mistyz23

Though I'm not a nurse, this post pretty much describes what I am going through. Good luck with your transition! Please update later with what your actual difficulties were.

I guess I'm very fortunate to have worked in an environment where my nurses loved me and I loved my nurses! There were a few nurses that I truly did feel were abusing their seniority though (because they were watching movies or playing video games). Luckily I'm not jaded. Thank you for the advice and I will keep it in mind over the months to come. Thanks!

Hello everyone! I'm looking for any advice or info to ensure that I am exceeding expectations at my new job. I am a military corpsman that was just gained at a level 2 trauma ER in a fairly small town. Most of my experience is in MICU, so ER will be a change of pace. I've been wondering if anyone would be willing to give me any pointers or any advice on how to be the best ER tech possible for my nurses and doctors. Thank you! :wink2:

I'm a reservist, so pay is hardly worth your time, if at all. I am waiting on my time in service requirement for staff.

I've done a few! And I'm not even a nurse. @#$@^! (I'm a military med tech waiting to challenge the LVN from military experience.. so far I'm just considered an 'EMT'. @#$.)

My Fiance is a Rad Tech and I am a Nursing student. He says that the comprehension is different because anatomy is used much more than physiology (duh). He said that if you were good at your Anatomy, check it out. You didn't say which course you failed, so I can't really recommend much. Good luck! EDIT: I forgot to mention, that as an X-Ray tech out of school, he got straight into UC Davis Hospital up here (level 1 trauma) and had his pick of 5 different job offers with hefty bonuses. The job security is there, at least it is up here.

Hey! No problem! You must have 12 months of bedside care on a ward through the military. I think it is 51 months of other bedside care in a ward for non-military applicants to challenge it. This is the rule for the California board, and there are a few advisories posted that the challenged license may not be accepted in many sates. But, I will only be in California, so I'm ok with that. :) Hope that helps!

Relax and kick back and wait, thats all you can do now! I have not taken it yet, so no advice from experience to give. :)

Hey! I'm kinda in the same boat. I was going to be an LVN for a while by challenging, and move on to RN in 2 years. However, a new military med tech to RN program opened up, and I would be able to skip all prerequisites (as long as they are done by graduation time I am good). So, that decision was made FOR me.. RN here I come. I am taking the GAP test soon. If you are not sure you can learn in a very quick and effective way for the RN classes you may want to start as an LVN. Not to say the job is easy at all, it is just what I would do had I had no military experience. Hope that helps.

Thank you :) I emailed a few of my friends who have done it and am waiting for replies. I have an annual tour coming up, maybe I could put it in mother baby so I can get some time in on that ward.. Thanks!

I think the major factor in why I would do a separation is that we do not have a family and we're both pretty young still (20's). :)

Do not enlist as a med tech. You will be disappointed. Thats what I am! I loved my job while I worked in the ICU, but that was very short lived. They are very hard to get into! You do not get to choose your area. You could get stuck taking height and weight for the next few years instead. I was painted a far different picture of what my job actually IS from my recruiter. I am a reservist. We do flight physicals every month. Literally, height, weight, hearing tests, eye exams. I was very lucky and got put into immunizations, which is by far the most interesting job that my unit has. I think you would do your training a far better service to work as an LVN on the outside actually making DECENT money, and comission once you have your bachelors. You cannot commission with an associates. The only perks you would get is an extra stripe for being an LVN. Thats what I got. I'm an E-4 now, and only get $175 a weekend when I work. For 2 full days of work. I mean, its not bad, I love being in the Air Force, and I loved being a med tech when I worked in the ICU, but I am currently trying to get in YOUR position now! HA! There is a school called Pacific Union out here in California. It has an LVN to RN program designed for Air Force med techs. You can start without having your prereqs done, and it is designed so that you only meet once a month. It is also an 18 month program, much quicker than others. You will only get an associates, though. There is an accellerated bachelors that they offer in the same format. BUT-- this is a very rare program. The only one I know of, actually. The odds that you will get to a position to get into it and have your commander approve are low. Mine isn't even aproving of it just yet, because it will take away from the mission. I would kill to be in your shoes of fresh out of LVN school. If you DO want to enlist as a med tech, there is a really good program called air evac. It is a subdivision of the med tech program. You go to survival school and you're an LVN on a plane, basically. I wish I had known about that one, too! If you have any questions, I think I can answer them pretty well or find out for you. I don't mean to discourage at all, I just don't want you to make an uniformed decision. :)

Get ready to duck walk and all that fun stuff they have you do at MEPS. I think you would be fine and eligible for a waiver. We have waivers for waivers, you know.

Hello, I'm in the Air Force myself and am getting married in 7 weeks (yay!). I am challenging the LVN soon, and yes, its not the same as classes, but I am in some community college classes to ensure I pass anyway just in case. If I were in your situtation, I wouldn't go. You will be putting your career on the backburner which you might regret it. You can always ask him to do recruiters assistance if he'd be willing to, so he gets a free trip home for a month. I'm very career oriented, and so is he. We wouldn't want to hold eachother back because we know we have many years to come. We love the medical field and wouldn't be happy settling for less. I hope I didn't offend you.

I'm in the Air Force (enlisted, med tech) and know a few enlisted who had waivers for very minor diagnosed asthma.