Well, it has been a really long time since I have posted anything due to the fact that I have been waiting in limbo since January!! The last thread I started in Dec/Jan was hijacked!! So, I am starting a new thread on what's going on.
As some may know and may have read, I started my journey in March 2008. Took a year to lose the weight needed to start the process. Then, I had to deal with a new recruiter who seemed to have no interest in helping me get things done and eventually passed on my information and packet to a different recruiter in another state. This recruiter has been awesome!! Well, we pretty much had my packet completed by December, but then had to put everything on hold because the specialty area I am trying to enter the AF as was filled for this year. So, I was told that I would have to wait til Sept. So, I contacted my awesome recruiter in March/April to get things rolling again only to find out that he was no longer a healthcare recruiter and I had to talk to the new healthcare recruiter in that office. I felt like I was starting all over again!! Eventually, our (new recruiter) email conversations lead to the MSgt (bossman) calling me and telling me not to beat up his recruiters and that he was going to be working on my packet and information with this new recruiter. So, finally back on track. I had to have my recommendation/reference forms re-done because I was told that they are only good for 6 months. Then, I received a call from the awesome ex-healthcare recruiter a few weeks ago telling me that he was personally taking it upon himself to make sure my packet was complete and ready to go and to move forward with scheduling the chief nurse interview and have my packet submitted to the board by the end of September!! He said that my actual recruiter was/is going to gone for training until October. So, if it wasn't for him taking it upon himself to make sure my stuff got done this time, I'd probably be sitting here for another year waiting!! Like I said before, this recruiter is AWESOME!
Now, here we are, finally, after many months of waiting, and everything is complete. My chief nurse interview is scheduled for Friday September 10th at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. I went back through the threads to find the Chief Nurse Interview info and read through it. I was unable to find any info about interviewing at Wright-Patt. Someone had asked about it but never received an answer. So I am asking, is there anyone here who has interviewed at Wright-Patt? What was the interview like and/or what can I expect? I am excited and nervous at the same time because I have waited so long for this and really, really do not want to screw this up. Any advice is very much appreciated.
Did the chief nurse ask any questions regarding specific nursing scenarios or just about you as candidate and why you want to join? I have an interview around the end of September/beginning of October and I am getting very anxious! This is the last thing I have to do before I am done with my packet and I can't wait for it to be over! Congrats to all of you who have already done yours!
My recruiter "prepped me" with scenerio questions and even asked me if I knew the Joint Commission patient safety goals for the year! Fortunately the chief nurse didn't ask me anything like that. She was much more relaxed than I had expected. Hopefully your experience will be the same!
Did the chief nurse ask any questions regarding specific nursing scenarios or just about you as candidate and why you want to join? I have an interview around the end of September/beginning of October and I am getting very anxious! This is the last thing I have to do before I am done with my packet and I can't wait for it to be over! Congrats to all of you who have already done yours!
I was asked all kinds of questions. Why I wanted to join the AF, what I thought about the mission statement and values and what I think it means, scenarios, ethics, patient safety goals, previous jobs and experiences, how my family feels about me joining, the specialty area of nursing I want to be in and if I would consider any other area, questions about my resume, etc...........
I believe I was asked so much do to being a nurse with experience (a variety of experiences), prior military service, specialty area isn't very big in the AF, not so great resume (nice looking, but have had a lot of jobs in short periods of time), etc. I pretty much put it all out there! A lot was covered and talked about in my interview in a short period of time (less than 45 minutes). My recruiter said it was a good interview if it was less than an hour with this particular Chief Nurse. He said he would have been worried if it had gone over an hour.
With all this being said, every Chief Nurse interview is different. I was told that if I had my interview with the assistant chief nurse, it would have been more like a relaxing conversation instead of 1000 questions. Be prepared for anything, not specific things. Be yourself. If you are passionate about particular things, let that be known. I did A LOT of research over the last 2 years on the AF, specific bases, the specialty I want to be in, etc. I feel I was very prepared. I even knew some things that he didn't know (though they won't admit that). He had asked me how I knew these certain things and I told him that I had done a lot of research!! Good luck!!
midinphx, BSN
855 Posts
Congrats! Start holding your breath. lol. The wait will seem forever.