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I am a civilian flight nurse...CCRN, ICU, CCU and trauma ED experience. I am a flight nurse in the AF reserves as well. It is a nice change from my civilian job...but it is not critical care at all. The patients are all stable(ish) and you frequently have heavy patient loads, but the work is very, very rewarding. The above post about CCATT is accurate, they work their tails off. One of the guys I used to fly with civilan side is a CCATT nurse, and they really do run on fumes often times. I elected flight nursing because it's different...they both have very rewarding and demanding aspects to them. If you're looking for something different, they'll both fit the bill. I will often be asked by some of the CCATT teams for a little help when on flights with us because I let them know my background and they know I can be of assistance. Many of the folks in flight nursing are educators, managers, floor nurses in their civilian jobs, so it is a different knowlege base. I don't think you can go wrong with either one. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

I am a flight nurse in the AF. I love it...look up at the tabs, go to specialty, then nursing specialties, there is a government/military forum there where you can get a bunch of answers to your questions!

i hope some of that helps!

Nursing in the AF is like nursing in civilian world...just different. There are hospitals (with med/surg, critical care, OB, pediatrics, ED) there are clinics (labs, physicals, sub-acute care, etc) and there are flight positions (where the RN works with AET's...aeromedical evacuation technicians...to transport patients from anywhere in the world to anywhere else in the world. They do this on several fixed wing airframes including the C-17, C-130, KC-135, C-21, C-5, even KC-10. There is even a civilian fleet of airliners that we are qualified to work on in case of national need). Keep in mind that any of these personnel can be deployed into combat areas (generally in the relative safety of the rear) or to areas of natural or man-made disasters (such as Haiti, New Orleans, etc). Nurses are officers, they are service men and women that provide care to other service members, their families and indigenous personnel wherever and whenever Uncle Sam needs them. Obviously it's more in depth than that...but that's a pretty broad synopsis.

hope some of those answers help you out. larry v is a new nurse in my unit, if he can't answer your questions, shoot me an im when you can or post back here. good luck, my friend! robert

Just some quick, recent, info for you. The AF does have the most flight spots...they are on fixed wing air evac, NOT medivac...there isn't the field type stuff you want as an RN (there is, but it is very small and it takes time and effort to get into those spots). Also, as an active duty AF fligt nurse, you get to fly for one assignment (it's an extra duty assignment), so you would most likely have to work in an MTF (medical treatment facility) first, then get into flight school. There are only 4 active duty AES (air evac squadrons): Kadena, Okinawa, Scott AFB, Pope AFB, and Ramstein, Germany. You get to fly for 3-4 years, then go back to an MTF. Now, if you can get into critical care, you can try to be a CCATT nurse...they are not flight crew. They do not get wings. They can transport up to 5 patients at a time w/ a MD and an RRT as a 3 person team...they are operating from the forward bases all the way back to the states. I honestly don't know what branch would be the best for what you are looking to do, but that is some info on the AF, anyway. Good Luck! R.Hector, Capt, USAF Flight Nurse

We had a FB group before our class (10-03) and it worked out well. A bunch of us met for dinner the night before we had to report, got to know each other a little. Was nice later when they break you into squadrons and you knew people in all of them...added a little sense of comradarie to the competative atmosphere.

Sgt, feel free to use what you need...if it ends up published somewhere, we can talk royalties later, lol.

i fly as a civilian in rotor wing. i fly as an af flight nurse, too. the nursing you will get from your civilian job, not from the af. whatever you do as a civilian will be the nursing base that you have when you transport for uncle sam. there are flight nurses that are administrators, ed nurses, floor nurses, pysch nurses, nursing home nurses, etc. you don't get much actual nursing instruction as a afr or ang nurse...you'll learn some helpful flight physiology stuff in flight school you can apply to civilian flying, but that's about it. the amount of extra "stuff" you have to do for the faa to fly as a civilian is much more than any other nursing specialty i have done (icu, ccu, trauma, ed). the same applies for the af. being a hospital or clinic nurse in the af has many, many fewer requirements than all the "stuff" you have to do to get on flight orders, stay current, etc. not saying it's not worth it, just letting you know that there is a lot of time and energy spent just getting stuff done in both jobs just so you're allowed to flight as a crew member. the patients you carry as an af flight nurse are indeed stable patients...depending on where they are coming from, that label is variable. stable from a fob is much different than stable from ramstein to andrews... 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year is not accurate for the first year at least...after that it depends on your unit and how much you want to fly or spend on missions. any questions feel free to ask here or on pm. good luck with your new addition, new job, tough decisions!

My 2 cents...late though they may be: If you join the military, in any branch, I think you should realize that you are to be an officer first and a nurse second. Not everyone agrees, and that's fine. Having been on the line side of the military (enlisted and infantry), there is a lot to be said about how officers should behave. I don't think anyone should paint a picture of any job that is all sunshine and roses...and if that's the only picture you get from your recruiter (military or civilian) then you should be leary. I have been a nurse in the civilian world in different ICU's, the ED, trauma services and currently to flight and ground critical care transport...there are parts about each and every one of those jobs that suck. Not a little bit, but a lot. But not more than the postitives. I love this job. I love getting people that are knocking on death's door...grim reaper standing in the room...while I work with the MD's and RRT's and everyone else to put the puzzle together to figure out how to stop the disease process and get them back to health. And if that isn't going to happen, then I will be there to translate all the technical mumbo-jumbo for the family, so that they can concentrate on saying good-bye, making peace with their loved one and themselves. What I do in the AF is fly. I'm a flight nurse and I love that job, too. There are parts that drive me to the edge of insanity because they are inefficient, archaic, or downright ridiculous...I have come to the conclussion that military nursing will eventually be paperless...because they have run out of paper, not because they made it computer based! I make more copies of things that I've done because people lose the last copy I gave them over and over. As far as 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year...I haven't seen that yet! I have 2 full time jobs right now! And I wouldn't trade either of them for anything! The patients I carry for Uncle Sam are mostly stable, heading to another hospital or back home for continued inpatient or outpatient care...they are not the sick-sick, critically ill patients that I love taking care of in my civilian job. But every single one of them has EARNED the best care I can give them...they have VOLUNTEERED to serve this amazing country. The first live mission I did we landed at Andrews on our way back from Germany...the men and women I was charged with caring for were Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines coming back from war...some of them were high school students a year ago, with 2 legs and 2 arms. Now they are hardened veterans, with one leg, or none. Being able to tell them "Welcome home" and watching as they teared up was the most satisfying moment in my nursing career. I love this job. There is BS in every job I have ever had...from lifeguarding to Little Caesar's to the Marine Corps to civilian nursing. It doesn't stop in the AF Reserves (or active duty)...but it's worth it to me. Is it worth it to everyone? Of course not! There are at least 2 nurses I work with on a regular basis that are on the fence or pursuing other options now...ready to resign their commissions or at least go into inactive status. To be an officer in the US military is not easy. It is not a right. It isn't even available to most people, even with a degree. It is an honor, a decision that can't be taken lightly. There is more responsibility here, on duty and off, than there is as a civilian nurse. Upon swearing in you outrank the majority of the military...the vast majority. You should be an example every time you leave your house. The right uniform, worn the right way, properly adorned and cared for. Your creases should be perfect, your hair should never be out of regulation, and you should never need an excuse as to why it's not. No junior personnel should ever get in trouble and point to you as the example of why the did or didn't do something. Sometimes it's lonely at the top. Even if your at the low end of that top. It's not for everyone...but if you can love it...it's amazing!

If you have any in depth questions, send them to me by PM. I don't get on here as much as I used to...time is a premium, these days. I am both a civilian and AF flight nurse, so I know what you're going to be doing to get there. Happy to help!

There will be a time at SERE school where you wish you would have done this 15 years ago, lol. I was there... There really isn't an unfair attitude that I noticed. The only rough part can be when you show up as a Capt or Maj and everyone expects you to know what the heck is going on...but you have no clue because the whole thing is new to you. That part can be frustrating. Just make sure to do your homework. There are some great resources available to help you realize what your commitment really means. And I encourage you to learn to become an effective officer sooner rather than later...you already know how to be a nurse. And you won't really get to do much nursing in the flight program unless you are doing a mission anyway.

The 1.5 mile is not really an endurance run...it's almost a sprint. To get better at it, you have to do interval training. At this point it's still doable for Jan, but you'll have to work. Distance running does not really help the mile and a half run time. As far as push ups and sit ups... www.hundredpushups.com is what you need for push ups. There is one for sit ups, too. This program WILL work. Even if you never reach the ultimate goal of the program, it will get you well above passing if not maxed out. The sit ups for score are more about technique than strength or fitness. You have to have your knees bent, your hands across your chest...your elbows have to touch your thigh on ANY POINT between your hips and your knees. When you are doing these for a minute, don't control your decent (burns up ab endurance) and don't come all the way up. Come up high enough to bump your elbows on your legs, drop back down, repeat for 60 sec. Keep in mind the majority of the points come from the run...you will improve your overall score faster by improving your run time. If you don't pass your PT test, they give you another chance. If you don't pass it then, you will have a letter that goes to your command when you leave COT. It doesn't drop you. But you will be on a fitness program when you get where you're going. Help each other! If you get done the run, stay near the track and encourage the other runners! You can't leagally "pace" someone...but you can quasi run with them and encourage them. This is a team. From before you go you need to get that right in your mind. No officer is able to stand alone, and make no mistake that you should be an AF officer first, a specialized professional second. Good luck! Keep working and you will do awesome!

At night you're going to be studying. Or you should be. The full COT class is 4 1/2 weeks...you get all the same information in 1/2 the time. You will have academic and physical tests...both are easy if you stay preparred. Make sure you go down there ready to pass your PT test, there isn't enough time for them to get you to that point. You can get a little better, but that's about it. Plan on 5 or so hours of sleep, and that's if you can study, get your uniform ready for the next day, and then rack out. Encourage each other and support each other the whole time...nobody can be completely successful there if they try to do it alone. They may pass, but that's not the same thing.

Anyone can qualify for GI Bill, because you put some money into it (depending on which version), retirement takes 20 years or X amount of points in the reserves. I don't know that age would keep you from flying as long as you pass the flight physical. And active duty, as long as they give you an age waiver, you should be able to do any nursing job they have. With the amount of experience you have, you're going to have a higher rank, which may keep you away from the bedside, though. Just so you know.

They have a flying reserve unit there in Jersey, too. Look into that. It's reserves, though. If you're looking to go reserves, you don't really HAVE to be local...it just makes drill weekends, etc a little less of a hassle. Don't know how far you are from DC, but they do patient care down there.

A Col that is one of my ER doc's did mine. My parents were there, my wife and some good friends. I am a civilian flight nurse, so I did it in my uniform at the station...he is also our medical director. Nice day. Did lunch after, but essentially short and sweet.

Specialties in the AF Nurse Corps include pediatrics, neonatal, ER, critical care, med surg, flight nursing and psych. I'm sure that there are likely more, but those all come to mind pretty quickly. I think they want you to have a least a year of nursing, but I think that it's a good idea to have it...if they require it or not. Actually, if you have less than a year, I think they just send you to NTP to get your feet wet. It's essentially a long, detailed orientation to AF nursing. If you talk to an Active Duty nursing recruiter, then you'll be active duty. If you talk to a reservist nursing recruiter, you'll be in the reserves. In the reserves, you'll have several months of active duty time for schools, training, and "seasoning"...similar again to an orientation type situation. Is it a good idea? I love it. Is it for everyone? Not by a long shot. I can tell you after 8+ years of nursing, all of it critical care, flight, and ER/trauma, I experienced my most rewarding moment last week bringing home our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines...I can't even put it into words, to be honest. Amazing isn't even close!

Very well put, as usual. I am on one of the AE teams (or Aeromedical Evacuation) and we do still use AOR because it's more all-encompassing. You will also hear OIF and OEF (Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom) used for the areas of Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively. The only line side enlisted in the back of the aircraft, however, are the LM/BO (loadmaster or boom operator) depending on the aircraft you're on. The techs that work with us are AET or Aeromedical Evacuation Techs. They go through essentially the same school we do, at the same time in fact. So we train together and operate together. We are considered aircrew, so we also have to do water survival and SERE school (Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape) which is the same as the pilots, PJ's, combat controllers and other aircrew. When the CCATT teams are on a plane with us, they are listed as MA's (medical attendents) and are not considered aircrew...therefore, they don't have to do the survival schools and such. They do come down to Brooks in TX to train at the same school house, just different curriculum. As active duty, you can only fly for one tour, then you have to go back to an MTF (Medical treatment facility-hospital, clinic, whatever) for another tour. It used to be one tour for your carreer, but they are changing that I hear. If you're CCATT, you are on a team and work as a critical care nurse until it's time to deploy...then you do a mission and come back to your unit.

Keep in mind that the ICU's you will work in here are different than the ICU's in the civilian world. Some of them are quite slow, but that doesn't change your pay. If you get sent home or put on call for a day for a low census (yep, still happens in some places) you don't lose anything. Deployments...depends where you go. If you go to the AOR, you'll be busier than you've ever been. And you'll see things you'll never see in any trauma unit in the country. Is it worth it? That's up to you. Is it worth being part of something bigger than you? Taking care of the men and women that ensure our freedoms and fight for a better way of life for people unable to do it on their own? I think so. If you decide that you want to do more ICU stuff, you can always look into CCATT...you'll really work your tail off then. But that costs you more time away from home. You're right to think it's not a light decision, but if you talk it over with your wife, and she's on board...you can both love it. DO NOT think that she doesn't have as much say as you, though. I've seen this business make the strongest marriages in the world when both parties are excited about it...and I've seen it destroy them if you don't have the FULL support of your wife. If you think you're ready, we'd love to have you! The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines will thank you everyday for saving their lives. The families will thank you for taking care of their loved ones. There is not a greater sense of accomplishment or satisfaction around in my opinion.

Sure, anything for a sapphire chic, lol.

Are you talking flight nurse or flight medic? If you mean medic, then that's an enlisted position... you'll go to BMT (basic training), then tech school (where you'll become an NREMT) and then your unit. From there you'll go to flight school, ground training (usually with your unit or on your base), water survival and SERE school. You will have patient contact on missions, but other than that, you'll be doing a lot of training flights and static ground training. For more patient experience, you can go on to get your EMT-I (going away soon) or your EMT-P (paramedic)...but they won't change your scope of practice with the AF. If you are talking flight nurse, then you're looking at COT, flight school, ground training, water survival and SERE. Again, patient contact with mission, otherwise see above. You'll get more patient contact as a nurse in a civilian position than as a flight nurse in the AF (which I would recommend to keep your skills up).

The reason I asked about NTP is it adds another "hiccup" to the final destination. He could end up going to NTP at the same base he'll be stationed at, but there are a lot of folks that don't. They go from COT to NTP (both unaccompanied) and THEN go to their duty station. That's where you would move to, and that's where TMO would take your stuff. If he doesn't have to do NTP, then you would go from COT to duty station...makes it a little easier in my opinion. As far as why I went from Marine to Airman...I was a victim of a RIF (reduction in force) while in the Marine Corps. I had a minimal medical issue that was used to push me out (I had no medical experience-I was in the infantry). I used the GI Bill to go to nursing school, have been working in the ICU, CCU, trauma team, flight and ground transport for 8 years... Since the Marines don't have nurses, I talked to a Navy recruiter (that was less than helpful, and quite a bit of a jackass, truth be told) and then an Air Force recruiter. I feel like I made the right choice. I get to fly, I get to nurse, and I get to be a captain with great potential for advancement and real, attainable career goals. Can't really beat that!

I'm in NC, too. And a former Marine that is now an AF nurse. Send me a PM if you have any specific questions. Carolinapooh is an awesome resource as well. What part of NC? You say you both have jobs, is he working as a nurse now? Hopefully he'll have over 6 mos. experience before he heads to COT so he can skip NTP.

Make the best of it, you will be busy! Enjoy learning as much as you can...even if a lot of it is cram-and-forget...try to remember it. It will serve you well if you can.