Civilian Medical Corps/Landstuhl

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Specializes in Emergency, Critical Care.

Hi All!

I am working on an application to the Civilian Medical Corps for nursing jobs in Germany, preference is Landstuhl. I have 2 years of experience working in cardiac telemetry, and I'll pretty much take any job they give me. But I do want to eventually do ICU or ER. And eventually eventually - CRNA.

I have lots of questions: Are civilian nurses treated differently by their co-workers than military nurses? How easy is it to transfer from one department in the hospital to another once you have experience there? I understand appointments are made for 3 years. Does that mean you will work the job you are assigned to for 3 years or can you change units during that 3 years time? Would my 2 years of cardiac tele experience qualify me to push for an ICU job? I don't have the training to walk on the job to a busy trauma ICU. But I learn fast. Will they train me stateside for my job or on site @ Landstuhl if I am hired?

A little background: I have wanted to join the Army or the Navy for nearly 10 years, but because I have Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome and therefore an abnormal EKG, I cannot pass the physical. The Civilian Medical Corps offers an awesome alternative, particularly because I do have a family now. It allows me to choose where I want to go but I still get to serve my country and be of service to the wounded and sick men and women who are in the military. I am having trouble expressing these idealistic reasons without sounding super dumb in my cover letter. Also, don't think it's a good idea to highlight my heart arrhythmia to a potential employer. Any advice on what kinds of things to highlight in my cover letter? I am keen on Germany from having spent a semester there in college and I think it's a great place to raise my son. My husband went to graduate school in Switzerland and has a fondness for Europe as well. We like adventures and this sounds great! We'd be living on only my salary, he'd stay at home until he also found a civilian job or was somehow able to obtain a work visa.

Anyway, all feedback is much appreciated!

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Specializes in ED, Cardiology.

Not that easy to get over to Germany. I have been trying for a year now. I have 4 years nursing ED experiences, 1 year cardiac cath lab and IR and 11years as a Paramedic, am a US Govermental employee and a German native and still have not even had an interview. Let me know if you have any better luck :)

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The government uses a point system to hire as well as resumes; this means that veterans and spouses will get hired before true civilians. I don't want to discourage you from trying to get a civilian job in Germany but there is a lot of competition there with veteran and spousal preference. Good luck!

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I got invited to interview for the ER at Landstuhl last year, just as my packet was going to the selection board for active duty with the Army Nurse Corps. I ended up getting selected for the Army and thus declined to interview, but my resume/application had been on USAJobs.gov for more than a year at that point. It does take a while for things to happen, unless there is a specific position open, I suppose.

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Specializes in ED, Cardiology.

Great to know, thanks Luna!:)

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

No problem. I was so bummed to turn it down -- I grew up right there and would LOVE to go back! Maybe I'll get stationed at Landstuhl at some point, now that I'm active duty. :)

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I got invited to interview for the ER at Landstuhl last year, just as my packet was going to the selection board for active duty with the Army Nurse Corps. I ended up getting selected for the Army and thus declined to interview, but my resume/application had been on USAJobs.gov for more than a year at that point. It does take a while for things to happen, unless there is a specific position open, I suppose.

I know this post was almost 10 months ago, but I'm hoping you can answer a couple of questions for me. How much experience did you have when they contacted you for an interview? (For the civilian RN position, I mean.) Also, can you recommend any pointers in getting selected for an interview? (I don't know how competitive those RN positions are at German military bases, but I'm assuming they're fairly competitive.) My goal is to get two years of experience and apply via USAjobs for any and all of the open positions in Germany. I've heard that the challenging part is getting your resume/application pulled from the system. If you have any advice, I'd greatly appreciate it. :) Thanks! (Feel free to PM me if needed.)

Sean

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Sean, I had about 2.5 years of experience by that time. I have no idea what I did to finally get noticed. LOL. I did have a couple of ED certifications by that point -- CEN and CPEN -- that probably helped. Good luck!! :)

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Thanks so much for the quick reply. I'll aim to be as certified as possible and hope that helps my odds. :up:

So, you didn't create a specific DoD-type resume? It was just a normal resume? I'm only asking because, from what I understand, the initial application/resume has to get past the first computer screening part whereby they scan for certain key words, etc.

In your previous post you mentioned that your resume was in their system for close to a year. Can you clarify what you mean? Did you apply for a specific job and then your resume just sat in their system for a year, or did you continually apply for different jobs throughout that year? Or did they find you because your resume/application was searchable in their system and a job opening came up?

Thanks again for all of your help; I really appreciate it!

Sean

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

It's been a while, so I'll try to remember ... I think I applied for one generic job that had the possibility of several locations, and I specified Landstuhl. I know that it's important that your resume contain the proper key words, so I'd make sure that it maps to the required skills/knowledge/abilities. I think my resume was just finally selected from a pool for a potential opening, I didn't apply for another specific position before I got notified.

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Thanks again! :)

Sean

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