Air Force COT August 2016

Hi Kristen, congrats on your selection! My name is Eric and I was selected for August COT as well. I'm going in as an OR nurse, and will be stationed at SAMMC also. I currently live in Phoenix AZ so I'm excited that there won't be too much climate change. Have you gone to meps yet? I talked to my recruiter last night and he said he was finishing up some paperwork before I can go. Looking forward to talking with you and congrats again!

Eric

Eric! Hi! Would you be able to give me a little insight on how the process of being commissioned has been for you? I called the recruiting office here in Phoenix but the health occupations recruiter was not available so I was told someone would call me back but now I am very anxious to know all about the process. I only 1 yr of ADN experience on a PCU/Tele floor. I just finished my BSN last week and I really want to do military nursing but in the ER. do you know what the requirements are? anything I should know when speaking with a recruiter? any tips would be very helpful and appreciated.

Hey guys!!! I was so excited to see that you made a post for AUG2016 COT!

My name is Monika. I am still actually in nursing school. I graduate on May 7th and will take the NLCEX as soon as possible after that. My husband and I have both been active duty for about 10 years. We are stationed at Nellis in Las Vegas. I was accepted into the Nurse Enlisted Commissioning Program (NECP) in 2014. I am going to SAMMC for NTP after COT. Are you both doing NTP there also?

Hello NICURNnerd[COLOR=#666666] , i sent all papers in nov 15 to the requirement officer ( af reserve rn). How long it took you after the first step ? If you have time can you list the steps from emailing the papers to getting the job ( papers , interview , physical)?

thank you

B

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Hi Eric! Congrats on getting selected and that's awesome to know we will both be headed to SAMC when we are done! I did not go MEPS, I had a commissioning physical done at the base my husband is stationed at. Waiting to hear back if I was cleared or not. In the mean time just trying to get all the paperwork filled out and signed. How did the MEPS process go for you?

Hi monica! Congrats on being almost done with nursing school! Will you be going to COT in August as well? I will not be doing the NTP following COT because I am already an experienced nurse, I believe NTP is for new nurses, I could be wrong though.

Bsuciu- Id be happy to explain the steps though I'm not sure if it's different for you since you will be reserve. My process went surprisingly fast! I first went in to discus options with a recruiter in September. Hardest part was collecting all my medical records because I have had quite a few surgeries. While waiting for records to come back which took about a month goal, I was collecting all the other prices of the application such as several letters of recommendation, fine tuning my resume and completing the essay. Then, we submitted my medical records to MEPS to see if they would clear me for physical so that I could actually apply for the December board deadline. While waiting to hear from MEPS, my recruiter set up an in person interview and a over the phone interview. Both pretty easy. I can give you tips if you would like. Lastly, I got approved to physical and then my application was submitted to the board in December. I hear back that was selected early January! I hope this has helped. Feel free to ask any more questions u have! Good luck

NICURNnerd, would you please share what your in person and telephone interviews were like? How long did they last. What types of questions were you asked? Thanks! m

Hi Monikak,

I'm looking into applying to the NECP program. I'm wondering how the selection process went for you? Was it difficult? Any info would be great. Thanks.

NICURNnerd, I was wondering if you might be able to help me with the application process? I feel like we have so much in common. I am a NICU RN as well with 5.5 years of level 3 experience. I worked in the NICU at University in Denver as a new grad for about 2 years before moving to Maryland with my husband as he is active duty. I just contacted a recruiter and am waiting to hear back so I just started the process. We are currently in San Antonio as that is where my husband is going to school. Do you know when the next board meets?

ERRNmarla, Id be happy to share about the interviews. The first one I did was in person with the chief nursing officer on the base closest to where I live. The interview was very easy- mine lasted an hour an a half but I don't think that's normal lol. We got to talking about a lot of other things because it was so informal and relaxed. He did ask questions like describe a time u had to use critical thinking, describe an ethical dilemma u had at work. What was your hardest pt and why. And then asked about my fitness level, if I had problem carrying weapon, why I wanted to join AF, if I know the mission and core values of AF, how I felt about deployments and a few other things I can't quite recall. I walked out feeling really awesome about how it went. The phone interview on the other hand was a little harder to connect with the person since it was over the phone and kinda awkward. It was a nurse within my specialty. She Asked more specific questions related to my specialty. Didn't really ask anything about Air Force stuff except about deployments. I didn't feel that great after that interview. Be sure to Have a bunch of scenarios answers prepared before u interview so u can be ready with quality examples. Other than that, just be your self and you will do great!

donkin- Feel free to ask me any questions u have! And yay for fellow nicu nurses joining the AF! I am not sure when the board meets this year- Ive heard different things from people, but my recruiter told me they meet usually around sept and then dec/jan. So you should be able to get your package together by September (if that's when they are meeting). This past year I had heard there was only 4 spots open. Not sure how many people applied but I don't think that many because I feel like it's a little known fact that Air Force even has NICU nursing! There was not a signing bonus for nicu this time, but I hear if you are board certified u can get special incentive pay down the road so that is what I'm working on getting now. there are only 4 bases with NICUs- Langley Virginia, SAMC texas, landstuhl germany, and Japan. As far as dual military spouse stuff goes- I don't know much. Just that they try to station you together as soon as possible. Let me know if you have any other specific questions! Good luck!

@NICURNnerd...Thanks for the reply!

NICURNnerd I will be going to COT at the same time you will be!! It's awesome to already kinda know someone. And you're right. I looked it up and NTP is only for nurses with less than 6 months experience. So it looks like I'll be doing that while you're just orienting at SAMMC.

Truebluefoo- the process for NECP was not too bad.. But it took me a long time.. I heard about the program back in 2007, but didn't really start getting the pre-recs done until 2010. I finished everything and applied in 2014 and was accepted. I can answer any specific questions you might have.. Just ask or message me.

Hello again everyone! Sorry for being afk for awhile, my grad program is keeping me busy until COT. Since the last post after finding out I was accepted I had to resend a lot of my paperwork (transcripts, passport, drivers license, etc.) to my recruiter. I also filled out my preference for years of commitment to the Air Force. After that I had two set of finger prints done for a background check, a lot of forms for student loan repayments, filled out my medical record two of three more times then waited a few weeks. I got briefed on what would happen at meps on Monday, then arrived at meps at 0445 this morning. It's much like everything else military related...hurry up and wait. But most of the staff there were pleasant enough and tried to make it less than miserable. After filling out more paperwork in the wee hours of the morning we got our vision and hearing tested. Then breathalyzed. Then got watched while peeing for a UA/drug screen. Then on to the blood draw. Then we waited, and waited and waited. There were three docs for 24 of us so it took awhile for the to do our physical and medical interview. After that, they grouper us in groups of about 7 and stripped us down to our underwear and did height and weight. After that it was the underwear Olympics. Following that, our paperwork was signed off and double checked and we were dismissed. It was a long day, but really felt like I accomplished a big step. Hope everyone is doing well and things are running smoothly.