Nursing in the Airforce

Trauma Columnist · Sep 17, 2016

Moved to military nursing

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Sep 17, 2016

Yes, you move a lot: at least every 4 years...sometimes more. As an active duty AF nurse, you'll probably never be stationed at Luke AFB (the only real option I know of in AZ); that's a super small clinic. I would advise you look at the AF Reserves only. You never move, it's part time, and you deploy to augment the active duty force. You sound like someone who would be miserable in the Active Duty Air Force.

dingus · Sep 18, 2016

Not in, but sorta in the same situation of wanting to get out, see more, and do more. Only difference, don't care where I go as long as I get out of Los Angeles.

From my limited knowledge it's extremely competitive to get picked up for nursing while you're serving as an enlisted, and you'll have to have been in a few years before you can even be eligible for that benefit (regardless of prerequisites you have out of the way. ) All nurses currently commissioning are Bachelor degree or higher, an ADN RN it doesn't mean much. The advice from a majority of the nurses who are already in and have been around is get the BSN out of the way with the best GPA possible, then go from there, or go ROTC while you are going through school and you are looking to get college paid for.

Once again from limited knowledge from following different threads and blogs, the shortest deployment for active duty nurses is 6 months with possibility of extensions, sometimes volunteered ... sometimes voluntold ( according to an enlisted friend who has been kept in Osan longer than they want to remember, it happens if there's mess up in paper work or they need you.)

Moving part, PCS I only know from the perspective of my friend who in Security Forces but she says if you are active duty and single it can be anywhere as frequent as two years to as long as four years. Four being long, but that might just be her Mos. Also they put you where they need you the bases of preference is taken into consideration but it's not guaranteed.

Umm hope I made sense. There's stuff I don't know about so seeing more info on this would be great.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Sep 20, 2016

I'm prior Security Forces K9. (We don't have MOS's, we have AFSCs - Air Force Specialty Codes). Your friend is enlisted, who operates under a separate set of rules, in a critically manned career field literally on the front lines. I'm not surprised they get held at Osan or involuntarily extended.

Any PCS "mess ups in paperwork" generally have at their source some oversight of the member themselves. I've been in fifteen years. You have to take charge of and manage your own career. When it is the fault of someone in personnel, there are AFIs to correct the issue. There's a problem with people just sitting back and saying "I couldn't do anything" without actually bothering to attempt to do anything. I see it all the time.

There are two bases in Arizona - Luke (Phoenix) and Davis-Monthan (closer to Tuscon). Both are smaller clinics, and you can always request to be sent there. Someone has to be sent there, after all. It amazes me that people say "oh you'll never be stationed at X Base" - well, someone has to be. Bases can be hard to get, but not impossible. As a new grad it is unlikely you'd be sent there, but it's been done. You can always request it as your second assignment.

When filling out a dream sheet, never never NEVER leave them any options. Fill out all seven spaces. Don't give them any room to do their bidding. (They can still do what they want, but take as much control as possible.)

If you want to be an officer, don't enlist. Stay away from shopping mall recruiters. You need a health professions recruiter. You could spend an entire initial enlistment - and likely would - waiting for a commissioning slot. That's great for folks who come in with no idea of what they want to do, but terrible planning for those who already know.

This is minor and a bit petty, but please call my service the Air Force. We've only been known as the Airforce once in our history: when they combined the title for the Women's Airforce Service Pilots to get the acronym WASP. :)

I agree, though - you should look into the Reserves; you don't sound like someone who would enjoy the ops tempo or lifestyle of an active duty member - and that's okay. Without the Reserves I couldn't do my job.