Air Force Evaluation Form

Hi! I was told by my recruiter that the form could only be filled out by other nurses.

Thanks for your reply ATLRN0828! I'm going to be applying as a new grad for AF NTP, so I don't really have any RNs I can ask besides my instructors, and I have only had a few so far who have seen enough of me to really be able to fill out that form - the only thing I can think of is that maybe it can be non-RN people if you are applying for NTP? Are you applying for fully qualified or NTP?

I submitted my packet for fully qualified at the beginning of this month. I have 4+ yrs experience already. You might be right about the recommendations. I would have a manager (if you are currently working) and your clinical instructor(s) complete them. If you know any of the admin at your school (like the dean), I would have that person do it too. i went to a pretty small school so we interacted with the admin regularly. And also just clarify it with you recruiter. Tell them yoy plan on having the manager at your job fill out the form and you just wanted to make sure that was ok.

Unfortunately I don't know many of the admin people since our school is fairly large, so hopefully I can find enough instructors that are willing. Did your recruiter have you submit any letters of recommendation in addition to the evaluation forms? My recruiter seems to think that the only recommendation you can have is the evaluation form.....

Oh ok. Well I think your instructors will do. No, my recruiter didn't have me submit any letters of recommendations in addition to the eval forms. I did have two non-nurses fill out the eval form for me (because she did not specify that the evals could only be from nurses) and she didn't accept them. So I think they will not accept letters of recommendation either.

When you say "she didn't accept them" you mean your recruiter right? I assume that since my recruiter is the one telling me that it can be anybody then he would accept them...I asked him directly if former, non-nurse employers were ok for that form and he said yes. I guess the best thing I can do is to get as many people as possible to fill them out for me and if at some point they decide they don't want to accept the non-nurse ones then I'll have enough nurse ones to make up for the ones they might take away.

Just out if curiosity, how did you get to know the dean of your school? Ours seems kind of off limits and never interacts with the students - I've never actually seen her in person, only in videos we watched on our orientation day. She just doesn't seem very personable.

Also, I just want to say good luck since you turned in your packet this month! I hope you get selected! When will you find out?

Hey! That's right, my recruiter didn't accept the non-nurse evaluation forms. She told me that the board would not accept them if they were not from nurses. I'm guessing the difference in our forms is that I have actual working RN experience. And maybe since you are in school and don't have nursing experience yet then it is ok for you to have non-nurse evaluations. I'm sure it is understood that you do not currently work at a hospital or as an RN, so you will not be able to have that many nurse forms completed. We were only reqired 3, at minimum, and I turned in 5. So I think your idea of getting as many people to fill them out is good.

The dean of my school was awesome! She still taught some of our lectures and had an open door policy. She is very personable and really took the time to get to know as many of us as possible. She is a really good speaker. But like I said before, that might be because my school was not very large. I graduated in December 06 and adding up my class and the May 07 class (I graduated a semester early) there were probably only about a little over 100 of us. I'm sure it is harder to know everyone if you are at a big school.

Thanks! We should find out toward the end of February. Good luck to you too. How much longer do you have in school? When is your packet due by?

Wow! Your dean does sound awesome! I wish my school was a little smaller, it would be great to be able to interact with more of the admin/instructors one on one and have them remember who you are! I think just in my class alone we started out with around 130 people and there are two other classes (one 6 months ahead of us and one 6 months behind us) attending the school at the same time as us, so there's probably a total of around 350-400 students.

I've got a little over a year left in school and will graduate spring 2013. I technically shouldn't be starting my packet until March, but my recruiter has been great and is letting me start a little early so I can have a chance to fill out some of the forms (as long as I don't put any dates on them right now), write my essay, etc while I'm on break and don't have any classes to worry about. My packet is due by June 19th and we should know the results in the middle of August.

Are you applying for a certian specialty? Did your recruiter let you know how many spots there are for your board?

Yeah that part was really nice, but I do sometimes feel like I missed out on having the "full" college experience since we did not have all the activities that a large school has. WOW...350-400 students. I can't even imagine how that is. We might have started out in the mid 100's for total students duering the first semester, lol.

That's good that your recruiter is letting you start early. You have to write an essay? So you will not have to have any experience after graduating?

I had to apply for Med/Surg since I do not have any experience in the ICU, ER, or OB. I've been working in Hem/Onc for the last 5 yrs. I'm ok with that though. I can always switch later. I'm guessing you will be doing med/surg too? Or how does that work for you since you will be a new grad?

LOL, 350-400 students does seem like a lot, but we usually only take courses with the people in our class so I've never had a course with more than 130 people in it. It's starting to get to the point in our program where my class is getting split up a lot and the courses are getting down to only having around 50 or less students.

The essay I mentioned is just 9 questions where they ask about why you chose the Air Force, why nursing as a profession, what you have to offer them, etc. You didn't have to do anything like that?

If I'm selected as a new grad, no I won't have to have any experience after graduating. I would graduate, take/pass the NCLEX, and then would go right to COT. After COT new grads go to the Nurse Transition Program where you get more clinical experience and instruction (I think it is around 10 weeks long). After NTP I would then go on to my first duty station. If I don't get selected as a new grad I would have to get at least 6 months of experience after graduating and then apply for the fully qualified boards.

Yes, I'll also be trying for med/surg. I believe new grads have the option of choosing between med/surg and OB. I've heard that if you go into OB then it is difficult to switch later and your opportunities are more limited. I've also had a lot of nurses tell me that it is good to start out in med/surg to get a wide variety of experiences. I don't think med/surg is something I would want to stay in forever, but its seems like a better starting point then OB.

Oh ok. Yes, I had to answer those questions too. The whole application process is so extensive! I'm glad to be done with that. Also, be glad that you're getting it done earlier, besides some odds and ends, because the sooner your done then you won't have to worry about it.

Oh, that's good then. *You should say when you pass the NCLEX and get in. It's seems like the first year for new grads is pretty busy. I'm sure it's really good experience though.

I heard with med/surg you also have more options such as base location. And with any of the specialities you are a little more limited. It is good to start in med/surg (I would also say the ER or ICU for those who absolutely know they do not want to do med/surg). If I had really thought about it I probably would have went to the ICU or ER after I graduated. I love oncology but now it's kind of hard to switch into different areas. I do know I want no parts of OB, LOL.

What bases are you thinking about selecting?

You're right, I should say when I pass NCLEX and get in! Although sometimes it is hard to think like that since you hear so much about people not getting selected...It can be very intimidating!

I am happy with being able to get some of it done earlier. There are a few of the questions on the "essay" part that I'm having a little trouble with, so it's good I have some extra time. How was your chief nurse interview? I think that's one of the things I'm the most worried about.

Having more base options with med/surg will definitely be a plus. I think that if I don't get selected and have to get a civilian job for a little while I would go for ER over med/surg...and I definitely feel the same as you as far as staying away from OB as much as possible.

As far as bases go, I have quite a few places I'd be ok with - Travis, Lackland, anything around DC, or anything in FL. If I had to go overseas I think Germany or Italy (not completely sure they have nurses in Italy) would be my first two choices. What about you?