Dustystar

Thank you everyone for your responses! RayRN87, does your civilian employer schedule you on the weekday instead of your weekend, thereby giving you your full time hours for the week?

Hello, I am considering joining the Army nurse reserves. Can anyone elaborate on their experience with the reserves? I am speaking to a recruiter but I would like first hand information on it as well. I have seven years of civilian med/surg experience. I am a single female in my early 30's with no kids. A few questions that I have: 1. If you work every other weekend at your regular job, and you drill one weekend a month, does that mean you only have one weekend free per month? 2. Do you plan to stick with it for 20+ years? 3. Did you have difficulty transitioning back to your civilian job after returning from deployment? 4. Anyone have any regrets on joining? Anyone here love the reserves and would stay in it for as long as they can? 5. During drill weekends, are you working as a nurse or attending classes moreso? 6. I've never lived far away from my family. Being in the reserves would keep me close to them, but during deployment I am a little bit afraid of the homesickness aspect. Anyone want to share on their experience with that? 7. Is passing the GI bill along to your kids/future kids an option? 8. Does drill weekend pay cause any financial hardship for you? I live in a state with a very high cost of living, and minusing one weekend a month of my civilian pay would make things slightly more difficult for me. 9. For the single people, who handles your finances/bills when you're on deployment? Do you rent out your home during that time? Or you just find a family member/friend to handle it for you? I don't want to burden anyone with those kinds of things. I guess I could find a property manager temporarily if I need to? 10. For the ladies, did you take birth control during deployment to prevent your period? Or did you just deal with it? Any other tidbits you could share with me would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time.