20 for new grads and more for more experience. I may keep doing the drive (which is about 30 minutes) because the pay there is better than at Cape Fear Valley Hospital here in Fayetteville and because they have better opportunities for new grads (you can start out in the ICU with a training program or L&D). As for the area itself, it's a typical military town, some nice areas, and some areas to avoid. The best part about it is that it is not a long drive to some pretty cool places. Raleigh is only an hour away and they have tons of shopping and lots to do, the beaches (Wilmington and Myrtle Beach) are less than 2 hours away, and the mountains are about 3.5 hours away. As far as schools. In a word, they are terrible. My son is just a baby, so I've not had personal experience, but talking to other parents and hearing about local test scores, I will not be sending him to the local public schools if we're still in the area at the time. I'm not sure how you feel about private schools, but there are several in this area with good reputations and (as I understand) reasonable prices, most notable Fayetteville Academy. Believe it or not, the on-base schools have a better reputation than the Fayetteville public schools, so if living on base is an option for you, there is that. Fayetteville State does have an RN-BSN program, but I've heard lots of bad things about it and I'm pretty sure they do lack accreditation. As a previous poster mentioned, UNC-Chapel Hill and East Carolina both have online programs that are highly regarded (I'll be doing mine at ECU). Overall, I like living here. My husband had training at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, Ft. Sam Houston, TX, and Ft. Benning, GA, and the only place I'd rather be living than here of those is Ft. Sam Houston. Feel free to PM me with any questions, sorry to write so much!

TashaLPN2006RN2012, ASN, RN · Aug 28, 2005

This is a website for armywives, and also has links for wives of other branches...any quesitons about the post in general these ladies are GREAT! i'm on there under cavscoutswife...not sure about any anwsers to your questions but these ladies will probably know the school systems down there the best for you!

http://forums.armywives.com/phpBB2/index.php

tasha

ARNISARN · Nov 24, 2005

I am a recent grad from the community college,I had over 16 years as an LPN, I am student at Fayetteville State in the RN-BSN program. It is an accredited program and they have also recieved accreditation for the generic program. This is pilot program so all the kinks are not out yet but they are making strides. As an older student who has taken and passed the state boards I think the program is just fine( I don't need the added stress) there was enough while taking the boards. There is a lot of journaling and papers, but I have a friend that attends East Carolina, the course are the same and she also says that they also do a lot of journaling. In my opinion it is a refresher nothing to hard (Patho is the hardest this semester). I hear some of the generic students complain but this is college and with all colleges you really teach yourself the instructors give you the information needed for testing, also some of the courses are online.