Air Force NTP

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Aug 19, 2018

Why not get hospital experience and apply as fully-qualified? It's going to be really odd for a Captain with years of RN experience to be going through the NTP program, and I'm surprised that would be allowed at all.

They're going to stick you in an inpatient area (likely med-surg) after NTP anyway. You might as well start now and avoid having to be treated like a child in NTP.

NavyRN2B · Aug 20, 2018

At this point don't mind (have no other choice). The AF would not see me as FQ even with 22 years on my license as a nurse and with current certifications (ACLS, PALS, BLS) etc. because the AF will not recognize the clinic I work in as acute care in the past 36 months. I last worked in a hospital ER in 2012. My background in nursing is very diverse (including ER, ICU, CCU etc) and includes teaching. I just missed the July NTP boards. I do not want to quit my current job to work in a hospital full time. I have a good job and wasn't planning on letting it go until I got accepted in the AF. I now alot of the stuff I would go through in NTP, I could teach it myself and have done so in the past. I plan to work PRN in a hospital. I am trying to figure out how do I make myself more marketable for NTP. It would be great if the AF would reconsider FQ.

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Aug 20, 2018

I don't think PRN will cut it either. For example, they don't count part time RN experience towards calculating your starting rank at all.

I would highly recommend you do hospital ASAP full-time. I'm curious if they will credit your experience at all if they put you through NTP. Even if they do, it would suck doing NTP for a variety of reasons. It's not just a 12 week learn-how-to-be-a-nurse course. It's an entire year at your first base of sitting through periodic remedial classes. You also are in a 'trainee' status and can't deploy for 1 year.

NavyRN2B · Aug 21, 2018

I am concerned because I would need a age waiver. In the past, I was told that my prior experience would count but just found out that Air Force Reserve time would not count. Bummed that not looking at current including past with current certifications as fully qualified. So, I am willing to leave my job and go into the hospital to work full time. I just need to figure out what area would give me the best opportunity to be accepted. I am pressed for time because I need to have a year or I guess close to a year by Oct. 2019. I am looking at both NTP and FQ to apply to. Don't know which would be more in my favor.

NavyRN2B · Aug 21, 2018

Jfratian, you are pretty knowledgeable. Are you currently in the Air Force? Is doing med surge pretty bad in the Air Force? Is it tough to get in the AF with an age waiver?

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Aug 21, 2018

Yes, I'm a current active duty AF nurse. FQ accepts more people than NTP; a sizable portion of new grad nurses come from the ROTC ranks and needs from NTP aren't as great.

I would recommend ICU, ER, or OR. From what I've seen, OR is the most in demand. However, all 3 of those are good bets. You can increase your chances by getting your experience at a large, level-1 trauma center and getting certified in your specialty (CNOR, CEN, or CCRN). ECMO, CRRT, mass transfusions, and ventriculostomies (EVDs) are high-need, uncommon skills.

I don't know anything about age rules for reserve time. I do know that if it's 'good years

it will count towards your retirement and years of service...which factors into your pay.

NavyRN2B · Aug 21, 2018

Thanks. I thought there would be more slots available for med surge than for specialities (ER, ICU, etc). Would a level 2 be OK as well with certifications?

NavyRN2B · Aug 21, 2018

What area of nursing do you work in? Have you done med surge with the AF? I was also thinking about a trauma step down unit or med surge trauma telemetry unit? What do you think about about that? Does any one of those speciality certifications carry a little more weight than the other as far as what would make a bigger impression on the boards?

NavyRN2B · Aug 21, 2018

How big is CRRT? Is it used a lot in the AF?

NavyRN2B · Aug 22, 2018

Jafratian, what do you think about Med/Surg Trauma Telemetry unit. Type of unit: 33 beds, telemetry, trauma designated, spine surgery, med/Surg, women's health surgery, vascular surgery. Patient population includes spinal surgery, women's health, vascular surgery, dialysis, trauma (to include car accident, fall, head trauma, ETOH, and many more), medical patients (to include sepsis, ketoacidosis, respiratory failure, GI, fluid overload, renal failure, osteomyleitis, and many more).

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Aug 24, 2018

You need to do ICU. There is no substitute for that. The AF won't even recognize step-downs as a specialty. Your stepdown experience would be seen as med-surg. The CCRN is the most important certification for you to get.

I do ICU now. I have done med-surg and PACU in the AF previously.

There is no substitute for level 1 ICU experience. I know that there really isn't a ton of difference between a 1 and a 2. However, it matters to the AF. I'd say if you have to change jobs anyway, then you should set yourself up best for success.

Specialty skills like ECMO and CRRT aren't used a ton, but any time you have something like that it helps you stand out.