Help!!! New grad military spouse

pat · Nov 5, 2019

check with the military hospitals in Germany and with the state you are getting your license from

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Nov 5, 2019

16 minutes ago, pat said:
check with the military hospitals in Germany and with the state you are getting your license from

I'm definitely not an expert on the topic, but I think I remember reading a few years back on AN that many overseas military installations no longer staff their own healthcare facilities and instead of subcontract with local hospitals because it's way cheaper (in which case I guess you could look at getting your license endorsed in Germany to work in a local hospital, but getting all of your coursework endorsed is a steep bureaucratic hill to climb, plus you have to speak fluent medical German). Again, please take my feedback with a grain of salt since I'm definitely not an expert...

OP, there was a similar post a few months ago by a nurse in a similar situation at the end of the deployment (moved overseas with her military husband as a new-ish grad, asking for advice about getting into the hospital a few years later when she came back). Not exactly your situation, but perhaps it can be helpful? You could even reach out and send that OP a private message if you have specific questions.

If you haven't done this already, you may find some helpful prior forums by using the search bar to search for "military spouse" or "military deployment overseas."

I sincerely wish you and your spouse the best of luck! Your family's service is greatly appreciated.

Katie82, RN · Nov 5, 2019

Unless it has changed recently, jobs for American nurses are almost non-existent. The German government has a "treaty" with the American military that makes it impossible to get a job as a nurse. My husband is retired Air Force and we purposely avoided a transfer to Germany. I have friends who were RNs while their husbands were stationed in Germany. I believe there is a way around the licensing issue, but cannot remember what it was. Contact your state BON or the Army, they should be able to tell you.

allnurses Guide · Nov 5, 2019

There is a huge lineup of people wanting to get a job on base as a US Citizen in Germany. As a new grad with no connections and no experience, your chances are pretty much zero.

You may need to live with your parents or some other living situation while your husband is overseas if you want to work as a nurse.

llg, PhD, RN · Nov 5, 2019

If things don't work out as you hope ... you might consider a compromise. You graduate in June. You get a US job in the summer and keep it for a year or two while your husband goes to Germany. After you've gotten 12 - 18 months of nursing experience (December 2021?) ... join the husband for the last half of his Germany assignment.

Being separated is difficult, but if you time things well and join each other on vacations, it is do-able. And that RN experience you get between July 2020 and December 2021 will help you get a job when you return to the states.

Valley_girl1021 · Nov 5, 2019

Update **There are other places on his list that are possibilities for us to stay in the states (NY, Alaska, Kansas) that have shorter stays such as just a year. Should we suck it up and go to a duty station we possibly won’t like so I can gain experience and we not separate and then just try for Germany the next go around?

Thank you all for the advice so far! It’s been really helpful!

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Nov 5, 2019

4 minutes ago, Valley_girl1021 said:
Update **There are other places on his list that are possibilities for us to stay in the states (NY, Alaska, Kansas) that have shorter stays such as just a year. Should we suck it up and go to a duty station we possibly won’t like so I can gain experience and we not separate and then just try for Germany the next go around?
Thank you all for the advice so far! It’s been really helpful!

If you have the opportunity, that's totally what I'd do in your shoes. Yes, in a perfect world you could both go to Germany, but Germany probably isn't going to be a lot of fun for either of you if you're doing an international, multi-year long-distance marriage arrangement.

In addition, if you can hold off on Germany, I personally think the ideal way to do it would be for you to get a few years of experience then have him go once you're eligible to be a travel nurse. That way you could alternate between taking a 3 month contract, spending a few months with him, takeing another 3 month contract, etc. That way you can keep your skills current and still carve out long stretches of time to be together.

Valley_girl1021 · Nov 5, 2019

2 minutes ago, adventure_rn said:
If you have the opportunity, that's totally what I'd do in your shoes. Yes, in a perfect world you could both go to Germany, but Germany probably isn't going to be a lot of fun for either of you if you're doing an international, multi-year long-distance marriage arrangement.
In addition, if you can hold off on Germany, I personally think the ideal way to do it would be for you to get a few years of experience then have him go once you're eligible to be a travel nurse. That way you could alternate between taking a 3 month contract, spending a few months with him, takeing another 3 month contract, etc. That way you can keep your skills current and still carve out long stretches of time to be together.

That’s what I think we’ll do. Even though we both have been wanting this duty station for a long time I just do y think it’s the right time. I’m optimistic the opportunity will present itself again. Thanks for the advice!

allnurses Guide · Nov 5, 2019

Yep, that is what you should do. But even once you have experience you will be unlikely to find work in Germany as a nurse. Just kind of something to be aware of as you plan your future. There isn't a demand for civilian nurses. Those are highly coveted jobs and have next to no turnover, with very few positions to begin with.

Valley_girl1021 · Nov 5, 2019

18 minutes ago, Nurse SMS said:
Yep, that is what you should do. But even once you have experience you will be unlikely to find work in Germany as a nurse. Just kind of something to be aware of as you plan your future. There isn't a demand for civilian nurses. Those are highly coveted jobs and have next to no turnover, with very few positions to begin with.

At that point I’d hope to get a travel nursing contract so I could work out there

allnurses Guide · Nov 5, 2019

7 minutes ago, Valley_girl1021 said:
At that point I’d hope to get a travel nursing contract so I could work out there

There really isn't such a thing for Germany. Now and then you can find it for England I believe, but I have researched both Germany and Italy heavily. Its a unicorn.

What adventure_rn was suggesting is that you take three month travel contracts stateside and stagger those with going to Germany to be with your husband in between.