Air Force Nursing: New Grad or 1+ yrs. Exp.

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Hi,

Would love some information from new grads that entered into the air force or nurses who have entered into the air force with some experience and let me know the pros and cons. I know that some of this depends on the individual but I would like to hear different peoples points of views. I will be graduating next May and am supposed to be meeting with a recruiter (don't worry she's not an enlisted recruiter) about the pros and cons about going into both. However, I would like to hear from the nurses themselves before I have this meeting before I meet with her. Biggest questions from new grads entering the military. Did you feel like you gained a lot of experience of training after your initial experience out of school. I tend to hear a lot of negative comments about the overall clinical experience and what the patients are like in the military world. Is it a wiser choice to gain my first year of clinical experience in the civilian world? On the other hand, if I decide to go back into the military, I am hoping to make the choice sooner than later. I would feel like I am just holding back on something that I am really interested in doing. I do however want to make the best choice as far as my initial clinical experience and I have always heard that you gain your most experience during your first year of nursing. Any ideas, experiences, feelings, or advise would be well excepted. I apologize upfront for any spelling errors. I think that most of you get the gist of what I'm asking. Late night worker and still going:). All in all, pros vs. cons of going in the air force (or military nursing in general) as a new grad or with experience. Should I hold out one more year and gain my experience at the current hospital that I work at or do people feel they have gained a well rounded experience as a new grad going straight into the military and their training there.

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Bumping this thread because I'm interested in the responses. How do people feel about whether it is wise to enter the Air Force as a relatively new nurse?

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I believe anyone at any time who has gone through nursing school and passed the boards can and should.

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Specializes in PICU.

From my perspective, it depends on your desired specialty. If you want critical care, then get some experience first from a civilian hospital that will train you well. I went back in the AF (after starting in a different career field) after 1.5 yrs of ICU experience and was able to go directly to an ICU. I wouldn't have been able to negotiate much of anything without some experience. If you're flexible about where you're placed, then going directly in isn't a terrible idea. Just keep in mind that my recruiting process took over a year from initial contact with the recruiter to actual commissioning, and then another several months to get orders. Not everyone has to wait that long. My recruiter was new to the job, and since I had to come back in the AF at a lower rank everyone who looked at my package was confused. Hope that helps a bit.

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Why did you have to come back at a lower rank?

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Specializes in PICU.

only b/c i didn't have enough nursing experience to be an 0-3 in the NC. i separated from the af as an acquisitions officer (0-3) and came back as an 0-2 in the NC. they say i'm only supposed to be an 0-2 for 6mths...we'll see. everything seems to take forever. someone obviously thinks i need to learn a little patience.

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Specializes in ER.

Hello there,

I always read through this particular area under this website. I thought your questions were very interesting. I just graduated with a BSN this past May. I worked in an ER at a major hospital in Chicago as a student nurse for a year. So much experience and knowledge was gained from this externship program. I was hired at this same hospital in the ER after I finished boards. I was simultaneously working on an Air Force Nurse Corps package for NTP as a new grad. Somehow, my recruiter pushed for me to enter in as an ER Nurse with 6 months of experience since that was my area of choice. My package was accepted and I am expected to start COT in March and plan to transfer to Travis Air Force Base following COT. I was somewhat surprised to be able to start as an ER nurse as a new grad. I was expecting to enter the Air Force via the NTP route and continue on as a Med-Surg nurse and work to get into the ER. Let's just say, I love the emergency room and took full advantage of my time of employment to learn as much as I could before I became a nurse. I do, however, feel much more comfortable coming in with some experience as a civilian nurse. However, everyone is different and you will eventually know which path you will need to take. I would recommend, however, focusing on finishing your BSN and boards for the time being. Just remember, you'll know what you'll want to do when you finish. If you feel that you will need further training after you commission, then I would suggest the NTP route which is supposed to provide more training. I don't really speak from much experience but just letting you know how my experience turned out. I hope that this helps. Good luck to you.:D SRM

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does anyone know if we need to do basic training for all military work or scholarships ?

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I am thinking of returning to active duty. I am an air national guard nurse with some ICU time. I have about 2 years of ER and would like to gain another year of ICU time before I come in. Should I wait until I have a full year of ICU or do I join now? Please help...

T

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Specializes in PICU.

you can always start the process now, and wait until you have finished your year of ICU for all of the time-sensitive things on your application. even though you're already in the guard you'll probably have to redo some of of the application requirements that you've already met. at least that was my case. i still had to process through meps even though i still had a physical on file with an active duty installation...just 1 example.

another consideration is where you want to work. if you want ER, then you probably qualify with your existing experience. if you want icu, then you may want to get a little more time. either way you won't be wasting time by going over this with a nurse recruiter.

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Thanks for the info. I spoke to the nurse recruiter today. I only need 6 months ICU and I will have that in a few months. I am really excited that things are moving forward. My goal is to attend CRNA school and I think this is a move in the right direction. Thanks again.

T

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
Thanks for the info. I spoke to the nurse recruiter today. I only need 6 months ICU and I will have that in a few months. I am really excited that things are moving forward. My goal is to attend CRNA school and I think this is a move in the right direction. Thanks again.

T

You need 1yr of ICU time to be assured of coming in with your AF ICU identifier and getting to go to ICU, otherwise you could be stuck in Med-Surg for a long time.... Which could put back your CRNA application 2-4yrs depending on how things went.

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