Air Force Critical Care

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I am currently in the process of submitting my packet for the Commissioned Officer in the Air Force. I have plenty of experiance on a telemetry floor but will have 10 months of ICU experiance (2mo short of the recommended). My recruiter said they make exceptions and that mine would probably be ok (I'm sure he would suggest med surg for me if he thought otherwise)I assume that the board will concider the type of ICU experiance and not just the time. The ICU I work in handles most anything, I would think that my 10 months in this ICU would be preferred over 5 years in a tiney ICU that ships EVERYTHING out. I am really nervous that they wont consider that.... any insight?

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Specializes in ED. ICU, PICU, infection prevention, aeromedical e.

I'm AD AF as an ICU RN. Your answer will be simply: it depends. It's a numbers game. How many critical care slots are available vs how many qualified ICU RN's are applying. It would be stronger if you have your CCRN -but you may not have the time yet to take it. I have seem some nurses come into ICU with less than the 1 year requirement. One RN was given alot of grief by our commander that she wasn't qualified (she was fully forthcoming about her experience and not trying to get by with something either). She was sent through the AF critical care fellowship and has been in ICU always.

As ICU - expect to deploy more often. I've been in 2.5 years and leaving on my 2nd deployment at the end of the month.

also - spellcheck is your friend. In every situation, you need to present as an educated professional.

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Ah yes! Using my phone to post was a bad idea my T9 has never worked well :-) So there is a possibility of being accepted but they may send me through the training for ICU? At this point I don't think I will need it, but any extra education I can get I will welcome! You are right I'm short on the hours necessary to take the CCRN test, but I have been studying! Im curious how different the staff dynamic is from a civilian hospital. Where are you stationed now and where are you deploying?

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Specializes in ED. ICU, PICU, infection prevention, aeromedical e.

There is a difference in staffing dynamics from civilian. There is a more professional demeanor (not that there is absolutely no drama). I most value the nurse-doctor relationships. No more being yelled at by a doctor for calling. We work with more civilians than military on my unit. It's a mix of army, AF, GS, and civilians. I think we all get along fine at on the floor. It's all about the patients. And I like that my patient mix is different. My unit has mostly older pts - as it is a cardiac unit. Veteran's are great to take care of for the most part. I haven't had to take care of a meth user who spits at me the entire time I've been in! lol

Many AF ICU nurses are going to Bagram - this isn't classified since anyone can google it. Most AF deployments are 6 months. Army is going to 9 months here at SAMMC.

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Specializes in kjhflkjshdflkjsd.

Anyone aware of how many critical care slots are open for this board???

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