Is my recruiter lying to me???

wanttobeanavynurse · Jul 8, 2008

Sounds a bit fishy to me...

My recruiter (Navy) said I'd be moving around at least every three years. The whole stateside thing may be possible, but there are plenty of military hospitals around the world. There are families that live overseas, and that means not only female military personnel, but dependants as well needing OB services. And the OB thing is not a guarantee. I have two years of pediatrics experience but may be assigned to med/surg or OB instead of Peds.

I don't know much about the air force but I'm sure others here could chime in.

athena55, BSN, RN · Jul 8, 2008

litebrightgirl:

Make sure it is a Health Care Recruiter you are going to! As WTBANN said sounds awful fishy to me, as well. Unless you get it in writing you are fair game for deployment OCONUS

One last word, and this isn't meant to step on your toes or negate your goal of returning to duty BUT if you have small wee ones at home and the thought of "bouncing around" doesn't appeal to you, at THIS stage in your life, then perhaps you should hold off on raising your right hand until they are a bit older and you all can better tolerate PCSing q 2-3 years. I think it is nice that your spouse or S.O. is so supportive of you. I wish my family were of my decision and choice (my kids are behind me, just not my step-mom and my SO, sigh....)

athena

JDCitizen · Jul 9, 2008

litebrightgirl:
Make sure it is a Health Care Recruiter you are going to! As WTBANN said sounds awful fishy to me, as well. Unless you get it in writing you are fair game for deployment OCONUS
One last word, and this isn't meant to step on your toes or negate your goal of returning to duty BUT if you have small wee ones at home and the thought of "bouncing around" doesn't appeal to you, at THIS stage in your life, then perhaps you should hold off on raising your right hand until they are a bit older and you all can better tolerate PCSing q 2-3 years. I think it is nice that your spouse or S.O. is so supportive of you. I wish my family were of my decision and choice (my kids are behind me, just not my step-mom and my SO, sigh....)
athena

I agree: Make sure it is a Health Care Recruiter you are talking with!

What I was told as recent as 3 months ago:

1) Deployment always on the table

2) Overseas station during 1st tour rare (but can be requested on dream sheet).

Others in the know will probably be posting some better answers soon.

Best Wishes

The Little Greek · Jul 9, 2008

He said I should go into OB Nursing because there aren't too many women delivering in the desert!:chuckle

I'm guessing by the laughing face that your recruiter was joking about OB nurses not going to the desert. But just to clarify for those who may not think it's a joke....OB nurses do deploy. I just got back from COT and met at least three other OB nurses (2 Reserves and 1 AD) that had all deployed to Iraq at least once.

lifeafter40 · Jul 9, 2008

Along these lines, maybe someone can clarify something for me. I am under the impression that it is not uncommon for specialty nurses to deploy with a CSH (IMA?) as a med/serg nurse or whatever the unit that they are attached to needs... is this correct? It sounds a lot like the the reasoning from my enlisted days that "you are an infantry soldier first, an aircraft mechanic second!"

S

litebrightgirl · Jul 9, 2008

Yeah I talked to a healthcare recruiter but....I may hold off on going back in until the kids are older. I think you guys and girls are right!

LLLovely, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2008

I don't think he was lying so much as he was saying that OB nursing is probably least likely to put you in a position to deploy. It is certainly not a shield.

I'm not sure what bases are in California, but if it is in your contract, then there is nothing unusual about getting stationed there. The is not a lot of "cool" stuff there that I know of, so I don't think that people who aren't from there are clamoring to go, particularly with the cost of living there.

Perhaps getting back into the Reserves would be your best choice. As an example, there is an Army Reserve CASH unit near where I live. They do deploy, but their mission is actually to backfull Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany when the folks at Landstuhl deploy to theater. So, even though they leave their families behind, they go to Germany. They have a great time, easy access to communication, and zero danger of IEDs. For a Reserve military gig these days, it is about as sweet as you can get.

There are a lot of options, but you have to ask. If your current health care recruiter is active, ask him to hook you up with a Reserve health care recruiter.

Itshamrtym · Jul 13, 2008

Hello:

Where I live we have a CSH unit based out of Fort Meade, and also a different unit @ Walter Reed. Would one get the choice of which one to join?? Thanks..

uneek1486 · Aug 1, 2008

I am seriously considering joining the airforce as a nurse after I graduate with my BSN December 2008 and pass my boards. I've heard conflicting stories about the experiences of airforce nurses experiences from other people word of mouth...(one hand, poor conditions of nursing facilities in Iraq, descrepancies in the salary actually paid vs the salary promised, drastic shortstaffing, locked into contract for life. etc), then I hear the good side that the recruiter is saying about all the benefits and what not. I also spoke to a few retired nurses who said that they loved AF nursing, but they've also been in the AF for many years and we're in a different time now. So is there anyone who is an air force nurse now, during the current wartime, who can share the REAL DEAL experience to help me with my decision..? Also, not that I would mind getting deployed to Iraq, but what area in nursing is less likely to do so? And what are the questions that are important to ask the recruiter? I just want to be well informed so that I can make the right decision, plus I don't want to get BSed by my recruiter, cuz I've heard what liars they can be. Thanks for your help, sorry for the long autobiography...