Air Force Nursing Bonus, Student Loan Repayment

[missmiss]

I am considering joining the air force as a nurse and I have been told that all slots are full for student loan repayment for this fiscal year (2009). But that the bonus is still available.

I know the new fiscal year starts October of this year. However, my recruiter says that he has heard that there will be no bonus or student loan repayment because of the economy and that they over-did the amt of nurses that they accepted last year. Does any of that sound accurate?

I am also told that I need to give a definitive yes or no on whether I want to join the Air Force before he will even enter my application into the system. He says if I go through the process of getting accepted and then turn it down, then I wasted 4 AFB's time and money.

I am uncomfortable with giving a yes to this before I even get the opportunity to find out about student loan repayment & bonuses for the next fiscal year and before I even find out if I am accepted.

He says if I want to wait to hear about that, it will be December before he knows anything about student loan repayment and then he can enter my app.

Does any of this sound accurate?? Just curious b/c I have no other sources.

Thanks.

[JayBSN]

Now I also have questions for those of you who are already nurses in the Air Force (or those of you who know the answers). What are the odds of getting deployed overseas? ( if this is even able to be estimated), what kind of say do you have in where you are stationed and what nursing specialty you get placed in?, and as a nurse in the Air Force, is the focus still on patient care and patient advocacy, or is it more about competition to make rank?

Those are some good questions. And, you'll have more as you go. Start researching now. Go on the AF website and look at COT information including ship out dates and determine what your goal is. If you want to leave in August after graduation your planning will be much different than if you want to leave in October or January including NCLEX prep and physical training. Also, please don't join the military just based on our cruddy economy. As I'm sure you have experienced, the military is a lifestyle, not a job. And please don't take that as rude, I know some people respond rudely to posts and I'm definitely not trying to do that. that was just was the nurse I interviewed with told me.

Army vs. Airforce

Army has better bonus' usually but you are trained to be a soldier first and foremost. In the air force, the bonus' are typically less, there are less hospitals, however, you are only a nurse. You're training in significantly different in the air force than in the army. I chose the air force. I'm not a soldier nor do I ever want to be. : P Both branches claim/require patient care is the focus however, you should definitely seek out some nurses who are in the military. Of course in both branches there are many types of nursing. The nurse I interviewed with has a desk job. She runs a clinic but doesn't see patients but is still patient focused. Again: I urge you to talk to a nurse in the branch of your choice and the recruiters should be able to put you in touch with one. They may tell you more about their experiences.

In the airforce: As a new grad, you have two choices when you enter: OB and MedSurg. From there, after completion of Nurse Transition, you can make goals and choices and and talk to your supervisor about schooling, certifications, and experiences you'd like to try. Still the military's needs come first.

As far as bases, as a new grad, you are most likely to get one of the NTP locations however, you have choices of a bunch more bases that have hospitals. Again, I've been told, you are pretty likely to get one of your top 5 however, military needs are #!.

Lastly: "YOU WILL BE DEPLOYED."

[bds165]

i would second miss mab...there's a ton of good info on this site.

here'a link to a booklet i found that had some great info as well.

nursing.ouhsc.edu/.../airforcenursecorps-informationbooklet.doc

everything i've read about the af recruitment process says that the fall of your senior year of nursing is the time to start.

best of luck with the recruiter and school!

[Miss Mab]

Hi Jay!

I know you're very excited about your plans and goals but I'm not sure this is exactly accurate...

You said:

"Army vs. Airforce

Army has better bonus' usually but you are trained to be a soldier first and foremost. In the air force, the bonus' are typically less, there are less hospitals, however, you are only a nurse. You're training in significantly different in the air force than in the army. I chose the air force. I'm not a soldier nor do I ever want to be. :

No matter which branch one should choose, you are always an Airmen, Soldier or Sailor first. Please don't let that be minimized by anybody. You'd be surprised by how much 'Warrior" training you'll be doing.

In fact, I sometimes might wish I only had to be a nurse in the Air Force, however, literally 70% of my duties have nothing to do with being an RN. (Your jobs may vary)

:)

[anmorgan32]

Thanks for all the advice. I will definitely check out that website. And I will search this site a little more to answer more of my questions. :)

[JayBSN]

Hi Jay!

I know you're very excited about your plans and goals but I'm not sure this is exactly accurate...

You said:

"Army vs. Airforce

Army has better bonus' usually but you are trained to be a soldier first and foremost. In the air force, the bonus' are typically less, there are less hospitals, however, you are only a nurse. You're training in significantly different in the air force than in the army. I chose the air force. I'm not a soldier nor do I ever want to be. :

No matter which branch one should choose, you are always an Airmen, Soldier or Sailor first. Please don't let that be minimized by anybody. You'd be surprised by how much 'Warrior" training you'll be doing.

In fact, I sometimes might wish I only had to be a nurse in the Air Force, however, literally 70% of my duties have nothing to do with being an RN. (Your jobs may vary)

:)

1) I wish I could delete postings.

2) Nurses (except in a couple special cases) do not get trained with or issued a weapon therfore we lack the most basic (and at the same time, the most technical) warrior training in the Air Force. The Army...Boot Camp/Officer training for nurses or whatever it's called....includes far more warrior training than what the Air Force includes in the 4.5 week COT. Not complaining...Just saying. And I'll reiterate: I'm not a soldier, nor do I ever want to be. I'd rather not be put on the front lines in combat and I don't expect that I'll be trained to do so.

3) Feel free to give the run down on the air force because as it stands now, there aren't too many Active Air Force Nurses that want to give any input anywhere on this site but there are a whole bunch of aspiring airmen with a whole lot of questions that no recruiter can answer. I'm aware that they are busy. Military life..

4) I asked the nurse I interviewed with this same question: What are "additional duties?"

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

2) Nurses (except in a couple special cases) do not get trained with or issued a weapon therfore we lack the most basic (and at the same time, the most technical) warrior training in the Air Force. The Army...Boot Camp/Officer training for nurses or whatever it's called....includes far more warrior training than what the Air Force includes in the 4.5 week COT. Not complaining...Just saying. And I'll reiterate: I'm not a soldier, nor do I ever want to be. I'd rather not be put on the front lines in combat and I don't expect that I'll be trained to do so.

AF nurses on the normal deployment rotation status should be qualifying with M9 and M16 on a regular basis. I believe it is every 18mo.

Miss Mab,

Out of curiosity, what exactly are you doing that entails so much non nursing duties? Have you moved to permanent ancilliary position or something? I don't think I ever spent more than 5-10% of my time in non-nursing duties execpt for the occasional deployment related issues/training.

[rghbsn, BSN, RN]

Unless you're flying...then there is a lot of aircraft training that is not nursing related.

[Miss Mab]

Beat me to it....

Wtbcrna---

Nope, still hold the same job. 46F and no doubt there's a lot of static A/C training and related currencies to keep up with that are quite time consuming as Rghbsn mentioned above.

I don't think the percentage I used was too far off from reality though.

Keep in mind, however, that as a Reservist my duty experience probably doesn't exactly translate simply over to the active side.

I suspect the five to ten percent of time you're spending on readiness and deployment issues ends up consuming a much larger chunk of the 2 or (4-??) days that we end up being on base each month.

You still have Inspections/ORI/exercises, Wing med/dental compliance(Long-Fly? Too bad, there went 1/2 your entire 'month') CBTs, PFT-- all those 'extras' that usually require equal compliance with the AD.

Not a whine, it just is.

Remember that AES, except when deployed, has minimal clinical responsibilities and absolutely zero patient interaction. It's required that you be actively engaged in civilian nursing practice to remain up to date with that.

Actually, I'm going to revise my earlier estimate and go w/80% of time spent on non-nurse things now, though most of us do have addtl. duties that necessitate RN knowledge and a valid license.

But without question and whether Reserve or otherwise, ultimately your specific job WILL vary.

For Jay, my intent was to ensure that you(as in the Royal You)understood that in the everyday life of a military nurse, regardless of branch, things appear much more alike than any marked differences that may have been highlighted for you.

I did qualify w/M9 early last year,fwiw. It is intended for personal protection though I could imagine you might more quickly warm to the idea of a 'Warrior" ethos if/when you eventually receive your AF commission.

Best!

[rghbsn, BSN, RN]

What AES are you with?

[JayBSN]

The royal me eh? Confused?

I do not know why I am told time and time again that I will not qualify with a weapon. I was so disappointed I went to Smith and wesson and trained and applied for my Class A.

I will see air craft training? Really? Sounds fun...

[rghbsn, BSN, RN]

You will have aircraft training if you're going to be a flight nurse. All personnel have to qualify with a weapon to the best of my knowledge...or at least have familiarization training (which is quite different than qualification)

[mobro]

to quickly touch back onto the topic of bonuses and loan repayment, does anyone know if in years past the bonus has been roughly the same? I hear it was $30,000 for FY2009- is that pretty typical or was it maybe $10,000 in 2008 with potential to be $5,000 in 2010? I've tried finding the trend elsewhere but with no luck. Just curious if signing on for a fourth year with the Air force is likely to turn out in my favor or if three years would be a better deal if the bonus is no good.