khouse05

I think they meet about once a quarter so about every 3-4 months. But the fiscal year ends in September? I think. So if they have filled all the slots before on the previous boards, you will become an alternate or not be chosen. That is what I have found out. Also it is a long process, especially if you have to get medical waivers. Last year there was a board in October, so I'm not sure if there will be one before the end of the year.

I agree with what is posted before. I heard that you need at least a 3.5 GPA. The process is long so you might as well start working now. I am a fully qualified nurse that applied and it took me a year to go through the process. I have seen quite a few nurses that have joined with one year of experience. I think it is a good idea to get experience first especially if you can get experience in the area you want to work. I didn't know what area I wanted to work in so I worked in civilian med/surg, tele, and ICU. Now I know what I am getting into when I join. Just FYI you have to have one year completed of experience in ICU or ER basically any speciality by the time you submit your application for your boards. So if you want to go in as a clinical nurse (mainly med/surg) then start the process a few months after you start working. But if you want a different speciality you might have to wait. Clinical nurses gives you the most options with base choices and they don't deploy as much.

I asked my recruiter for a timeline and summary of how the process would go. He sent me a summary of the process. This helped to know what I would need to be ready for boards and at least helped if I didn't hear from him for a few weeks.

I was accepted thru the February 2018 boards and I'm going to COT in August. If you are going to try for ICU, you have to have at least 1 year of experience in ICU. Just FYI it is difficult because you are going against all other nurses with ICU experience. The recruiting process is long especially if you have to get referrals for physical conditions. Some people had to travel hours to other cities to see the referral physician and then they still didn't take them. My process took from July-February to get accepted and I'm leaving for COT in August. So it will take a while. Some people do get in faster though.

Yeah. The healthcare recruiters cover a lot of area and have a lot of applications to go thru. But my recruiter was good about either texting me back or calling me back. I would call or text them if I had a question. I like to know what is going on so when I fi st started I asked if I could get an overview of the process and how long it might take. My recruiter emailed me a checklist and went over a vague timeline of what happens. I would just ask and see if your recruiter could explain the process a little better. It is a slow process up to a year or more sometimes. But most of the time it is hurry up and fill this paperwork out and now wait a few weeks to do the next thing.

Do you know if there is a Facebook group or any other people going?

I applied Mid-February and heard by the beginning of March.

I'm going to August COT. Did you make it?

I applied also and my recruiter said you can use 3-5 letters. I don't know why they won't let you submit 5.

For every 2 years of experience in the civilian world, it counts as 1 year of military service.

Not sure if you found out already. The board meets once a quarter so the next board is in February 2018.