Army spouse

KaylaNelson07 · Mar 4, 2013

Yikes! My husband just got into the Navy as an ICU nurse (but I missed the Med-Surg cut off because there were too many applicants) and I was hoping to piggy-back onto his placement at Walter Reed in Bethesda MD, but maybe that might be too much to hope for... I guess I'll find out when he graduates from ODS and we move out there in March! I wish it would be easier for us military spouses to find jobs!! [/quote']
I've lived in Maryland for about 15 years! I love it here. My husband lucked out after a hardship tour and got sent to Ft. Detrick so we were able to stay close to family for an extra couple of years. The nursing demand really fluctuates over the years. My mom has been an RN for a long time and it took her a few months to find a job that worked for her (shorter commute, doing what she loves, decent pay) when they cut back on nurses where she worked but don't be discouraged, you can 100% find a job in Maryland especially if you have experience (and even as a new grad it just may take 6 months). I haven't heard about openings at Walter Reid but I'd think with your husband working there you could gain quite a few connections and you'd be a shoo in. A lot of the hospitals are trying to gain magnet status so having your bachelors really helps. Most will hire you though as long as you promise to finish your BSN within 5 years.
But yeah, good luck with everything and welcome to MD!

KaylaNelson07 · Mar 4, 2013

I'm also an Army Spouse. I will be done in May 2014 with an ADN and I am scared to death as to what's going to happen after that. I know at some point that year, hubby will be going to AIT for his new MOS so there's the potential of moving up to 3 times that year. There may not be any time for me to gain RN experience. However, my program is going to allow me to take my LPN boards this summer so that I can at least have nursing experience.
Ahh I am so nervous!! I really hope I have good luck getting experience and you too!!

Good luck on your boards! I found it was tough to finish a nursing program with all the moving. But it's do-able, thank God! Lol. Not sure what your husband does but if his AIT is short enough it might be better to just stay at home and work until he's done with it instead of moving 3 times. My husband is a 25S and he was in AIT for 10 months and then went straight to Kuwait for a year so I was happy I went to Georgia with him but we knew other families that decided to not move down and that worked for them.

gpresleyrn · Mar 13, 2013

Hi lovelies!

I am also an Army Spouse. I graduated with my BSN in May'11.

It is so difficult to find a job!

I had a decent paying job at our last duty station at Fort Leonard Wood and then we were PCS'd to Fort Bragg.

My husband just mentioned Commissioning as an Army Nurse. Have any of you thought about this? We do have a two year old. I am seriously thinking about it :/.

I hate starting at the bottom every time we move.

JillyRN · Mar 13, 2013

Hi gpresley!

I think that's a great idea! I actually just went through the entire application process for the AF Nurse Corps, only to get defferred to reapply in October. Because of the budget, they were only taking the highly needed positions in ER and ICU (I've only done ambulatory care). My husband and I talked about it while he was still active duty, but didn't think we would like having the dual military status. He just recently got out, so I decided to give it a shot. I went for AF rather than Army just after his experiences and I had wanted my own identity. I did speak with recruiters from every branch though just to compare our options. Like you said, it's hard to start at the bottom everytime you move. We're about to move to NC this summer, so I'm preparing for another job search as we speak...

The only recommendation I have, is to start trying to reach a healthcare recruiter now. When I started the process back in October, it took 2 weeks to hear back from the AF recruiter, 6 weeks until the Army called me back, and I didn't hear from the Navy recruiter until I already started the process with the AF. As far as I know, the Army and Navy only have one selection board every fiscal year in October. The AF did have them quarterly, but they cancelled all boards until next fiscal year (Oct. 2013 for FY 2014). It is crazy how competitive it has become just to apply, but it would be worth it in the end to get selected. There are some great threads on here of people who are currently in the process. Good luck whichever you decide :)

tortorRN · Mar 14, 2013

Good luck on your boards! I found it was tough to finish a nursing program with all the moving. But it's do-able, thank God! Lol. Not sure what your husband does but if his AIT is short enough it might be better to just stay at home and work until he's done with it instead of moving 3 times. My husband is a 25S and he was in AIT for 10 months and then went straight to Kuwait for a year so I was happy I went to Georgia with him but we knew other families that decided to not move down and that worked for them.

Thank you, my husband will be getting deployed shortly to Afghanistan for "9 months" but we are fully expecting him to be there for 15 months. By the time he gets home I will have graduated and passed my boards and hopefully have a job.

We have spent our entire marriage living in different states so that I could finish school... So it sure would be nice to actually be with him for once. But, it does make sense to at least get a years experience down no matter where I am at so that I'm more likely to get hired at the next location we are ordered to. We will figure it out when the time comes :)

I've also considered the Nurse Corps but I'm also deaf with a Cochlear Implant so they wouldn't take me even though my hearing and speech is pretty darn close to perfect according to the specialists that I see.