BSN Student: Airforce or other route?!

Editorial Team / Moderator · Nov 12, 2013

All branches of the service are extremely competitive right now, with a preference for experienced nurses. Critical care is even more competitive, and CRNA even more so. Your best bet is to contact a recruiter and also focus on finding a civilian job to get some experience. Working as an RN might help you figure out what you'd like to do. Good luck in the rest of your program! GPA matters to the military, too.

Jay Q · Nov 12, 2013

Thank you so much!

Dreaming1007 · Nov 16, 2013

Just like LunahRN said, it is very competitive right now and especially you have aspirations to do more with your career then bedside nursing. The military will put you where they need you and to get a CRNA scholarship is very difficult, not impossible though. If you really want it, you can get there and GPA is not everything. I would recommend talking to a healthcare recruiter to start your package and in the mean time get a civilian job to gain experience. If you get selected then great! if not you always have a job to fall back on and pursue a different route. And if you get selected and decide you don't want it then you can pass on it. I was selected and will be heading to COT in Jan and I can say from being prior service that I thoroughly love every aspect of the Air Force so my opinion may be biased but I say do it!

allnurses Guide · Nov 17, 2013

Getting USAF CRNA scholarship isn't hard, but there is years worth of work as an USAF nurse before you qualify. The AF and Army both are always short of qualified students for nurse anesthesia school.

as1013 · Nov 19, 2013

For wtbcrna (anyone else knowledgeable about AF CRNAs),

I've been following your posts for sometime now and I have another question for you if you don't mind.

As mentioned before, I will commission next year as a 2LT in the AF and join the nurse corps. I will have around five years of prior enlisted service and will incur a four year commitment due to NECP. My goal is to become a CRNA.

With all things considered (i.e. military politics/deployments/salary/service commitments, quality of schools, etc), which route would you recommend or which route would you take if you were in my position in hopes to receive the best quality education in the shortest time frame to become a CRNA?

A. Apply for ICU fellowship/AFIT for NA school when eligible (I understand this will take at minimum around 6 years)

B. Try to palace chase after a few years, get civilian ICU experience, and apply to NA school

C. Apply for ICU fellowship, get ICU experience,and separate from military after approximately five years; then apply to civilian NA school

D. Work as med-surg nurse for entire four-year commitment while attempting to moonlight for ICU experience; then apply to either civilian NA school or AFIT for CRNA

E. Other suggestions??

Thanks

allnurses Guide · Nov 19, 2013

For wtbcrna (anyone else knowledgeable about AF CRNAs),
I've been following your posts for sometime now and I have another question for you if you don't mind.
As mentioned before, I will commission next year as a 2LT in the AF and join the nurse corps. I will have around five years of prior enlisted service and will incur a four year commitment due to NECP. My goal is to become a CRNA.
With all things considered (i.e. military politics/deployments/salary/service commitments, quality of schools, etc), which route would you recommend or which route would you take if you were in my position in hopes to receive the best quality education in the shortest time frame to become a CRNA?
A. Apply for ICU fellowship/AFIT for NA school when eligible (I understand this will take at minimum around 6 years)
B. Try to palace chase after a few years, get civilian ICU experience, and apply to NA school
C. Apply for ICU fellowship, get ICU experience,and separate from military after approximately five years; then apply to civilian NA school
D. Work as med-surg nurse for entire four-year commitment while attempting to moonlight for ICU experience; then apply to either civilian NA school or AFIT for CRNA
E. Other suggestions??
Thanks

Any route you take through the military will basically put you close to or at retirement, so in that way it is good deal. That is assuming your prior enlistment time was AD.

It will be difficult to get the needed ICU time working part-time. It isn't impossible, but a lot will depend on where you are stationed.

Personally, I would look for a part-time ICU job (that can even be working shifts at the ICU on base too) when I got to my new base after getting settled in. Plan on applying to critical care fellowship depending on how many hours working critical care you are getting. Then if you have enough critical care hours you can apply to AFIT, and if not apply for the critical care fellowship. After the critical care fellowship time commitment was over I would apply for AFIT and civilian CRNA schools silmultaneously. My personal choice would be to take AFIT NA school over a civilian NA school, but you should be prepared in case you don't get into AFIT.

as1013 · Nov 19, 2013

Any route you take through the military will basically put you close to or at retirement, so in that way it is good deal. That is assuming your prior enlistment time was AD.
It will be difficult to get the needed ICU time working part-time. It isn't impossible, but a lot will depend on where you are stationed.
Personally, I would look for a part-time ICU job (that can even be working shifts at the ICU on base too) when I got to my new base after getting settled in. Plan on applying to critical care fellowship depending on how many hours working critical care you are getting. Then if you have enough critical care hours you can apply to AFIT, and if not apply for the critical care fellowship. After the critical care fellowship time commitment was over I would apply for AFIT and civilian CRNA schools silmultaneously. My personal choice would be to take AFIT NA school over a civilian NA school, but you should be prepared in case you don't get into AFIT.

Yes, my prior time is AD.

The bases I included on my list were Elmendorf, Travis, WPAFB, Nellis, and Lackland, respectively. Do you know of the past/present opportunities for part-time ICU employment in these areas (on/off base)?

And, if I understand you correctly, you would recommend part-time employment, but if I don't have enough ICU hours after a year or two, you would recommend applying to the fellowship given the first opportunity?

allnurses Guide · Nov 20, 2013

Yes, my prior time is AD.
The bases I included on my list were Elmendorf, Travis, WPAFB, Nellis, and Lackland, respectively. Do you know of the past/present opportunities for part-time ICU employment in these areas (on/off base)?
And, if I understand you correctly, you would recommend part-time employment, but if I don't have enough ICU hours after a year or two, you would recommend applying to the fellowship given the first opportunity?

I can only give you advice on Elmendorf. Elmendorf will have minimal chances of you working downtown as new grad in ICU, but they have been letting AD nurses volunteer on-base in the ICU to gain experience.

Yes, that is what I meant to the second part.

as1013 · Nov 20, 2013

I can only give you advice on Elmendorf. Elmendorf will have minimal chances of you working downtown as new grad in ICU, but they have been letting AD nurses volunteer on-base in the ICU to gain experience.
Yes, that is what I meant to the second part.

Alright. Thanks.