One year later... (AF nursing)

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Greetings, all!

Haven't been on here in ages, but I thought I'd offer the advice and experience I wish I had before I commissioned into the USAF last year. I'm a mental health nurse with almost five years of experience, commissioned Dec 2011, stationed at Travis AFB (home of the largest Air Force hospital, David Grant Medical Center).

If anyone has any questions, ask away! Or PM me!

I'm so glad that I found your post! It has helped answer many of my questions. I'm a Mental Health Nurse who is trying to enlist ASAP. My recruiter is trying to get me in for October COT. I'd love to talk with you further. My recruiter told me that there is still a high demand for MH Nurses. After reading your comments, do you think there will continue to be a high need for AF MH Nurses? Also, I saw where CA & TX were my only options for bases. Either is fine, but my recruiter mentioned Keesler & Eglin. Are these options? I have too many questions to ask to post them all here. I look forward to talking to you soon!

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I have a thread that I created under the title " Air Force Mental Health Nurse Questions" posted Feb. 28th, 2012. That thread has some more questions I asked. Thanks!

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Specializes in mental health, military nursing.

Feel free to PM me, I'd be glad to answer your questions :-) As for Keesler and Elgin, no, there are no MH nursing jobs. A lot of recruiters seem to confuse MH RNs with MH NPs or techs, who go pretty much anywhere.

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This thread has really helped a lot. I've been curious, but didn't really know what questions to ask. So, thanks!!

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Unfortunately, I have to post 15 quality topics before it will let me use the PM function on this site. So, I'll try to meet that goal quickly. Looks like it will be Lackland or Travis for me. I'd prefer Travis but Lackland would be ok. Also, I see where Elmendorf may be an option soon. Will they pretty much put me where there is an opening rather than my preference? Also, does it look like there will still be a high demand for MH nurses in the future? I hope to do MEPS by July and COT by October. Is it realisitc to get in that fast? Thanks!

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Specializes in Psych.

The Air Force tries to accomadate the prefrance but it all comes down to the needs of the Air Force. As with getting into COT by October, when is your selection board meeting? It all pivits from the time you are selected, from that point it can take up to 3 months to be approved by congress. I was selected early Febuary, found out late Febuary and my COT is scheduled for May 29th. This is considered a tight schedual considering I can not get orders untill I am commissioned. Good luck.

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Thanks for responding RN4Life2! I graduate in July with my BSN, so my recruiter told me to have my paperwork submitted and be ready for MEPS when I graduate. I have 14 years nursing experience with the last two years being in MH. I love psychiatric nursing and only want to practice in MH the rest of my career. I REALLY want to get into the AF! It is encouraging to see that it only took you three months to get approved. I guess that is why my recruiter said he was shooting for October. So, I'm in the early stages of the process. What is the selection board meeting? What kind of nursing experience did you have before going back into the AF? Will only having two years psych experience affect wether or not they will accept me. I really would like to know what to expect and what I need to do to get in. I would GREATLY appreciate any advice you could give me! Congratulations on being selected and getting to Travis. I hope that I can get in soon and see you there. Thanks again!

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Specializes in Psych.

The selection board is a panel that meets once a quarter. There is a cut off time for submissions, mine was the 4th of January and the board will start selection about a month latter, mine was around February 7th. The release date will be the end of the month. After notification it can take up to 3 months to get a commission in which no orders can be cut until commissioned. Another variable is when the next COT opening is, which can fill quickly. Find out when the cut of date is for the next selection board, this will be your first goal and will give you a time line.

I was able to get into COT the end of May which is highly unusual being this is rushed. I run the risk of getting my commission the beginning of May and the orders can take several weeks to cut. All in all I started this process in Oct. It took me 5 months to get selected and another three for COT. Worth noting, one of the selection boards is in October. I would venture to say the next selection board is in July but you will have to check with your recruiter.

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That helps a lot! I will talk to my recruiter and find out when the next selection board cut off time starts. Also, I'll find out when the next COT date will be. I believe he said it was in October. I had a couple of other questions on my post I'd like to have answered. I would appreciate any information you could give me. Thanks!

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Specializes in Psych.

Your recruiter will not know when the next open COT is. When you fill out your packet you will need to put when you will be available for COT then it will only be a consideration.

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Thank you! So, I should just put down the earliest date possible on my packet? Also, how difficult is the paperwork to fill out? My recruiter said to notify him before I filled out anything so that he could explain each form. Is there anything to I need to consider when filling out my forms? Thanks for helping me through this process!

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Specializes in Psych.

I can only relay what I have done with my recruiter. I would recommend following his/her directions and pay attention to details. Good luck.

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