I'm in the process of applying for the Air Force as a new BSN/RN grad, and I'm anxious about the interviews (as well as MEPS and COT). From what I have read and heard, the NP is a phone interview and the chief nurse is in-person. How are the interviews like? What kind of questions do they ask? Are they the same kind of questions that are asked at civilian hospitals? Is it more or less intense? Please tell me any pointers as to what kind of questions I should focus on thinking about so that I don't fumble during the interview. Any pointers will be great!
I thank you all in advance. I love allnurses.com. It helps relieve at least half of my anxiety that's been fast approaching as I try to find my place in the nursing field.
The COT classes are full from my understanding up to August. You won't be alone on the list of people that are anxious to go and ready to go sooner. There are quite a few that are getting pushed to 2011 already, so if you get to go in 2010 consider yourself ahead of a lot of folks.
Kato - Do you know your assignment yet? Do you know what COT date you are going to? I think its different for NPs. Please respond. I am thinking about calling my recruiter everyday until they give me an assignment. I am not the only one going to be so sick and tired of waiting and being postponed. I think the recruiting office in San Antonio is a little frustrated with Randolph overall this year because its been a crazy busy for Nurse selections.
Specializes in ED. ICU, PICU, infection prevention, aeromedical e.
Mav,
Your recruiter is not the only factor in the slowness of the process. Calling repeatedly would really be wrong. Do call and check in every couple of weeks, but don't harrass the guy. It's not like they are assigning COT dates earlier than June anyway, so relax.
Your recruiter is not the only factor in the slowness of the process. Calling repeatedly would really be wrong. Do call and check in every couple of weeks, but don't harrass the guy. It's not like they are assigning COT dates earlier than June anyway, so relax.
Well, hopefully this thing will be over in the next two days, on the day that AFPC said that the selections would be released. Its funny how all of a sudden, on one day, the list of people that were selected with their assignments comes out. My experience with the Air force tells me that nothing will happen this entire week, or in April. I will hopefully get a phone call in May or June.
Its a little frustrating and now I am thinking about declining whatever they give me, if I am even selected. I have no proof yet of whether or not the Colonel selected me or not. Its all word of mouth. The military can't be trusted at all - not so far.
Kato - Do you know your assignment yet? Do you know what COT date you are going to? I think its different for NPs. Please respond. I am thinking about calling my recruiter everyday until they give me an assignment. I am not the only one going to be so sick and tired of waiting and being postponed. I think the recruiting office in San Antonio is a little frustrated with Randolph overall this year because its been a crazy busy for Nurse selections.
No, I don't know anything besides my application is being reviewed. As far as I've understood the NPs do not meet the "nursing board". Our applications are reviewed as they come in since there aren't nearly as many of us looking to enter the AF. However, we still have to go through the rest.....selection then COT date and assignment. The assignment doesn't come from the board but rather Randolp AFB based on the needs of the AF. We do go to COT as well as MDs and clergy staff. I did hear recently that they are looking to waive COT for prior service since they are so far behind on COT classes. It might be that prior would go to COT later after the big wave this summer. I don't know how true this all is.....rumors.
My application went to same board as rn's with experience. I wish I could tell you their secrets to how they pick dates and assignments. There have been people who found out after me leaving before me. May have to do with where your assignment is and if they need you today or can wait. My husband is active duty and says the sooner I stop trying to figure it all out, the more I'll enjoy the military.
Hi all. Just wanted to let you all know my situation since it may give you some insight. My application originally went to the January boards and I found out April 1 my assignment and COT date. I will not be leaving for COT until March of next year. Apparently, the overwhelming influx of new nurses that they accepted this year filled up all the earlier COT dates. I signed my acceptance letter and got my fingerprints last week when my recruiter met me with all of it. Maverick-I'm sure you will hear something soon. My recruiter had originally told me that AFSC was taking 2 weeks for TDY and no other results would be out before they got back. That two weeks should be over this week. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
Specializes in ED. ICU, PICU, infection prevention, aeromedical e.
Travel,
Congrats on your acceptance. I'm sorry you have to wait so long. but plenty of time to prepare at least. I have 40 days before a life changing move. I have no commision, no order, no ability to get a move date.... oh well. I am doing what I can and figure the rest will fall in place! I'm commissioning on Thursday!! The colonel who did my interview and with whom I've been e-mailing back and forth since is going to do the honors for me. I have not told work yet and last night we were filling out our schedules. I just filled out whatever. I am only working the 1st week of it because I'll be gone. I did a private little happy dance! lol
The wait really isn't that bad for me. It worked out well, actually. My husband is in bootcamp right now and will finish in June. He then goes to tech school which happens to be right down the road from us at Keesler. He'll be there for 4 months, so I'll get to see him on the weekends. It also gives us more time to sell or rent our house out. It was originally planned for me to go to COT this past March and I was scrambling to sell or rent this house. So, I sympathize with you. I must say, though, that I'm a bit envious of you. I do wish I was leaving in 40 days! :)
Specializes in ED. ICU, PICU, infection prevention, aeromedical e.
Travel, keep up the positive attitude! Military = hurry up and wait. I figure we are just getting used to it. I am so excited I can't sleep! I keep going through the lists in my head of I need to do. I have everything written down, but my brain won't turn off. I only get 4-5 hours of sleep a day ( I work nights), so I figure that is prepping me for COT. I'm already used to no sleep, working out, etc. And I'm prior service, but basic training was when I was 18, so who knows how I'll do now! lol.
I would be quite surprised if they waived COT for prior service, although I have to admit, I got very little from it as it is now. They need to chunk the entire thing and rebuild it from the top up - instill a bit more discipline into the program - that's what really annoyed me when I was there. It frustrated me (and I admit embarrassed me a little) that the program is so loosely structured and so NON military.
Sorry, ya'll, but that's my opinion. OTS on the regular line officer side is 13 weeks and grueling. Sure, maybe we should get a bit of a bye because of our education or degree, but I've met plenty of senior enlisteds with more education than I, and they're going through OTS to come out equal in rank to me.
There's something wrong with that, as far as I'm concerned.
I think the waiving COT rumor is just that - a rumor - sort of like the "we're the last BMT flight to do X".
Kato - Do you know your assignment yet? Do you know what COT date you are going to? I think its different for NPs. Please respond. I am thinking about calling my recruiter everyday until they give me an assignment. I am not the only one going to be so sick and tired of waiting and being postponed. I think the recruiting office in San Antonio is a little frustrated with Randolph overall this year because its been a crazy busy for Nurse selections.
Calling the recruiter every day is a mistake and will only establish you as a nuisance that no one will want to deal with. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it's true - and I think most folks know I tend to lay stuff on the line and not pretty it up....
Randolph is as undermanned as the rest of the Air Force (never mind what Congress and the Pentagon think - the AF's ALWAYS undermanned, and personnel is the worst). You've got airmen there buried in stacks of paperwork (all this is done by hand, folks; someone's entering all that data into a computer and I guarantee you it's some little 18 year old E2 who just graduated from tech school three months ago) who are processing all this stuff.
I know the Big Machine is a pain - already I find myself griping about it at work (and I'm a prior - it's not like I didn't know it, right? LOL). But it is what it is. Calling your recruiter does not make Randolph pull its head out any faster. The recruiter has nothing to do with the speed (or the lack thereof) of AFPC. I do know that the individuals I've spoken to at Randolph are some of the most helpful people in the world - the civilians are some of the most patient people and the military folks are as nice as they can be. But there's folks above them controlling the flow of info downward - and some of them sit in the Pentagon itself and are making decisions about manning and funding that, while the decisions primarily affect the line side, they also affect the medical side in terms of support functions (like personnelists, the folks you deal with at AFPC). So we're all sort of waiting for an answer from God's Air Force.
Actually you'll spend the rest of your career waiting for someone to answer you....this is the nature of the beast. You're not the only one and to be honest, AFPC could truly care less - they're slogging through their job with the bodies they have available the best they can.
You have to be patient. Feel free to vent here, but remember, you're going to be an officer. Soon there will be a limit to how you can vent, how much, and where.
With that said, after you cool off for a couple of days, I MIGHT (and I say might) call the recruiter and ask is it possible to get something in writing proving you're selected. I can understand you wanting that information at the very least.
And don't call AFPC (not that you said you would), whatever you do. They have memories like you wouldn't believe.
Just because you're willing to go sooner doesn't mean you will. I was willing to go the day they told me (May) and I didn't go until late October. And they also knew I was ready to go. There's probably a "list" of people in order of selection and my guess is they go down the list when a slot opens (and they do, for all sorts of reasons).
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kato10
51 Posts
The COT classes are full from my understanding up to August. You won't be alone on the list of people that are anxious to go and ready to go sooner. There are quite a few that are getting pushed to 2011 already, so if you get to go in 2010 consider yourself ahead of a lot of folks.