Becoming a nurse as an Air Force wife

coconutzz · Mar 29, 2011

Maliaia,

Wow. What a decision you have to make. The longest my husband and I spent away from each other was a year and a half so that I could finish my first degree. There were benefits (I finished my degree, was proud of us, raised my daughter solo) but it was VERY DIFFICULT on our relationship. We had just had our daughter and she was 7 months old when we moved away from him. He missed everything in that year and a half. We had no money so we couldn't visit each other frequently. When he deployed during that time, I had already not seen him for two months and when he came home he had to report to the base first before he could use his 2 weeks to visit us. It took a week to see him and it was the worst week of my life (I was an emotional wreck). Hawaii and Texas is quite a distance and 3 years is a long time. You have to make a decision that works for both of you, but if you have your prereqs done, try to get into a school around Texas. While your husband is state side he can support you (nursing school is very hard) and you can use your down time to spend time together. Being away from family is hard, especially if he deploys, but you will meet people. If you don't connect with those in your military community, you most definitely will in nursing school. The high stress and overbearing schedule will bring you close together. Plus nursing school is usually around 5 semesters. That's a little less than 2 years. And like cb_rn said, make sure it is a BSN program.

Also, and I am speaking from experience, as you move, you may not meet people who are worth meeting and make those lifelong friends. That's okay, you can't be friends with everyone. Don't be scared of being lonely. At some point, everyone has to go through it. Nothing in life is permanent. It's all temporary.

Good luck! And look around the military/government section for a lot of people who are doing what you are. I know when I started nursing school I joined a coast guard pilot's wife, a woman whose husband is a contractor in Afghanistan (our husbands were actually there at the same time!) and a man who had worked with my husband before he separated from the service to go to nursing school. You will meet more people like you to help you out, they are out there.

Medic149 · Mar 29, 2011

I'm a Navy wife and just recently was accepted into a transition program. My husband is GEO bachelor while I start/finish school and I'm doing it with 3 kids. Over the past two years we have spent maybe 6 months in the same house and not all at once. Between deployments and his schools I decided that staying here while he PCS'd to finish a program would be the best decision for our future. I feel you about Texas, it's not my favorite place and I'm praying next duty station is not there. Hawaii is awesome! Anyway, my point is seperation in the military is a fact, it sucks but sometimes has it's advantage. My personal way of looking at things is this. Life is a huge map and while being a military family you will have many pin points on this map and although it sounds horrible to be seperated, what is a few months or a couple of years in the grand scheme of life ? The end result is for the two of you to be together so suck it up and finish school in one place so you can get on with your future together. I'm not being mean by saying suck it up, that's just what I tell myself all the time. The previous posts were right, its better to start and finish in one place. Trying to transfer credits is a huge pain sometimes. Good luck.

Maliaia · Mar 29, 2011

Thanks for the input coconutzz and medic, I'm glad to hear from people who have been through it. Props to you coconutz for doing that on your own, its gives inspiration for other people doubting themselves.

Medic- that is what I'm thinking, the stability of staying in one place and having my family in Hawaii there with me could be beneficial to my education and future. It would benefit us financially, because he wants to go on deployment and tours (mostly b/c he hates this place so much), and we could be putting money away while I live with family in Hawaii. I'm just worried that i could be sacrificing our marriage's stability. I feel like I'm choosing between the two. I know I can do it (be separated for 3 years), but I feel guilty for leaving, and well we've been having rocky roads in the relationship, but that's kinda the norm for us.

I'm glad you guys brought up the BSN part, so many people say that it doesn't matter, but from what I've been seeing with new RNs having difficulty finding jobs, I think I need that advantage.

LDRNMOMMY, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2011

I'm an Air Force wife. I was able to finish my ADN in NC and work for 2.5 yrs before we PCSd. I also managed to land a job while stationed overseas, which can be very hard to do. I also worked on my BSN while overseas. It can't hurt to have your BSN, you won't necessarily be paid more but I am seeing more and more job postings where it is required. Requirements have recently changed for enlisted (so if your hubby is an officer disregard) assignments where TOS is now *typically* 5 yrs before receiving CONUS orders and 2 yrs TOS for OCONUS.

Medic149 · Mar 30, 2011

Maliaia,

My heart sinks when I read that your relationship is rocky. Keep working at it, hopefully you have his full support behind you on school. That's really important that he understands that you need a career to and having your RN makes your career portable. Everyone goes through it. Personally I think the deployment idea is great, that way you can focus on school. Don't know if you know about it but check into MYCAA through the military. It's school money for spouses. I don't know much about it because I don't qualify because my husband is an offier but I've read about it from other wives and militaryonesource. Good luck.

CRNA-eventually · Oct 31, 2011

I was wondering how hard civilian jobs are to get at LRMC. My spouse has 1.5 yrs of OR exp, but she would love to work NICU eventually. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

LDRNMOMMY, BSN, RN · Nov 2, 2011

I was wondering how hard civilian jobs are to get at LRMC. My spouse has 1.5 yrs of OR exp, but she would love to work NICU eventually. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

It can take some time and persistence, but she can find a job. Her best bet would be to talk to the nurse managers where she would be interested in working. If she does not have NICU experience she more than likely will not be hired in NICU. Typically the nurse managers are looking for people that have experience. However, I worked in L&D from 2008-2010 and they hired a new grad and a nurse without L&D experience in that time frame. It's not impossible but there are more nurses than there are positions. Also, there are some nurses that volunteer as an RN as a way to network and get a foot in the door. She could also apply for any open jobs on CPOL, but more often than not the job postings are there for posterity and someone is already selected to fill the slot. Resume writing for jobs posted on CPOL and USA jobs are different than civilian resumes. Repeat the key words in the description as often as you can and then add a few more. I attended a class on federal resume writing and that is what they recommend. Best of luck to her in her job search. We miss Germany so very much!