I posted in the sticky section, but thought it'd be easier to start a new thread :)
Hello all,
I'm planning on joining Army nursing after I'm done with my RN-BSN program this month. I've already done tons of research, talked with many people, have gotten sort of a fly-on-the-wall perspective with the happenings of military routines for life in general --But, I really haven't gotten an idea of the actual day-to-day workings as a military nurse
I'm really, really wanting to know what kind of minute-to-minute, day-to-day, week-to-week function I'll actually have in the military as a nurse, such as...
What are the average number of hours I'll be working every day & every week?
What am I doing when I wake up and before I go to sleep?
What are the average shift hours?
How often do I have time for relatives/friends in my life?
Is there time as a military nurse to keep updating my clinical skills and knowledge? Instead of just being stuck with adminstrative duties, which I hear is common?
Will it be difficult to make sure my little dog is taken care of while I'm working long hours (I'm single, with no one to help me)?
Will I have any hours in the week/month for any small hobbies or small travel-trips/breaks in the extremely busy life of the military?
Will I have any time to sit in silence in life for personal introspection and spiritual renewal when we're working so much? I've just gotten the impression that I'll be working all hours of the week from what some have eluded to, & I need help understanding how life is in this profession.
I plan on joining the Reserves for at least 6 months, as I have been advised to do this, & then I plan on going into Active Duty after that. What will be some of the drastic life differences with these?
I would really appreciate any help in understanding these areas of military life. It's a big commitment, & I haven't gotten too much insight into the actual life process in these things besides everything else. Thank you so much! I love this forum & have gotten so much help from it.
Specializes in critical care: trauma/oncology/burns.
Hello Care&Joy:
I agree with all the other posts. I would check out the active side of the house. Say you go the Reserve route and then you would like to go AC. Your commander has to sign your DD 368 (request for conditional release) from your TPU and there is always the possibility that your Commander will not want to sign off on that because you are needed, of if your TPU is going to be Mobilized or Deployed.
Working as an AN in an Army Medical Center is different than when you work as a civilian. You will work your 12 hour shifts. Your lunch break, if you work on a med-surg floor, ED, ICU will be ~30 minutes. Never worked in the clinics so perhaps they get longer break time. If there is a need to have someone fill in a sick call or someone is on quarters, then the Army Nurse will be told to stay. The unit could be crazy busy the civilians can leave when their shift is up, but as an Officer in the ANC, you will be expected to stay until things quiet down
And yeah, again as an Officer you are expected to do your own PT on your own time. Don't have to make formation in the am or pm. But you will be expected to meet all Army height and weight standards when you have your PFT twice a year.
I was in the Reserves for two years. The only thing I regret is that I did not go AC from the very beginning.
And you are SO RIGHT about "working with people who actually care about teamwork, integrity, & patients (not selfishly fighting to beat everyone down"
No matter what you decide (Reserves or Active) HOOAH TO YOU!!
Specializes in Med/Surg;Hm Health;House Super; ER.
Hello Care&Joy:
I agree with all the other posts. I would check out the active side of the house. Say you go the Reserve route and then you would like to go AC. Your commander has to sign your DD 368 (request for conditional release) from your TPU and there is always the possibility that your Commander will not want to sign off on that because you are needed, of if your TPU is going to be Mobilized or Deployed.
Working as an AN in an Army Medical Center is different than when you work as a civilian. You will work your 12 hour shifts. Your lunch break, if you work on a med-surg floor, ED, ICU will be ~30 minutes. Never worked in the clinics so perhaps they get longer break time. If there is a need to have someone fill in a sick call or someone is on quarters, then the Army Nurse will be told to stay. The unit could be crazy busy the civilians can leave when their shift is up, but as an Officer in the ANC, you will be expected to stay until things quiet down
And yeah, again as an Officer you are expected to do your own PT on your own time. Don't have to make formation in the am or pm. But you will be expected to meet all Army height and weight standards when you have your PFT twice a year.
I was in the Reserves for two years. The only thing I regret is that I did not go AC from the very beginning.
And you are SO RIGHT about "working with people who actually care about teamwork, integrity, & patients (not selfishly fighting to beat everyone down"
No matter what you decide (Reserves or Active) HOOAH TO YOU!!
athena
It seems to me that we don't get nearly as much needed training for deployment when going the Reserves route.
When going Active, are any other additional things added to your day/schedule besides working regular nursing shifts and personal PT time?
Do you generally work 3 or 5 12-hour shifts? I ask because I had been getting conflicting messages on that :). What is the average nurse/patient ratio in an AMC?
What are some of the aspects that made you regret not jumping into Active from Reserves sooner than you did? Routine? Housing? Posts? Work-experiences? Friendships? Training? Protocols?
trust me when i say...we all feel the same way. i have tons of questions, i also want to know what the day to day is like, heck how long it took to get used to the anc way of things, etc. i am going ad myself. i have had a recruiter who has not answered any of my questions so i have had to find answers myself. i am a mom to 4 kids (11, 10 [b-day today], 6, & 4.5), a puppy and a newly rescued kitty, so i understand about having obligations. my husband is very supportive. deploying is not something that i worry about, or else i would never have joined. i had to wait a year before i could leave for oblc because of school obligations, but as you mentioned there really isn't anything in the civilian world that needs me, the army can provide the experiences that i desire. i just want to serve my country and soldiers who need me!
i think that once we are actually doing the day to day activities, then we will finally begin to have everything click. the only thing that i do know is that i will be working in the clinic as i will be in public health. good luck on making your decision! i am sure you will do what is best for you.
Specializes in critical care: trauma/oncology/burns.
Hi there Holly. I will try to give my POV:
It seems to me that we don't get nearly as much needed training for deployment when going the Reserves route.
I guess it can seem like that. Oftentimes you don't get much of a heads up when you get orders to MOB. But the Army is very keen on sending their Soldiers and Officers to different educational opportunities. Even the civilians have the same opportunities to go to lectures and conferences. Speaking from my experience at the Reserve side of the house there is $$ available for educational opportunities, as well. But you first must graduate from OBC, maintain your height and weight, have a passing score (a Go) on your APFT, and put in the paperwork for the particular conference you are interested in at least 45 days before the actual event. Doesn't matter if it is a one-day conference or week-long. Well, your COC may be a wee bit leery if the conference is in the US Virgin Islands:D
When going Active, are any other additional things added to your day/schedule besides working regular nursing shifts and personal PT time?
Do you generally work 3 or 5 12-hour shifts? I ask because I had been getting conflicting messages on that :). What is the average nurse/patient ratio in an AMC?
Active duty working in the combined intensive care unit: Military usually work 3-4 12 hour shifts, civilians usually want to work 8 hours (at least in my AMC) Unless something comes up last minute when your shift is over, it is over....having said that: If the unit is going crazy it is expected that Military will stay and work however long you are needed. Civilians don't have to stay (and they usually don't....) Every unit is different. Patient/Nurse Ration: In my ICU it can be 2:1 (unless it is a balloon pump/ open heart, or bad trauma, then it would be 1:2)
What are some of the aspects that made you regret not jumping into Active from Reserves sooner than you did? Routine? Housing? Posts? Work-experiences? Friendships? Training? Protocols?
My regrets for not going active sooner.....I would have to say my immediate family. My SO. My kids were so supportive and still are. Helps that my oldest was also AD (127th MP BN) so I kind of knew what I was getting myself into. Sadly my SO still doesn't understand. For me, my being AD is a much better fit. I appreciate the professionalism, competency, the military bearing, the rules/regs....Yeah, I guess you can say the routine. I live off-post. Very difficult to find BOQ (I am still on the waiting list, ha ha ha) but I found a really, really nice apartment that fits my BAH. Of course, your BAH is dependent upon where you are assigned or PCS to. I made some good friends while at OBC. And being in the military you never know when you will meet up with someone you worked with or MOB'ed with years ago! Why two months ago [at Fort Bliss] I met three Soldiers that I was in the 7238th with. The Army can be a very small world, that is for sure!
Lastly, just because you are an Officer doesn't mean that daily PT is a thing of the past, or something that you can do on your own time. It depends on the situation. I am presently TDY at Fort Lewis attending the CCNC (which is a killer course, let me tell you!) and I get up at 0430 hours every morning to do mandatory PT. YIKES. {{but I did lose 4 pounds....so far!}}
No matter what you decide to do....Oftentimes those of us in the "caring professions" take care of everyone else but ourselves. If you have a understanding and supportive family, and the time is right, I say Now is the time to start taking care of You.
Thank you for the links! I'm sorry you lost your wordy message....I absolutely hate when that happens. I'm sorry I didn't get to hear them too!
I have been reading the armynurselife.blogspot.com one for the last couple of months & think it's awesome. I think a lot of nurses considering the military should read blogs like these, as it helps so much.
Specializes in Med/Surg;Hm Health;House Super; ER.
Hooah!
athena
Athena, you're awesome for answering so many ?'s!
CONGRATS on the 4 lbs! I'm going to need to lose about 20 lbs to feel good, ugh, & I'm not looking forward to it because I don't have an accountability partner yet to get my butt going & for motivation, ha.
....Oh, & I'm going to email you on the side here for another more private question later :).
Do you guys know how long they usually make you wait to take the specialty courses? I'm curious, because I wanted emergency/trauma & I heard it can take a while for that. Another big question of mine: I've been REALLY wondering what type of unit I will be put on when joining because I've done mainly Med/Surg & Home health in the past few years, & am now literally JUST jumping into ER at my current job (after having done house supervisor & CN for Med/Surg for almost 1 1/2 years now -this is my SECOND week of ER orientation :) ).
I'm completely lost as to where they might put me, & I'm afraid me being stuck in "limbo" right now with ER I will get put into Med/Surg as a default position allllll over again...which I'm really tired of & have fought hard to get out of that rut. And, yet, I don't want to be put in the ER setting right away when joining the Army if I am not qualified yet. What do you think? Questions, questions. I LOVE this forum!
Care, great questions - ! I have seen the base goarmy website showing that you need 1 year exp or have completed the ER course in order to be a 66MH5 aka ER nurse. The website shows that you go to the generic course after aprox 1 year time on station. I would make the guess that if the course is available you could talk your future chain of command into sending you early since you have a foothold on the med/surg realm.
I would say that ultimately - as with everything - the job that is available will be needs of the army at that particular time.
I agree. I have to take the 66B course as I do not have enough public health experience, even though I work in community health and my PhD is in public health. For me the course was listed on my RFO and it was a part of the "deal" that I took when I signed my packet. My advice would be to let her career manager know that this is where she sees herself and that way she can attend the course.
Care,
Having lost 50 pounds I can give you the following advice:
In addition to increasing cardio and weight training, limit your intake of soda, make sure you eat three balanced meals, and no late night eating. However, I did read that those of us that study get more fluctuations of glucose and cause the hunger pangs to get activated, so perhaps the threads are good for us to learn new things..but bad on our figures
" civilians usually want to work 8 hours (at least in my AMC) Unless something comes up last minute when your shift is over, it is over....having said that: If the unit is going crazy it is expected that Military will stay and work however long you are needed. Civilians don't have to stay (and they usually don't....)"
Not where I have worked. In 4 hospitals--we always work 12s,..... no choice. And we stay until our relief comes. Although not required, usually at least one or two people in the unit will work extra, if there is a no-show or we are short staffed. The units that are cohesive, feel a sense of "loyalty" to the unit and staff---and cover shifts....
Of course, now in transport--- we are expected to stay late and often, are many hours into the next shift.
Just some extra thoughts on the civilian world......
"I'm completely lost as to where they might put me, & I'm afraid me being stuck in "limbo" right now with ER I will get put into Med/Surg as a default position allllll over again...which I'm really tired of & have fought hard to get out of that rut. And, yet, I don't want to be put in the ER setting right away when joining the Army if I am not qualified yet."
Hi C&J,
I think the army requires some documentation and a minimum # of hours to have an "identifier" to accompany your 66H. (at least for RC)
I know I had to have "several clinical skills identifier forms" and letters from my supervisers to substantiate my 8A. And who knows, where they will end of using me, if deployed!
It seems to me, ER is fairly desirable. I don't know that they would put you there without training.....
& for motivation, ha. 
athena55, BSN, RN
987 Posts
Hello Care&Joy:
I agree with all the other posts. I would check out the active side of the house. Say you go the Reserve route and then you would like to go AC. Your commander has to sign your DD 368 (request for conditional release) from your TPU and there is always the possibility that your Commander will not want to sign off on that because you are needed, of if your TPU is going to be Mobilized or Deployed.
Working as an AN in an Army Medical Center is different than when you work as a civilian. You will work your 12 hour shifts. Your lunch break, if you work on a med-surg floor, ED, ICU will be ~30 minutes. Never worked in the clinics so perhaps they get longer break time. If there is a need to have someone fill in a sick call or someone is on quarters, then the Army Nurse will be told to stay. The unit could be crazy busy the civilians can leave when their shift is up, but as an Officer in the ANC, you will be expected to stay until things quiet down
And yeah, again as an Officer you are expected to do your own PT on your own time. Don't have to make formation in the am or pm. But you will be expected to meet all Army height and weight standards when you have your PFT twice a year.
I was in the Reserves for two years. The only thing I regret is that I did not go AC from the very beginning.
And you are SO RIGHT about "working with people who actually care about teamwork, integrity, & patients (not selfishly fighting to beat everyone down"
No matter what you decide (Reserves or Active) HOOAH TO YOU!!
athena