Nursing at Ft. Gordon

Hey,

I live here in Augusta. Fort Gordon is great IF you ask me, but I don't have many other Army hospitals to compare to. Augusta is big enough to have lots to do, but small enough to not hate your life! You can easily get to Columbia w/in an hour and ATL w/in 3. Summers are VERY hot, but honestly people either stay inside, or find ways to enjoy it despite the heat. Honestly I don't even notice it any more. Winters are usually mild with temps in the 30s during the day at the coldest part of the year. Fort Gordon itself is very large and only getting large. It is host to some MAJOR commands to include: Eisenhower Hospital (referred to as "dee-dee-Mac" for an acronym), NIOC (Navy Intel w/NSA attached, and Marines and Air Force to augment), Signal school for all four branches, amongst many others. I think it's a great base, great town, great atmosphere. Want to know more, just write some specifics!

Merryfont,

how is your rank recalculated after graduating FNEP? I'm talking year group placement. I am a captain and will have about 7 years of commissioned service in my current branch after graduating a 2-yr BSN program and going to Nurse Corps. (Btw, I was formerly in the Signal branch and took my OBC and S-6 course at Gordon. It's nice. I like Savannah better (that's where I am now), but I can't complain. I'm a big city guy and hope to nab DC or San Antonio on my next PCS, but Augusta was okay. You could do MUCH worse. Ever heard of Fort Lost in the Woods?)

(Btw, I was formerly in the Signal branch and took my OBC and S-6 course at Gordon. It's nice. I like Savannah better (that's where I am now), but I can't complain. I'm a big city guy and hope to nab DC or San Antonio on my next PCS, but Augusta was okay. You could do MUCH worse. Ever heard of Fort Lost in the Woods?)

JulesQ--

I will PCS to Ft. Stewart(plan to live in Richmond Hill) sometime in June if all goes as planned/told. How long have you been in the area? How do you like AASU?, my husband is looking into their Engineering program. Anything you can share about the area/school please do, or PM me. Thanks.

hopeful_army_NP,

sounds great! I will be in the area until JAN 2011 or so. I have been in Savannah since JUL 2004, although I have been on two Iraq deployments and numerous training programs in other locations so even though I've been calling Savannah my home since 2004, I have actually only been home about 2 years altogether! My graduation date from AASU's BSN program is slated for DEC 2010.

I like AASU. I graduated from University of Cincinnati, a MUCH bigger school, so it's like comparing apples to oranges since AASU is only about 7,000 students (UC is about 36,000 students and rising every year), but AASU has a small, beautiful campus, a good weight and aerobics gym, the standard things you would expect of a small school, and Savannah itself is a quaint, picturesque city.

To be honest, AASU is the only real school in Savannah in terms of being a multi-racial, multi-discipline, graduate degree conferring school. Savannah State University is a historical black college. SCAD is a private art school. Georgia South is a private, (and very expensive) small university with no campus to speak of. (Although Georgia South does offer the only PA program in Savannah, and even an Anesthesiologist Assistant program, only 1 of 5 in the entire country).

Your only other option would be Georgia Southern, in Statesboro, which is about an hour's drive away from Savannah, or Ft Stewart. Georgia Southern (with about 20,000 students) is a MUCH bigger school than Savannah and offers more degrees and has more research grants, but you'll have an extra 40 min of drive time.

You didn't say whether your husband is pursuing his bachelors or master's in engineering. With a bachelor's, he should be fine at AASU (it's affiliated with Georgia Tech, a top 10 engineering school.) If he is pursuing a master's in engineering he will have to go to Georgia Southern (which is a mediocre engineering school), since AASU does not offer a graduate engineering degree program.

Merryfont,

how is your rank recalculated after graduating FNEP? I'm talking year group placement. I am a captain and will have about 7 years of commissioned service in my current branch after graduating a 2-yr BSN program and going to Nurse Corps. (Btw, I was formerly in the Signal branch and took my OBC and S-6 course at Gordon. It's nice. I like Savannah better (that's where I am now), but I can't complain. I'm a big city guy and hope to nab DC or San Antonio on my next PCS, but Augusta was okay. You could do MUCH worse. Ever heard of Fort Lost in the Woods?)

Wow, you sound just like me. And I am trying to do the same thing!

To the OP I live in the Augusta area (Columbia County) and I HATE it! I am originally a small town midwesterner who most recently lived in a large city after 5 years on active duty in various places. Fort Gordon itself is a pretty small post, mostly training with a few regular Signal units. There is a typical training area, ranges, etc. There is a small commissary and PX. I am not that familiar with Eisenhower myself but have heard mixed reviews from others. I was at Fort Gordon for OBC years ago and the Augusta area has grown by leaps and bounds since then. But it is very small town-ish, for lack of a better word. Racism is a huge problem, schools are alternately very good or very bad, shopping is very limited, and there isn't much to do other than go to movies. There aren't a lot of parks, no real running trails I have found, not much outdoorsy activity or indoorsy stuff for that matter. There are a few good local restaurants, other than that typical chains. I would never choose to live here and we will be leaving as soon as my husband's job allows a transfer. I spent a year in Korea (Camp Casey) and would rather be living there than here if that gives you an idea. And I have generally been content most places I have lived, so I am not that picky (Fort Drum, NY for one!).

Sorry to be so negative but that is my real and true .02. Feel free to ask me any specific questions you have.

I have to agree with ceg. I was obly at Gordon for 3 weeks last summer for a nurse internship through ROTC and I hated it. I was at Eisenhower on their MEDSURG floor and I was not impressed at all. I would never volunteer to go to Gordon, ever! I am at FT Hood, another place many people dislike but it's really what you make of it. Most of the patient population that I saw at Gordon on the Medsurg floor were retirees, which is fine but you end up seeing the same thing over and over. I would consider a larger post if I were you. But honestly, no matter where you're stationed you either love it or hate it based on if you're finding fun things to do.

Question about civilian nursing at Fort Gordon. I saw that they will be having a nursing job fair in April and am interested in attending. I quit nursing 14 years ago to be a stay-at-home mom and did a RN refresher course last summer to get back into it. I completed the course and did a short job giving the H1N1 vaccines to the community. Not exactly a high-acuity job compared to my history of being an ICU nurse in the 1990's, yet it worked with me having female surgery last winter and not being able to lift or be on my feet much at the time. Yet, now I want to get back into the hospital...are the civilian nurses at Fort Gordon given much of an orientation, or are they expected to "fly'' upon arrival like a traveling nurse? Any information would be appreciated - Thanks!