L&D nurse trying to commission into Air Force - advice appreciated!!

[obnurse406]

A little background about me: I am a nurse with 5 years of experience on an LDRP unit that does about 1500 deliveries per year. I have also been a member of my hospital's perinatal flight team for the last 2 years, transporting high-risk patients from surrounding areas. I have NCC certifications in Inpatient Obstetrics and Electronic Fetal Monitoring. I have frequently considered joining the military, and have finally decided now is the time to pursue it.

I am 27 years old, single, and in decent physical shape.

Here's where things get interesting: I had a large meningioma, which caused permanent anosmia (I don't have a sense of smell) and I had a craniotomy in 2017.

My finances weren't the best after my surgery and everything and my credit score isn't the best. I know this is something they consider when commissioning.

I would love input from those with experience joining the military as a nurse! I would be interested to know if you have any idea if I even have a shot at joining, considering my medical and financial history. My recruiter doesn't seem too concerned, but I still am very worried I'm going to get denied, which would be devastating.

I also want to know how difficult /competitive the process is: it seems pretty straightforward, but I keep reading about people who apply multiple times for years before getting in. On that note; if I'm told no, can I keep trying?

At this time my recruiter tells me there are 4 slots available for OB nurses, but 52 for clinical nurses. He gave me the option of trying to join as a clinical nurse to improve my chances of getting in. My ultimate goal is to go back to school for my FNP, so I would be okay with changing specialties, even though I love labor and delivery!

I would love to hear other people's experiences with Air Force nursing in general as well, as far as if you like it, all the pros and cons, if I can expect to be deployed often, what bases are good/bad, etc!

Thanks in advance and thanks for reading this novel!

[jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA]

I would definitely do clinical nurse if I were you. AFIT FNP applicants have to get 1 year of outpatient clinic experience. You might very well start off in an outpatient clinic as a clinical nurse.

You definitely need a medical waiver. I think a medical waiver is possible for the medical stuff as long as you don't have lingering health issues: you take certain medications, frequent migraines, anxiety, depression, etc. I assume you had to have a flight physical for your current job?

The credit score would mainly be an issue for the security clearance. The security clearance people likely want to know if you are able to currently pay your bills and if you currently have a lot of debt. CouId someone successfully blackmail you with your financial situation as leverage? don't think it will impact a ton as long as you get approved for a clearance. I

I think it would be helpful to know what you hope to get out of the military to see if it would line up with your goals. That would determine whether you'll like it.