Being a nurse and a military spouse?

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Jan 18, 2015

I would look into trying to get hired with the on-base hospital or clinics. I want to say the Army and Air Force hire civilian nurses, but I'm not sure about the other branches. I was an Air Force kid living overseas, and went to a Dept of Defense school through 6th grade. With the exception of our host nation language teachers, all of my teachers were American civilians. I once spent 3 weeks in the hospital w/ a bad pneumonia and I'm not 100%, but I think some of my nurses were civilian (based on the lack of a rank on their nametags. I distinctly remember "Capt" on my PCP's nametag.)

As for working off-base, you'd have to be EXTREMELY fluent in the host nation language. As you'll find through nursing school, healthcare jargon and everyday vernacular are very different. It's the reason that even if you had a double major in Spanish, you'd have to pass a medical translating certification in Spanish to be allowed to converse w/ Spanish-speaking pts w/o a special interpreter present. Beyond that, you'd have to go through whatever credentialing hoops the host nation requires...which could mean graduating from nursing school and taking the board exam in that country.

Trauma Columnist · Jan 19, 2015

Hi there. My husband did 23 years in the Air Force. I worked as a nurse in Vegas and Indianapolis but overseas the RN jobs were contract jobs and they went to the lowest bid which was sometimes $5-6/hr!

I have to add though my overseas experiences were in the 80's so things might have changed. When we were stationed at Yongsan in Seoul, Korea, there were a few civilian nurses but not many and the wait was long. In Japan, no civilian slots, in Spain, no civilian slots.

Overseas I worked as a medical clerk (Alaska), secretary (Spain), public relations (Seoul) and in Japan I was active duty USN myself.

Best wishes - hope someone chimes in with more up to date info for you.