FNP with hopes of joining AF

[TbFNP]

Hello everyone. I have been a nurse for 15 years. I practiced in my home country initially then migrated to the US. I have 10 years of RN experience in the US. For the last year I have been working as a FNP. I am interested in joining the USAF but I have some questions and calling the recruiter is seems almost impossible. My questions are:

1. Will my RN experience be taken into consideration in determining rank and pay seeing that I have only 1 year of FNP experience (2 by the time I would start) or am I gonna start lower based on my FNP experience alone?

2. Does a FNP in the AF lead a typical 8-5 job - I have kids and a spouse who is a travel nurse so I will be alone with them at times.

3. How good are they with family emergencies, say, I get called because my kid is sick at school, can I leave to tend to that or their needs come before an ill child?

4. How likely will a FNP be deployed oversees and can I bring my family?

Kindly shed some light on these questions for me. Thanks in advance.

[AF2BSN]

I was a former AF medic and have had some touchpoints with AF officer accession, so take my insight somewhere between a grain of salt and a salt shaker:

1. Your officer package will include all of that, but likely you would come in as a O-2/O-3. Your awarded AFSC would be 46Y1H and approved by the Nurse Corps Development Team/MAJCOM Command Nurse. If that all sounds like a lot of gibberish, do some quick internet searches to familiarize yourself.

2. Most FNPs will likely work in Primary Care seeing Active Duty and their dependents. It's a pretty standard 7-4:30, M-F position. There will be times that you may have an "exercise" aka "playing war", or Saturday clinic for school start. For the most part it's pretty benign and mirrors civilian practice. The trick is that you're not only an FNP, but an Airman who will lead Airmen. There are additional responsibilities that come with that. 

3. "The needs of the Air Force come first." is an often repeated phrase, although the AF (especially among the military branches) and ESPECIALLY the medical group tend to look after their members. Most supervisors/commanders understand that work-life is a thing. As a FNP provider you can likely have your schedule wiped for emergencies and tend to your issues. I think what raises eyebrows is if there is constantly an issue. In the case of sick family members, the 1st Shirt/Commander and base helping agencies tend to step in to assist as much as possible. 

4. There is a marked difference between TDY (Temporary Duty) and deployment. They have tended to call everything a "deployment", but the location is key. Even further, there are OCONUS vs CONUS situations (overseas vs stateside). You have to remember that you're a military member, an AF officer, and subject to deployment like everybody else. The base, medical group mission, and world affairs are the biggest predictors. As an FNP working primary care? Probably not a ton of deployments vs. a CCAT nurse/flying APRN. As for bringing your family, you cannot/would not want to bring them to Iraq/Afghanistan etc. For overseas assignments (Italy/UK/Germany etc.) absolutely. 

One thing to think about as an AF member is that you will need to provide a "Family Plan" that outlines how your family will be cared for in the event that you are sent on a deployment. It must be filed and kept valid. It's non-negotiable and will end your career if it's lacking. 

Good luck to you! I've been considering going back as a flight nurse/ACNP. I'm biased (and possibly wearing rose-tinted goggles), but I think the AF is the best!

[TbFNP]

Thank you so much for your response. I feel I understand a bit better now. I really appreciate it. Sorry for the late response.