Air Force ROTC nursing student

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Hello,

I will start my senior year as an ROTC cadet next semester. I am a nursing student that will graduate in December 2013, but will not commission until May 2014 because I need the 4 semester after field training. It has been a while that a nursing student has graduated from my detachment, and there are really no information that they are able to give me. I qualified for the age waiver, which means that I do not qualify for any scholarships. I was wondering if I am still able to qualify for the accession bonus? How long will it take from my commissioning to my TDY for NTP? Will I have a choice of what NTP program I go to? Will I be able to choose my first duty station? I am also married to an enlisted Army soldier...What are the possibilities that we will get stationed together. His MOS is 91D, and recently one of his soldiers PCS'd to MacDill AFB, so I know that his MOS is offered at an Air Force Base. I am looking for whatever advise of information that I can get.

Wanted to add I did start to ask that RN about NTP, and then we got distracted - I didn't forget, we got busy. We work together again Monday night and I'll try to restart the convo then.

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Capt. Carolina,

Can you ask the nurse how long was her wait from her commissioning ceremony to her going to NTP, and how long was the wait from NTP to her first duty station? Even though I graduate in December 2013, I do not commission until May 2014 (I need an extra semester of ROTC since I went to Field Training after my first semester of nursing school, the rule is 4 semesters after field training). I was thinking about working at Irwin Community Hospital Fort Riley to get some experience under my belt, but I was not sure if I will go away right after I commission, or if there will be a big delay between me commissioning and going to NTP. I am reading a lot of information about people stating that they are on the alternate list, and have been waiting a long time to be selected. I am not sure if this will apply to me as well. FYI, I will be taking my NCLEX before I graduate in December 2013.

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I sure can. I can access the forum from work and get with her on exactly that.

I don't think you're allotted into NTP that way. The forums you're reading are for the direct commissions. They're not NTP alternates, they're COMMISSIONING TRAINING ALTERNATES, going in as brand spanking new RNs, who have to be slotted into a COT class before they can even think about NTP. NTP is not their holdup - being selected for a COT class is. You've already been trained even though you've been commissioned. You might have to wait for an opening, but you won't be an 'alternate'. The USAF will already know you're in the pipeline.

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From what I know is you commission as soon as you have fulfilled all the requirements to (graduated/licensed/ROTC obligations). The ROTC nurses here in NTP graduated in December and commissioned in February or so and we started NTP in April. You will most likely be going straight from NTP to your first duty station because the first year will be part of the nurse-residency program, you will be cut orders telling you when and where to go. I received my orders via e-mail and they are very clear. All of us here will be reporting to our permanent duty station after NTP.

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AFhopeful, where are you doing your NTP? Do you know if they still offer the NTP at Andrews or Elgin? Did you have a choice on which one you went to?

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My ROTC friend (who is sitting right next to me) just said that most of this stuff hinges on when your degree is conferred by your university (graduation doesn't mean your BON has been notified of your graduation, and you can't get ATT to sit the NCLEX until your degree is officially conferred) AND how on top of things your Det is. Once your degree is with the BON, you can register for the NCLEX.

When she graduated, they had a 'fake' commissioning :yeah:, because you can't be officially commissioned until you pass the NCLEX and are actually an RN. Once you pass and all the paperwork is finalized (and she saw this happen almost immediately, since the paperwork is completed ahead of time), you're officially 'commissioned' into the USAF. She had to notify the Det that she'd passed the NCLEX, and they faxed the paperwork off to Randolph to the NC HQ.

It's like everything (all your officer paperwork) sits at Randolph contingent on when you pass the NCLEX.

So hers was a bit delayed because while she graduated in December, she didn't test until February - it was the earliest date she could get, as her degree wasn't conferred until the early part of January. Then her paperwork got held up somewhere so she commissioned in April.

She did say that she knew while still in school what her NTP report date was, and where she would be going. She went to NTP in the beginning of May. She said if you miss your NTP date for whatever reason, they move your date and put you in another class.

She's actually not too sure about where all the sites are anymore, because the USAF is in the process of moving them all to civilian hospitals. Se knows for certain there's one at the University Hospital of Ohio, near Wright-Patterson AFB; and there's one in Scottsdale - that's where she went. There's also one in Alaska. There are a few more (there used to be one at Travis - now gone, and at Andrews - now gone; there's one in Florida still but she believes that's now at a civilian facility near Eglin AFB). She said you get no choice of where you're sent for NTP and it has nothing to do with where you're sent as your first assignment.

Hope that helps.

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Thanks so much Capt. Carolina. I guess that it is a good thing that I am currently scheduled to commission 6 months after I graduate because I have to make up that extra semester of my ROTC class. With the nursing school that I am going to, I will be able to take my NCLEX before I graduate, and graduate as an RN instead of a graduate nurse, this is all depending on it I pass my predictor test. If I pass the predictor test the Kansas State Board will allow me to take the NCLEX early.

Is it possible for you to tell me on who is the Functional Manager of nurses in the Air Force?

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There are only four sites right now, three are civilian and one is military. Tampa fl, Cincinnati, oh, and Scottsdale, az are the civilian ones. The military one is out of lackland at sammc. Your ntp slot is based on when you graduate. I just talked to a rotc ntp nurse here and she said she knew when she was going to ntp and her base last October.

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AFhopeful, I graduate in December, but will not commission until May 2014, does that mean that I may know what NTP I will go to by this October? When did she know about her first duty station?

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I'm sorry I don't know that. I would guess you would know well enough ahead of time to make arrangements though. She knew her first duty station when she found out her NTP date. I'd say keep working on doing great in school and passing the NCLEX, everything else should fall in place since they have already budgeted a spot for you.

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There are only four sites right now, three are civilian and one is military. Tampa fl, Cincinnati, oh, and Scottsdale, az are the civilian ones. The military one is out of lackland at sammc. Your ntp slot is based on when you graduate. I just talked to a rotc ntp nurse here and she said she knew when she was going to ntp and her base last October.

Good to know. We were told the Lackland/SAMMC one was going away this year.

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Thanks so much Capt. Carolina. I guess that it is a good thing that I am currently scheduled to commission 6 months after I graduate because I have to make up that extra semester of my ROTC class. With the nursing school that I am going to, I will be able to take my NCLEX before I graduate, and graduate as an RN instead of a graduate nurse, this is all depending on it I pass my predictor test. If I pass the predictor test the Kansas State Board will allow me to take the NCLEX early.

Is it possible for you to tell me on who is the Functional Manager of nurses in the Air Force?

I'd love to help you, but that information would best be obtained by contacting your cadre.

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