Military NPs

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Anyone near San Antonio doing their NP? I did a search for schools in the area and will attend one soon if I ever make it to Texas.

I am leaning toward ACNP, but don't think I will get in immediately because of the 2 years exp. requirement... Hmmm.... wonder why FNPs, ANPs, GNPs, PNPs GENERALLY don't need that extra exp :confused: so frustrating for me. Don't want to wait long either... not 2 years.

Anyone know if/of a school that can/will waive the experience requirements for this or doesn't have any exp requirement? I know that's probably rare/impossible as I have found exp reqs to be pretty consistent among different schools with some exceptions.

I'll make some calls to figure this out if no one knows and share what I find out for anyone interested.

http://www.ttuhsc.edu/son/gradprograms/acutecare_adminReqs.aspx

http://nursing.uthscsa.edu/grad/acnp.aspx

Specializes in Anesthesia.
I think you still have to contact that state's BON for permission to practice in a compact state under another compact state's license.

I missed the point in your original post and I apologize.

You don't need to contact the BON of that state to practice in a compact state. I have used my Tx license in Delaware and Ohio. I was also going to use it in Mississippi, but that got put on hold d/t Katrina.

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Specializes in FNP cardiology, ER.
Ok. The reason I am asking is because the woman I spoke with at UTSA's graduate nursing admissions said that I must have a valid Texas license, even though I said I would be active duty Air Force. What you guys are saying makes sense, I know the military doesn't require you to have an endorsement from another state and therefore you can practice in any hospital they have. I wasn't aware that universities/civilian hospitals would be as generous.

It sounds like you are talking about getting your NP of some sort while on AD. If this is the case, you might not be able to do that until you finish your original commitment especially if you are using loan repayment. Don't hold me to this but I don't think they let you do half of your agreement then go to school which will add further years that you owe. I would definitely find out about that. If your overall intention is to become a NP you might want to do that before you go in. As a FNP you are much broader than any other, which will allow you to do just about anything. ACNP generally do all hospital work.....gets very tiring. This is just my two sense as I've been 90% hospital based the past 3 years and am worn out with it. The difference is the acute care is trained to do procedures. Well, in the civilian world if you really want to do procedures the facility will train you. At our place we do a-lines, balloon pumps, temp pacers, swan ganz....if you really want to.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
It sounds like you are talking about getting your NP of some sort while on AD. If this is the case, you might not be able to do that until you finish your original commitment especially if you are using loan repayment. Don't hold me to this but I don't think they let you do half of your agreement then go to school which will add further years that you owe. I would definitely find out about that. If your overall intention is to become a NP you might want to do that before you go in. As a FNP you are much broader than any other, which will allow you to do just about anything. ACNP generally do all hospital work.....gets very tiring. This is just my two sense as I've been 90% hospital based the past 3 years and am worn out with it. The difference is the acute care is trained to do procedures. Well, in the civilian world if you really want to do procedures the facility will train you. At our place we do a-lines, balloon pumps, temp pacers, swan ganz....if you really want to.

You can goto school on your own and get your NP while AD. I have had a couple of co-workers at two different bases that did it. I never seen requirement from AFIT that required you to complete your initial committment before applying for an AFIT slot.

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WTBCRNA is correct. I'll be eligible to apply for AFIT next year - the only requirement is you must have two years on station before you would start school, not before you can apply.

Say you wanted to apply for August of 2012, and you're getting to your base in July 2010. You can apply in the 2011 application round for August 2012, because you would have two years on station by the time you would start school.

I just had a meeting with the Chief RN over here last week for career development and was shown the reg.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
WTBCRNA is correct. I'll be eligible to apply for AFIT next year - the only requirement is you must have two years on station before you would start school, not before you can apply.

Say you wanted to apply for August of 2012, and you're getting to your base in July 2010. You can apply in the 2011 application round for August 2012, because you would have two years on station by the time you would start school.

I just had a meeting with the Chief RN over here last week for career development and was shown the reg.

All caps I feel important now....:lol2:

Which AFIT program speciality are planning on applying for?

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All caps I feel important now....:lol2:

Which AFIT program speciality are planning on applying for?

Don't feel too important - my caps lock stuck. :)

I think (and I don't know if you're asking me or not) I'm going to apply to the FNP program, but I haven't really decided yet. I've still got some time.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
Don't feel too important - my caps lock stuck. :)

I think (and I don't know if you're asking me or not) I'm going to apply to the FNP program, but I haven't really decided yet. I've still got some time.

Yep, I was asking you. The USUHS FNP program is quite rigorous, and you can do an FNP/NP program on your own without the payback committment in about the same amount time without going through AFIT. It is just something to think about...

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Yep, I was asking you. The USUHS FNP program is quite rigorous, and you can do an FNP/NP program on your own without the payback committment in about the same amount time without going through AFIT. It is just something to think about...

Rigorous I'm not worried about - I mean, the civilian programs I've looked at are Vandy and Yale (they do a dual WHNP/FNP), and I survived Duke with an outstanding GPA. What I'm worried about is cash.

Do officers have tuition reimbursement like the enlisteds do? I've never been able to find this out. Because unless I kill someone I'm here until retirement - they're stuck with me - so I'm not really concerned about commitment.

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Specializes in psych/medical-surgical.

I'm not important enough to be asked what program I am probably going to enter, but it is in my original post, lol. I haven't completely decided if I'm joining anyway...

You know about the tuition assistance right? I think this is officer TA:

http://www.militaryta.com/AirForce/index.shtml

Won't cover much if you are looking for a fancy school. All I look at are license pass rates and accreditation.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
Rigorous I'm not worried about - I mean, the civilian programs I've looked at are Vandy and Yale (they do a dual WHNP/FNP), and I survived Duke with an outstanding GPA. What I'm worried about is cash.

Do officers have tuition reimbursement like the enlisteds do? I've never been able to find this out. Because unless I kill someone I'm here until retirement - they're stuck with me - so I'm not really concerned about commitment.

We get TA like the enlisted, and if you are sure you are going to retire then the FNP program at USUHS isn't a bad way to go.

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Specializes in FNP cardiology, ER.
Yep, I was asking you. The USUHS FNP program is quite rigorous, and you can do an FNP/NP program on your own without the payback committment in about the same amount time without going through AFIT. It is just something to think about...

I agree with you on going on your own. If you have to wait two years before starting with AFIT then you could potentially be one year through a NP program. I did my program full-time and it took 5 semesters. The biggest problem is getting your research paper done. A friend of mine worked full-time (three 12hr shifts) and was in the Army Reserve at the time and managed to complete on time. How many nurses apply versus how many are accepted through AFIT? I know the USUHS is planning to graduate 20 FNPs for this year and next. I learned this during my NP interview.

There is definitely a need for FNPs with the new health initiative the surgeon general put into place two years ago. I believe they are trying to get 2 FNP and 1 MD per team to care for 1,500 patients. Over the years this is the plan for most of the bases. I am not sure if they are doing the same thing with the others...PNP, WHNP. One would think.

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I went to Frontier.

I am also an Army FNP.

I will tell you Army FNPs are only for Primary Care.

They don't do ER, ICU, etc.

I will also tell you, a RN will be your boss...

and likely have no idea of what you really do. Which makes it really fun when they rate you.

In other cases I've seen your RN boss will think they could do your job better although they are not providers.

JD

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