Matt C

Thanks for the advice. I enjoy patient care, politics, not as much. Nellis is a base that I like the sound of. Hopefully I have been out of the Army for long enough that I am not overbearing. I was attached to an AF unit for a couple of years and I loved it. I just got off the phone with him. He said that was fine. My account is not letting me send a pm for some reason. Maybe if you could send me one, I could respond to it.

I actually have stayed out of the NG for the past few years to first get clinicals knocked out, then I knew I wanted to go active, so I stayed away from the reserves. I tried to switch branches years ago and basically the Army had no intention of releasing me. I can check with the recruiter to see if that is OK. I am waiting to hear back now. The whole recruiting process with the AF has been a little different. You might want to consider jumping onto a mission to get some active time in. It can be very difficult to get released from one branch and you might have to wait out your contract like I did.

Yes as a med-surge, but I have heard they work in clinics as well. We aren't really bothered with the prospect of moving around. My motivation is to have a place where I can just lock in and move up in instead of using multiple hospital networks against each other just so that my kids can eat something other than "greater value" food. Not doing it necessairly for the money or the benefits. I know that whatever I am signing up for, the government is going to get it back out of me. I like veterans and the community. I like working with them. I like working with people that are motivated and generally career oritented. I like people who make solutions instead of excuses. The benefits do matter. People think "well I see all of these posting for travel positions and they are offering...." A lot of travel nurses get stuck in dirty hospitals out in a high crime areas, dangerous patient loads, no supplies for patient care and they are living in a travel trailer. Then they get a gut punch when they see how much of that check goes to taxes. The military may deploy you, work you brutal hours, put you in bases that aren't ideal, but they don't do that. There are a lot of guys I know who left the military for DynCorp type jobs or the oil field because they saw the money offered, and they now wish they had stayed in. My wife is excited about the prospects of quitting her job and being a mom with a side hustle. The military works with that plan very well. When it comes to goals..... I had several different jobs other than the guard, and I know that life is what happens when you are making other plans. So I am open to management but would probably rather go in the direction of CNS or FNP. I am in my 30s and being hooah is something I already got out of my system. It is not about acuities as much as it is being prepared for those acuities if I need to handle them. It is important for me to have the skills, but I don't always have to be the one directing the code or doing the chest compressions. I like how the military has so many training oppertunities, humanitarian missions, and bases everywhere. All of that to say, I am going for an advanced practioner position. I will work for it but I am not going to throw a fit if I don't get it. I know that the needs of the miltary come before mine and being angry about something I can't control isn't going to make my life better. I saw a lot of guys stall out in their career because they got grumpy when they were overlooked for a position they thought they deserved. And they just quit trying. The reality is that some people "want to be a wound nurse" and then will get really upset when they don't get it. In reality being a wound nurse may sound cool until you have to deal with one case after another of an IVDU with MRSA screaming in pain while you are trying to change a dressing so that their injection sites do not throw them into sepsis. So until I can see what management looks like in the AF vs advanced practioner, it is going to be difficult to say what exactly I am going to do. But I do have a direction I will be working towards on my own time. Thanks for responding BTW!

Hey everyone, I am a PCU/Tele nurse in New Mexico who had several years in the Army National Guard enlisted. I finish my BSN in a few months and I had a recruiter go over my resume and he told me that he could probably get me in with a rolling board. He said there is a huge need right now and my prospects are very good. So at this point, I am just curious, when it comes to getting ready for COT, does anyone have any suggestions? Like what COTSMAN is the most recent one? Is there any study material that people would suggest? And most importantly, does anyone know what hospitals have the most need? It has been impossible finding anything online that talks about hospitals with the most beds and I have heard that a lot of the hospitals from the past are now just superclinics so the openings there are very different than they were a few years ago. I know San Antonio always has needs. Same goes for Mississippi. But does anyone know anything about Nellis in LV? Travis in CA? Langley in Virginia? 366th in Idaho? What are my prospects for getting any of these with two years of civilian experience? What have been your experiences with any of those hospitals? What would you do differently in your Air Force career if you could do it over again? Are you happy you joined the Air Force? Side note, I love my country and miss the people I knew when I was in last time. The culture I saw when I was around the AF years ago was outstanding and I am really excited about the prospects of rejoining. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I'm in a similar situation. I am finishing my BSN and could go into the Navy tomorrow but instead am holding out for the Air Force. There is nothing wrong with the Navy. I was in the Army years ago (enlisted, non medical) and regretted not joining the AF. I like the culture of the Air Force as I worked with many Airmen over the years and found that their leadership had a focus on building up their people. Not saying the Navy does not do this, but the AF made a point to focus on it. I also found some videos on Youtube and basically the sentiment across the board was that a lot of Navy people resent the Air Force because they have a better quality of life overall.