Air Force Nurse/Age/Demand

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Jun 10, 2015

The Navy also has flight nursing fyi.

lindarn · Jun 10, 2015

Where does the Navy have Flight Nursing? Do they have a Flight School for Flight Nurses, like the AF does?

In what capacity do they perform?

I did not know that the Navy had flight nursing. It was never mentioned to me, when I told the recruiter that I was declining the Navy Commission, to join the AF to be a Flight Nurse.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN (ret(

Somewhere in the PACNW

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Jun 11, 2015

United States Navy Nurse Corps - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not exactly a solid source, but a google search will confirm. I'm AF, so I don't know much about the Navy. It seems like they have been doing air evac since WWII.

NursingGrad15 · Jun 11, 2015

what specialty is needed by AF for FY 2016? thanks

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Jun 12, 2015

From the manning numbers I just saw last month, OR and flight have the largest need at ~75% manned. Most other specialties are above 90%. That's not to say that there is money in the budget to direct commission all those nurses, but there is a need.

tacomaster · Jun 16, 2015

thanks for the input and the story. I think being a flight nurse would be a pretty cool gig.

tacomaster · Jun 16, 2015

From the manning numbers I just saw last month, OR and flight have the largest need at ~75% manned. Most other specialties are above 90%. That's not to say that there is money in the budget to direct commission all those nurses, but there is a need.

Agh! Why did I let myself get out of military standards! lol

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Jun 17, 2015

They only let reserve/air guard nurses direct commission right into flight nursing. You'll have to do your time in another specialty and apply for flight nursing school later if you want active duty.

Free2live · Jul 11, 2015

So if I understand correctly....if I would like to be a flight nurse, unless I already have flight nurse experience, it is better to apply to the reserves/ air guard? If so, in that case what kind of experience should I be focusing on? Currently I am in ICU and taking a position in trauma ICU at a level 1. To be a flight nurse at that facility, I would need more experience, experience in the ER, AND EMT training and license. Also, when I spoke to a reserve recruiter, she told me if I ever planned to go active duty then I should go straight for that. She explained at times they don't take people with "prior service". That didn't make sense to me at all, but I have minimal knowledge of how that all works.

Really, my greatest hope is to serve the country even if I never make it to flight nursing. But since it's being discussed I thought I'd ask. It would be awesome if I could pull off both.

lindarn · Jul 11, 2015

Flight Nursing sound cool, but when you are a reserve flight nurse, are working full time as a civilian nurse, have a family, husband (wife), children, and have to maintain currency a Flight Nurse, it gets REALLY OLD, REALLY FAST!

Flight School is required. When I went it was at Brooks AFB in Texas, and was six weeks long. You go back to our squadron to two weeks of ground training.

Your employer HAS TO LET YOU GO, AND SAVE YOUR JOB!

They will not be happy, and I know of nurses who were, "punished", for being gone for so long. They were made to make up ALL OF THE WEEKENDS THAT THEY MISSED, even though it is against the law to do so. Too many nurses are scared to use the power that they have, the Federal Law that governs reservists, to help them out. They believe what ever nonsense the hospitals tell them, and are reluctant to challenge it.

If you decide to go the route as a AF Flight Nurse, make sure you get on the computer, (Findlaw), and read, 46 USC, it is Federal Employment Law. It states that an employer MAY NOT RETALIATE AGAINST AN EMPLOYEE IN ANY WAY FOR FULFILLING THEIR RESERVE OBLIGATIONS. There is more to the statute, but it covers reservist fully when having to serve, including voluntary deployments, school tours, voluntary and involuntary, etc. They will tell you that you have to use your own vacation time to go on annual tour. NO, you do not.

A large, religiously based hospital here in the Pacific Northwest, for YEARS, made reservist take their own vacation time to go on annual tour.

It was only after I called them on it, and consulted a lawyer, did they back down. And don't think that the hospitals law firm knows what they are doing. In my case, when my attorney called administration concerning my case, one of the hospitals attorney happened to be there, along with a officer from WSNA. He immediately told administration, that they cannot do that. They also have to count the time that you are gone for reserve time in your seniority. They MAY NOT dock you seniority time for reserve time.

If you are getting grief from your employer due to reserve duties, I would contact the senior partner of the law firm that represents the hospital, and fill him/her, in.

You should get no further grief from anyone.

JMHO and my NY $0.02

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN, (ret)

Somewhere in the PACNW

Sorry for the length of this thread. I believe that it is important for reservists to know their rights, and not believe the hogwash that the hospital is telling you. Hospitals HATE it when employees are reservist, because the employee has the power to over rule them on employee issues. And they KNOW, that they will not win against the Federal Government. Employees need to know their rights, if they are reservists, and NOT be afraid to use them. They can also go to the Legal Office at the base where their reserve squadron is located, and get some assistance from them.

tacomaster · Jul 19, 2015

Lindarn,

Great post. If everything goes well, I should be in the Reserves next year as an OR nurse. Ya, my hospital finds ways to "punish" nurses which is why I have a Plan B and six months of cash saved up in case they decide to get really stupid. Recently management told us to clock out and chart off the clock so we don't run into overtime. During a unit meeting in front of everyone in case of retaliation, I asked if the state workforce commission has anything to say about being forced to work off the clock. Like you said, many nurses don't know their rights.

So did you stay in the Reserves until you retired? Did you deploy often? I'm an Active Duty Veteran so I'm excited about the prospect of deploying. What are the weekend drills like for medical? Thanks for any information.

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Jul 19, 2015

The EGSR is a good resource to call if your employer is giving you a hard time. When they explain it to them that they can lose the right to care patients or have payments suspended whos care is paid for by the federal government they will change their outlook. The EGSR is not afraid to file the paperwork to make that happen. Most places I worked at when I was a reserves had no issues once the knew the rules and you were fair to them.