Chances of being accepted into the Air Force with prior Afib???

Specialties Government

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My husband is an RN who is currently working on his BSN. His goal is to join the Air Force next year after completion. His heart has gone into Afib 3 times in the last 6 years and I'm concerned that will prevent him from joining. It would break my heart for him to go through all of this work to be disqualified. He isn't on any medication for it and went back into normal rhythm after a day with some Cardizem. Anyone in the air force with a similar problem and got a waiver? I'm so nervous for him.

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Specializes in Cardiac (adult), CC, Peds, MH/Substance.

What they did or didn't get is irrelevant. Waiver availability changes constantly based on needs of the service (IE how badly do they need someone like you to fill the slot). If someone was denied 5 years ago has no bearing on your husband's future. Generally the recruiter is the one to initially request a waiver, accompanied by medical records.

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I would ask an Air Force recruitment person. It can depend somewhat on how badly they need recruits at the time. I was good friends with a marine who did recruitment a few years back. He said that if he was applying then he would not have gotten into the marines because of a previous knee surgery. They had more applicants than they needed so they could be more picky.

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He reached out to a recruiter a few days ago through email. We haven't heard anything back. Our closest recruiter is 3 hours away so this should be fun. lol

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Good luck.

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Specializes in LTC and Pediatrics.
He reached out to a recruiter a few days ago through email. We haven't heard anything back. Our closest recruiter is 3 hours away so this should be fun. lol

How about calling the recruiting station?

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Recruiters for the Air Force can be lazy, the applicant has to be worth their time (almost perfect). I would definitely try calling the recruiter instead, make sure you contact the Air Force health careers recruiter in the area to commission as an RN in the AF.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Moved to the Govt/Military Nursing forum for more replies.

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Specializes in ER, ICU.

Keep pestering the recruiter. They are notoriously non-responsive. Being a nurse, he has the best chance for a waiver (vs. security forces for example), but it all depends on their need. Good luck.

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Has he been to MEPS? I am not sure if they even do an EKG if he is under 40. If he has disclosed the A. Fib he will definitely need a waiver. He will then need to be cleared by his cardiologist before that will even take place. Is coumadin or an Xa inhibitor? I would suggest going to MEPS getting information from the physicians there and jump through the hoops they give you.

When I went to MEPS I was DQ in two areas and had to see two specialist and submit their findings. Both wrote the additional testing was unnecessary and questioned the competence of my MEPS examining physician, but those docs are there to find a reason to DQ. However, my waiver process was quick. Less than two weeks.

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