ugaRN

Hey all, I am set to inprocess this weekend at my Air Force Reserve base and to be honest, I am a bit nervous. Sidenote: I was selected O-1 for Flight Nurse position. I know it is not a big deal but I am non-prior so its all so new to me. Just wanted to make a post to see if anybody had any hints, suggestions, or comments in general to help me. I attempted to get my ABU's and other uniforms 2 weeks ago with someone from unit but they were out of so much stuff that I was unable to get even a full set so I will be wearing my civilian clothing and wanted some input on what to wear (was thinking khaki pants and black shirt but maybe black pants and white shirt) - Not that it really matters but still wanted to know.... Also, I am female and so should I already wear my hair back in a bun? I know how to look professional but trying not to stick out like a sore thumb Any advice would be great. I am very excited to do the paperwork, meet some people, get my military ID (makes it official huh, HA ), and finish up some of the uniform items. I am ready to know what the hell is going on...... Thanks for anything, hope to be at COT sometime this late fall!!

I am newly sworn in as an AFR flight nurse and like she said, there is what they call RCOT for reserves but it is very hard to get into. First one for this year was April and the next one is not until December. I was told that although nurses in the reserves do sometimes get this slot, it is mainly for JAG and MD's. Given that it is even more difficult for them to take that much time away from civilian position. I would "plan" in your head that you will be attending the regular COT and not rely on that IF I were you. I am currently awaiting a date for COT as I will be inprocessing on base in July. FYI: Just a note on the length.....It took me a year from initial interview on base to getting sworn in. Had my interview in May 08 and Sworn in beg of June 09 if that help ya at all. According to the blogs I read during my process, a year was about average. Hope that helped.

BTW - does anyone know any information on seasonal training for reserves (i.e 270 day military leave from my hospital to work on base when not in trainings) Essentially it is "active status" for that time period. Rather than going back and forth to my civilian job between trainings. ANY information on expereinces, pay, etc would be greatly appreciated. I am awaiting to hear back from my squadron on this but almost 99% sure that I am going to go this route but there is not a lot of information at all out there on it. Thanks so much in advance.

The RCOT (for Reserves) is 2 weeks but usually only offered once a year rather than 7-9 classes a year for COT. For example, I have missued the RCOT for this year since I just got accepted and it begins the end of April so I will more than likely attend the full COT sometime this year. Dont know when yet. Hope this helps.

For others considering it, there are so many factors and "desks" you packet and stuff crosses over that it takes time. Plus the class III flight physical and if any waivers needed are time consuming to get all put together. I think a year is a "standard" time you can expect. JManRN prob had a little quicker response since he was a prior AD. The only thing I can say is that it is a LITTLE positive for you and for the AF since it gives you plenty of time to know what you want and it shows determination if you continue to pursue your dreams

Congrats JmanRN!! If you are half as excited as I am then you are in a pretty good spot I talked to my squadron yesterday and plan on being sworn in about 2 weeks and start in processing in June. I am probably taking a leave of absence from my hospital and doing the seasonal training so still guessing on starting all this June or beg of July. Who knows about COT and future trainings. Maybe we will be there together! You never know. Congrats again and best of luck to you! Britt

I was reading some of your old posts and the same happened to me. Dobbins was the closest (I actually live only 20 min away from the base so that is amazing) and had a possible opening. So I went for it there. Hope it all works out. I am very excited and ready to get the ball rolling...... Keep us posted on your status.....

My initial interview at the squadron was last May and then flight phsical was in June so about a year. Good luck to you! I will be based out of Dobbins ARB in GA. What about you?

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share some good news......I just found out this week that I am now an Air Force Reserve Flight Nurse!!!!! I am so excited and anyone who has advice, I will take it. I will probably be sworn in under oath in 2-3 weeks. Brittany

Thank you Suds1228 for all the info - im kind of pressing myself onto this thread as well. Talked to me new recruiter today and said he is going to try to get my packet up to his boss by the end of next week to get this next part handled so Im excited and nervous all at the same time. Do you know anything or have any opinions on Maxwell or Dobbins ARB's? Any advice or words of wisdom would be much appreciated at this point. I am open to hearing the good, bad, and sometimes ugly in order to be prepared. Although I have done a lot of research up to this point and know what I am getting into I just feel BLIND AS A BAT when it comes to the actual process and 'military way' as I have no prior service. Thanks again for your previous threads! Britt

Hello LBB15 - I am also in the process of joining the USAFR as a flight nurse and have gone through the same thing as you - I have gone through a number of stages wondering what is going on. My process has been a long one but here is a very quick overview of what I have gone through April 2008 - Contact with USAFR healthcare recruiter and intial paperwork started May 2008 - Visit to base and squadron and interview with Lt. Col and another person (they were impressed and said they "wanted me") ..... recrutier started to set up date for physical June 2008 - flight physical completeted but needed to wait on some Ob-GYN results that will be in July at my own MD July (end) 2008 - Test completed and results recieved and faxed over to flight med August 2008 - no word on anything and could not get any answers Aug or Sept 2008 - new recruiter assigned now Sept (beg) 2008 - told my packet was being sent to SG waiting....... Oct 2008 - call recevied that flight med was waiting on one more piece of info from me (needed another spinal xray on my own dime) but I was never told about so I was just waiting Oct 2008 - did the test and faxed over results to flight med Nov 2008 - called to check on my paperwork to make sure and they tell me that they have everything and it will be sent to MAJCOM (higher power) soon Dec 2008 - I actually got an email from a SSgt at base that my packet is sent with 1 waiver to MAJCOM waiting....... Jan 23 2009 (just last Friday) - got an email from SSgt at flight med that my physical and waiver were APPROVED!!!! YAY!!!!! ok, so now what......I have no idea. I contacted my recruiter (who I have not spoken with in about 4-5 months - all contact the past few months has been with flight med and handled myself) ..... Have not heard from yet but hoping he will call me back on monday to see what happens next and get the ball rolling. Im excited but hope it all still works out well. Good luck and I hope this helps you or at least makes you feel less stressed realted to the delay in anything. What AES are you intending to join?

cdr1882 - Thank you for that post. I am a Pediatric Neuro/Neuro-Surgery Nurse in Atlanta who has been in the process of joining for what seems like an eternity right now in my head. I had my initial stuff all done in May and Squadron interview at Dobbins ARB in May which went great and then Flight Physcial in June and have been going back and forth on the medical side since then but hoping to hear soon. (would have preferred Charleston ot Montgomery but how could I when Dobbins is 25 min from house?) I am at the point where I am getting nervous, antsy, and patience is declining and I really needed that post to give me positives again and "remind" me why I have and still want it so bad. Thank you again. Hoping to hear some good news soon so I can take the last step and send in my entire packet! Britt Also, if you have any further advice I would love to hear it. Assuming this all goes that way I hope it to - any advice on preparing for COT, flight school, SERE (we have to do full course now of both COT and SERE)? Glad you had such a great experience!

Thank you for that link....I appreciate it Def will help.... Hope someone else can help me!

Hello all - I have posted on here before in the previous months inquiring about possibly joining. Well, as I had posted previously I had made the decision to sign up as a hopeful to join the Air Force Reserves as a flight RN with the Aeromedical Evacuation Unit. I am very excited and anxiously awaiting as I know everyone does. SO- what I am wondering about today is if there is anyone who can give me their scenario as to how long the process took and any other advice.... To give you a quick update/background - 1)I had my flight squadron interview back in May which went well and they were ready to start the process 2) In June I had my Class III flight physical and that seemed to all go well but it was pending one result that I was to get a pap on July 22 3) July 22 came and the test result was in my favor so that was sent to flight medicine 4) Basically 1st of Aug my "packet" was sent off to the higher powers 5)I was alerted in the first week of September that 'they' wanted more paperwork and letters from docs to back up previous 'problems' (but I was not told it was an actual waiver but I am not for sure) 6) I got the paperwork and sent it back to my recruiter and thus flight medicine on the 17th of September..... So I am just wondering what happens from here and what I can expect. In addition, I have been told I have a new recruiter as well so that has made things sort of confusing....they have almost all the documentation they would need and all the info to do the actual "application" and security clearance. I am just wondering if that is then sent off AFTER the flight physical is cleared and how does that all work out? Can I expect a few months again to hear back on that? Is there anything else I should be doing or anything I can do to speed up the process? P.S. - What board does mine actaully go in front of. I have been on www.airforceots.com (which is a great website) but all the acronyms have just confused me SO Much....I am non-military so they mean nothing to me yet Ha Also, since I am already carrying on and on - If I am accepted, I have a decision to make as to whether or not I want to continue my civilian job in between training or to take a leave of absence and take active orders at my ARB in order to complete training a little faster hopefully and work on base in between doing something. Any advice there??? Thanks so much in advance and sorry for making this such a long post. I am actually at my hospital right now waiting to get off and had a few minutes of down time (that's cherished as we all know - ha) :) Hope everyone has a great day!

THANK YOU!! Everyone wish me luck....I am starting the initial paperwork with the USAF reserves. Sending it to my recruiter tomorrow. I have decided that it is the right choice for me. I am really excited about it but I just pray that its what they have in mind for me. I really hope it all goes smoothly and I can come on this forum in a year or so and give advice I guess whatever is meant to be will happen but obv I am wanting it to happen. Like I have told others, I need to work on the whole "patience is a virtue" thing since I know this is going to be a long process. Ha. For me, well worth it though if it gets me there in the end. I am like a little giddy school girl that has heart palpitations when a helicopter flys over.(even though I know thats not what I will be on) - Always loved aviation growing up, just never dreamed that this route is what would bring me to it. I even have a pic of 4 C-130's lined up in a row on my desktop. Not jumping the gun I hope and getting my hopes up but I think of it like I am just helping myself keep 'my eye on the prize' Supposed to have an interview/meeting next week as well at the reserve base with Capt so if anyone has any advice for that - I am MORE than willing to take it. Or any other tidbits of info for that matter... Hope everyone has a great week!

Thank you both....and I am sorry JDCitizen for kind of "taking over" your post.....reading back through I kind of realized that. Thanks for this info. I have been led to believe the same thing....I never had a PMD per-say and really dont have that many medical records so I dont know "what" I will give them really.

Thanks so much.....what is the difference bw the MEPS and Flight Physical other than being seen by two diff docs? Do I have to sumbit two different sets of paperwork or does the flight physical look into past medical records? (and if so, more in-depth) Do they happen around the same time? Can they see if you ever had an inpatient admission for depression/abuse when I went to receive some help? (in my case some teenage issues that happened 7 years ago for depression) I have continued on to get 2 college degrees and work as a nurse now so obv not anything that has 'disabled' me from living my life. I am just wondering what I background check all entails. Again, please do not think that I am wanting to get away with anything - integrity first as an officer - just more curious at this point since this concern of mine has raised many questions. Thanks so much.

I am not sure about anything as far as an answer to your Q but I wanted to add to it....I am looking into going USAF reserves as a flight nurse. I am starting to get my packet together now.... Anyways, I have heard multiple different things about the medical background check and MEPS. (to be honest, including not to disclose some stuff which I am not really willing to do since I would never want to get kicked out later for something like that, not really worth it plus I dont want to go in under false info) I have read up on some things but am wondering what the process is like. I have been upfront with my recruiter but I am just wondering if anyone has any experiences with this and what I should expect? Do they check all your medical records?? What is the security clearance of a reserve flight nurse since I have heard that 'this' is what determines how in-depth your "medical and background check" are....and how is that even possible to check all that. Ha. Thanks in advance. I am kind of scared of being DQ's for a medical struggle with depression back many years ago. I would not even know where to go to get those records at this point now....any help on what to do/expect is appreciated.

Hey guys! Are you or anyone you know at the Dobbins Air Force Reserve Base in Atlanta? I was (and still am) interested in the AF in general but I have recently REALLY become interested in the AFR....I have through the internet given my contact information for a healthcare recruiter to call me but have not heard anything yet. I know everything is a slower process but I am anxious to talk to someone and find out about my options. If this is something for me, and they would accept me, it is something I really would like to get started. I also was wondering about any opinions anyone might have about reserve and more specifically - Dobbins AFR Base. Thanks so much. All input and help is appreciated. Hope everyone has a great day!

FlyingED - Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I really appreciate it. If you flew that much (which I dont mind) how did you work another job? Did you do PT at another position (that is what I am concerned about) - I dont mind working PT and doing reserve as long as I do not really suffer financially, ya know. Dobbins flys C130s - or I could go to motgomery, AL and do c-17s (that is about 2.5 hours away but more than likely Dobbins would be better, esp if we fly that much) I would love if you could put me in contact with the PICU nurse. Feel free to PM me for email- if they feel more comfortable contacting me. Either way is fine. I would greatly appreciate their input and guidance. So did you join reserve or active duty? I was confused as to the path you took..... do you think it is better to be a reservist or for me just to commission in active duty - that is what my decision is coming down to, although I am really leaning toward reserve. Do you know anything about them paying for a masters? Although I dont know when I would have the time. Ha. Thats funny that you sent me those links, I actually looked at those last night.... Lastly, do you think I should just contact the Senior ART before I hear from a recruiter? I am waiting for a call back..... Thanks so much again and good luck in school!

Hey guys! I am posting this in more than one location in hopes of getting a wide variety of responses. I am currently a Pediatric nurse in Atl, GA (work on a neuro, neurosurgery floor although planning on going to go ICU soon if I dont go into the AF) I have a BSN and a prev degree as well. I have almost a year experience so not too much...I have been more interested recently in the reserve rather than AF nursing - had a few questions if someone can answer. I am really interested in becoming a flight nurse and have heard that you can go straight into in the reserve rather than just reg branch, is this true? 1) Do you think I would be accepted as a ped nurse? 2) what are the commitments like? 3) I know it is part time but what is the normal schedule like, as well as the pay? 4) I want to keep my civilian job, is this possible with training as well later commitments? Do most do FT or PT at their current job (other than when training of course)? 5) what is the normal training and later, job, like? 6) Does anyone know if the AF reserve base in GA (Dobbins AFB) is any "good"? ANY input/opinions are GREATLY apprceciated. I am serious about the decisions I am wanting to make a decision in the next 2 months and really am interested. Thanks so much in advance. Have a great day....

Hey guys! I know this an older post but thought I could post on here rather than making a new one. I am currently a Pediatric nurse in Atl, GA (work on a neuro, neurosurgery floor although planning on going to go ICU soon if I dont go into the AF) I have a BSN and a prev degree as well. I have almost a year experience so not too much...I have been more interested recently in the reserve rather than AF nursing - had a few questions if someone can answer. I am really interested in becoming a flight nurse and have heard that you can go straight into in the reserve rather than just reg branch, is this true? 1) Do you think I would be accepted as a ped nurse? 2) what are the commitments like? 3) I know it is part time but what is the normal schedule like, as well as the pay? 4) I want to keep my civilian job, is this possible with training as well later commitments? 5) what is the normal training and later, job, like? 6) Does anyone know if the AF reserve base in GA (Dobbins AFB) any "good"? ANY input/opinions are GREATLY apprceciated. I am serious about the decisions I am wanting to make in the next 2 months and really am interested. Thanks so much in advance. Have a great day....

Thank you so much for your response....yes, they fly the c130's here in GA....I would either go to Dobbins here in GA or Maxwell in AL (ony 2.5-3 hr drive from home) What do you mean by non-current? Sorry, I have no prev military experience nor does anyone in my immediate family so I am a little naive when it comes to some stuff....hence why I want to make sure I get all the facts. That was a big concern of mine was if my current job had to let me "go" go training or if it was just for deployment...thanks for that. Did you work FT or PT at your civilian job? That would be hard to leave a baby - right now I am 25, single, and unattached so I fig now is the time..... Do you know anything about the current pay/month or bonuses by any chance - just fig I would ask but am awaiting return call from recruiter. Lastly, do you know anything about them paying for me to return to school at all for a Masters? Again, thanks so much! Overall, did you enjoy what you did as flight nurse? It is something that I am really interested in and keep revisiting over and over again in the past 6 months so it is not something I am rushing into. It really does excite me when I think about it. I just hope that I have not limited myself in following my path into Pediatrics - something that I do love. Have a great weeknd and Happy Mothers Day (I guess your lil' baby is not so young anymore huh)

Hey guys! I know this an older post but thought I could post on here rather than making a new one. I am currently a Pediatric nurse in Atl, GA (work on a neuro, neurosurgery floor although planning on going to go ICU soon if I dont go into the AF) I have a BSN and a prev degree as well. I have almost a year experience so not too much...I have been more interested recently in the reserve rather than AF nursing - had a few questions if someone can answer. I am really interested in becoming a flight nurse and have heard that you can go straight into in the reserve rather than just reg branch, is this true? 1) Do you think I would be accepted as a ped nurse? 2) what are the commitments like? 3) I know it is part time but what is the normal schedule like, as well as the pay? 4) I want to keep my civilian job, is this possible with training as well later commitments? 5) what is the normal training and later, job, like? 6) Does anyone know if the AF reserve base in GA (Dobbins AFB) any "good"? ANY input/opinions are GREATLY apprceciated. I am serious about the decisions I am wanting to make in the next 2 months and really am interested. Thanks so much in advance. Have a great day....

Hey guys! I am a RN-BSN who graduated last July (cant believe its almost been a year) and I work in Pediatrics. I have been going back and forth for months on joining (navy is also something I have been considering for the past month) and I am not totally against going to Adults if thats what I have to do but I would like to go into ICU either way to get the experience (flight nursing still really excites me when I think about it I was wondering if you guys were told WHICH bases had the larger facilities (ICU's)? I have been trying to get that answer for some time now.... not that thats all that matters but at this point a good portion of my decision is based on location (had to come to it somehow) I will have basically a year experience or a little more by the time I would be joining so do you think I will do NTP?? (not against it cause I am all about learning more - and over again since we all know we lose a portion of what we were taught in school if we dont use it) I will be anxious to hear all your opinions once you get through COT and begin as well so please dont disappear after. Congrats to all who have recently joined and thanks so all in advance for you opnions/responses!!