Any military wives in here??

xxgreenfirexx · Jan 6, 2008

Hi Shawnette-

I am a military wife. My hubby was active army for 15 years. We then became truck drivers for 5 years. He then made the decision to go into the guard. He's been in Afghanistan since Jan of 07 and comes in 2.5 months! YAY!

Yes, being an army wife stopped me many times. I always found ways around it though! So maybe I should say paused, not stopped!

One of the reasons I decided to do my nursing degree with Rio Salado, is because it's all online, except the clinicals and I want to be able to finish if he decides to do FT guard or go back in the army full time...

Hi,
Im Shawnette, and I guess you could say im a pre-nursing student and cna. My husband is a sgt in the army...and plans to stay that way. I was just wondering if there are any nurses or nursing students are in this board and if they could tell me thier experiences balancing thier hubbys career and thier own. For now, im lucky because I should be able to finish school in one place. Does anyone find nursing a career that will follow them everywhere? Has being a military wife ever stopped you from your own goal?? Thanks!

FionaSophia · Jan 6, 2008

Hi!

I am so glad you will be able to be with your husband and finish school. Being a military wife has stopped me from achieving my goals in the past. Last year I decided to stop waiting for my life to begin. My husband and I have an agreement, I came home to go to nursing school and he will be here in july when he gets out of the army. The unpredictable moving was just not condusive to me finishing my education. This way he has a happy wife with a good job instead of an unhappy wife who takes whatever job she can find in whatever little town we end up in. It has been very VERY hard to live apart. I don't reccomend it to anyone who isn't in a super solid relationship. My husband has been very supportive and I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to finally achieve my dreams. Seeing him every 12 weeks makes the separation much easier than a deployment.

Good luck to you, it is so hard sometimes to be a military wife. No other job requires you to work anywhere anytime at the drop of a hat. We are strong women!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 6, 2008

Good luck.

I was raised as an Army brat, so I know how it can go. There seems to be a trend towards less and less transfers so that's a good thing.

A coworker who is a military wive just went to Germany with her husband but is coming back for lack of job opportunities there for her as an RN.

Futurenurse86 · Jan 6, 2008

thanks...my husband just got orders for korea, which sucks but it ensures me that I will be able to finish all my pre-reqs while he is gone. His return assignment is back here at bragg so thankfully I will be able to finish nursing school here as well. (he is going to reclass to a mos that is mainly stationed here as well)...I guess I just stress out so much lol. Im hoping my career will be able to follow wherever his leads him. He has only been in for 5 years, 3 more to go, and will prob re-up again. Yay lol.

nurz2be · Jan 6, 2008

hubby is now, as of 2 years ago, retired army officer. been right where you are, literally! lol. our last duty station was camp lejeune in jacksonville, nc. i too let my dreams take a back seat while hubby did his thing. i drove trucks for years because it was an easy job for me to have since we moved around so much. he went on deployment more times than i can count. this year i started nursing school. it has really been amazing though, he has been super supportive. he knows i always wanted this it just wasn't in the cards for me then. now, it is and i am holding on for dear life. i love it! find you a strong support group for while he is gone. those can be some very dark times, especially when there is trouble brewing and so many men and women are being called into the war. keep your eyes on the prize and let him support you the way you and have support him. good thing is once you get your license you can work at the base hospitals or clinics as a civilian! good luck with your studies and

thank you and your husband for your service and commitment to our country!

:usarm:

xxgreenfirexx · Jan 6, 2008

hubby is now, as of 2 years ago, retired army officer. been right where you are, literally! lol. our last duty station was camp lejeune in jacksonville, nc. i too let my dreams take a back seat while hubby did his thing. i drove trucks for years because it was an easy job for me to have since we moved around so much. he went on deployment more times than i can count. this year i started nursing school. it has really been amazing though, he has been super supportive. he knows i always wanted this it just wasn't in the cards for me then. now, it is and i am holding on for dear life. i love it! find you a strong support group for while he is gone. those can be some very dark times, especially when there is trouble brewing and so many men and women are being called into the war. keep your eyes on the prize and let him support you the way you and have support him. good thing is once you get your license you can work at the base hospitals or clinics as a civilian! good luck with your studies and
thank you and your husband for your service and commitment to our country!
:usarm:

yeah, i'm excited about the possibility of working on post! i have to say that when erik is home, he does support me in taking care of the kids and keeping them occupied while i am doing homework, etc. now, if he will just quit leaving!!! :icon_roll

i can't wait to start the real program..there have been several times i almost started and then found that i had to do prereq's etc before i could even apply. i always decided to move on. it's as if i'm doing things backwards...i am almost done w/my grad degree n management and will be doing my associate's in nursing! of course, maybe it's better this way...in a lot of ways, 2 year degrees can be harder because they are teaching you the basics in everything and there is a lot of memorization and new information to be done and learned. so i might have gotten burnt out on school after my 2 year degree and not continued for the bachelor's and master's!

LDRNMOMMY, BSN, RN · Jan 6, 2008

Good luck.
I was raised as an Army brat, so I know how it can go. There seems to be a trend towards less and less transfers so that's a good thing.
A coworker who is a military wive just went to Germany with her husband but is coming back for lack of job opportunities there for her as an RN.

I am a military wife. We just moved to Germany and there aren't a lot of job opportunities over here! This is my first military move so I am not sure how to balance it. I am searching for a job and am hoping to receive a call for an interview since my resume did make it to the hiring authority via CPOL's RESUMIX.

If I don't find a job I plan on working towards my BSN, not sure what I will do about clinical hours though.

My husband is Air Force and we happened to be lucky to stay in one place long enough to finish nursing school. I then worked at my previous job for 2.5 yrs.

cheshirecat · Jan 6, 2008

My husband retired from the Royal Air Force 2 years ago. I married him when I was still doing my Midwifery course (was a Registered Nurse). We moved many times during his 25 year career, but I managed to get a job wherever we went.

Yes, I do think it may have hindered my career, but looking at the broader picture it enabled me to work overseas (Australia). He now has a desk job and I work 9-5 in clinics. It is the first time in 20 years of marriage that we have compatible work patterns. We love our weekends off, and make the most of them.

I hope everything works out for the two of you, and good luck in your nursing career.

Libitina · Jan 6, 2008

My husband is in the RAF. His career is one of the major reasons why I have had to wait until I was 36 to start my training. Told him that it's my turn now. Luckily this is the longest we've ever been anywhere.

Futurenurse86 · Jan 6, 2008

Im 21...almost 22 and there is just no way im going to put off my goals for that long lol...hubby knows that, and thankfully I will be able to finish school in one spot. I just hope that I will be able to get a job wherever we go (germany is unlikely considering the MOS he is reclassing too, thankfully). I hope it works out,lol.

scattycarrot, BSN, RN · Jan 6, 2008

Hello! My husband is active-duty US Navy. On deployment right now and due back in April, 2/3 weeks after our first baby is born. Being a military wife is hard but as long as you have a geat relationship, you can work through the tough times. It does mean, unfortantly, shelving or putting on hold your own dreams and aspirations sometimes. It is difficult to persue a career when you are moving every few years. Saying that though, last year I got a Bachelor of Science in Health and nowadays, there are so many distance learning courses available that it doesn't matter where you are, you can study. Did you know there are tuition assistance programs available for spouses as well as active-duty? There are rules and regulations (of course there are!) but it might be worth looking into.

Nursing is a great career to travel with but I haven't worked as a nurse in the states yet as I am UK trained and working towards my US licence. When I first moved to the US, I worked in a cafe near the beach in San Diego and LOVED it! This year, I haven't been able to work as we have been moving around alot as my husband took some classes.

So, if you have this oppurtunity to do your nursing...totally go for it. Best of luck to you!!!