iodine66

As noted above, working as a CNA can tip the scales between you and another candidate -- experience is Always a plus! It will also help you define the areas of nursing that you enjoy the most. Employers seek to spend the least on internships and want someone who can jump in with confidence and give good patient care.

I'm retired so I can look back and know that my choice of professions was a good one, even tho it looks bad now. It's looked bad many times in the past 40+ years and I was even laid off once. Then the so called overage of nurses, then a year later was the threat that we'd have NO nurses. I agree that you had better love it or not go for it and you'd better be good at what you do. Not only to keep your job and your sanity, but for the good of the patients. I've had several very Different careers during my career. Each one was completely different and on a couple I broke ground where no nurse had gone before. My nursing education prepared me to hit the ground running in each phase of my long career. It can prepare you as well to make your mark on this world. But if you don't think you will love what you do, then you'll just have a job, not a profession, so don't waste your time or the professors' time.

As a former Air Nat'l Guard Flight Nurse, I can assure you that as a Reserve officer, you will have the thrilling opportunity to spend some time in a foreign country---maybe a year at a time. So, balance your desire to serve with your plans for paying off loans and party time in the pvt. sector. Find the number for your local Reserve, call them and set up an appt with any of the medical officers and see what they have to say. My activbe duty time was some of the best nursing I've ever done, but it sure wasn't all fun and games. Or one weekend a month.

Years of ED nursing and more years of independent case mgt. for quads, paras and TBI --suicycles, nope, and my kids call them the same, or murdercycles. It's one thing to say you want to LIVE ! until you die, but quite another to be totally cared for by others as with quads, or become a totally different person with a TBI, and have your family wonder who you will become. It's all fun and games until you crash and Don't die.

Having graduated in 1964, I am already retired from nursing: Del rom, surgeon's group hosp. nurse, med-surg, ED, Air Force flight nurse, pt. ed., research, teaching, discharg.planner,marketing, case mgr. So, I enjoyed several careers in my nursing career. So should we all!!!!

I went a LONG time ago, but we had civvies and wore them to the "O" club for dinner and had plenty of time for weekends to act like women. I've not read the whole thread, but congrats on becomming a USAF flight nurse! I was in the Air National Guard, during Nam, and flew out of Clark AFB in the Phillipines. TIt was one of the smartest moves I have made in my career. Take a bathing suit, shorts, usual clothing. Don't over pack. You can always go shopping. I will say, have extra cash in your checking account in case your paychecks are delayed. Not something I thought of. We went to officer's training in Montgomery, then straight to San Antonio---both were HOT and HUMID. Just be prepared for that. One thing to also watch out for is drinking -- you can put on a LOT of weight and extra fluid if you go out a lot and drink more often than you usually do. Besides, you should be studying. LOL, ok, really, you should be. It's not all that easy of a course, but you will love learning new ways of nursing. Then, have a great time!

LOL, I can just picutre some poor EM's face if you passed him a bill.LOL It is obvously an old tradition---ck out Officer and a Gentleman, Richard Geer and the other new officers recieve a salute from their DI and pass him a bill. So, it wasn't just the reserves or guard, it was regular military, too. Traditions are a good thing, but new ones are great as well. Change is a constant, thank goodness. Thanks for a reply, newbie here and enjoying the visits.

Just for kicks and giggles, ck out the Air National guard for positions open for Flight Nurse. I chose that route because it was close to my home and I really wanted to be a flight nurse. It's all fixed wing, no helicoptors, and you can work with either US residents in need or with transporting military injured/ill. It was some of the most satisfying nursing I've done, and also the most fun. I worked weeks and weeks (way back then we didn't do over time)and saved days off, holidays, vacations day, military days, etc and went active duty to fly guys home from Nam by way of Phillipines, Hawaii, to the US> I also did training missions all over the world. Learned a great deal, professionally and personally. Flying is da bomb and nursing in the air is the greatest high possible -- pardon the pun.

I don't know your age, but I joined the air nat'l guard at 22. this was during Viet Nam and yes, my parents worried. On the other hand, it was the best decision I made in my career. My roomie joined the Navy and stayed, and retired, many years sooner than I could from my then, civillian job. I know from where you dad speaks, having brought back hundreds of men/boys from Nam. The job you will have will be ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like what he went thru. Yes, you will have leadership, but as an officer, you are considered to have leadership skills and USE THEM. No one will tell you when to potty, as a grown up, you know when you have to go. As an ED nurse, I saw Many more cases of rape in Memphis than I did in the 4 years I was a flight nurse---all women know when they are safe and when to stay with a group. Heck, even the universities recommend girls walk with groups or at least another gal. And this is on campus, in the city, and likely day light. As I traveled aroound the world, the only time I felt uncomfortable alone was in Madrid, a bunch of American guys were making rude passes at me on the street. I was even comfortable in the Phillipines, with a soldier and a rifle every 20 yards in the area of the officers quarters. I lived in the visiting officers area since I was a flight nurse and was in and out on the base. You have to decide your future. I would be willing to bet that after you stick to your guns and make your own decisions, your family will have more respect for you and see you bloom and grow as a military nurse. No, you won't be going home every time your dad is in the ICU. And you wouldn't be able to do it if you worked in a civillan hospital. You DO have responsibility to your team and your patients, and so, I would hope, would choose your "emergency" visits to your home carefully. As you know, it's all up to you. NOT anyone else. I wish you the best in your decision making.

Absolutely great to hear from a person who looks forward to a different way to practice nursing and serve their country. I remember the first time I wrote RN after my name and I remember getting my first ID card and passport. It is a moment to treasure and sounds like you will. All the best in your new career, it should be one of the best decisions you will have made. What a GREAT way to use your education and experience. And, truthfully, you'll get a LOT out of the experience.

Well, congrats, LT! I went in as an O1 way back in '65 and flew a lot bringing guys back from Nam. It was the best experience of my career. You've already learned what you need, but i'll just drop my 2 cents: -uniforms: will be fitted on base when you go for officer's training. Pants and white shirt fine for the beginning. Hair--off the collar. Period. -Keep iin mind that you will have social time at night and that MOST Officers in training spend a lot of time at the O club for dinner and drinks. the reason I mention this is because most of us don't go drinking every night, so be aware you WILL gain up to 10-15 pounds if you indulge on a regular basis. It makes fitting in the uniform you recently bought will be a bit uncomfortable, not to mention you civvies. -You will learn a lot about the military, esp if you you no previous experience and it will be fun, actually. -You will also learn that the first time you wear full uniform, you will recieve your first salute: have a dollar bill (may be 5 bucks by now) with your name and rank written on it in ink to hand to the first person who offers you the salute. Tradition. -I traveled, civillian, to flight school in Texas, and it was an exilirating experience to wear my uniform on board and I walked taller and felt very proud to be serving my country. -THEN, when you travel with those beautiful silver wings(sigh)ya meet the greatest people--even back in the late 60's when the antiwar folks were spitting on military. I was always treated very well. -Just don't have your uniforms tailored too tight--you have lots of classes to sit thru and not enough exercise for the comming weeks. -Have a blast and LIVE every minute of it.

Just FYI anyone else reading this: Maxwell is in Montgomery AL, and it''s HOT there most of the year. Just so you know summer starts in April and goes till Oct. The cooler weather makes for an easier officer's training time. San Antoino in the summer is the pits, but I made it thru flight school iin July and Aug., so it Can be done. LOL

To get absolute honest ans. I would seek the information from flight nurses in the real world, not recruters,, who have been known to slant information --- sorry, but it is true. There are so many issues to add and subtract from numbers, including: flying status (adds money), temp duty (adds money), no active duty (sheds money). Keep in mind, this duty is not your FULL TIME job. It could be a "part time" one, with lots of responsibility, if you just want some extra money on your days off. Also keep in mind that if you are attached to anything but an aeroevacuation unit, you likely will not fly or even be sent to flight school. The best thing about reserves and ANG is that your whole reason for being is to FLY and take care of patients inroute to their next sourch of medical care. the reg. USAF nurse corps limits flight to 3 years, and one never knows if they will actually a)be sent to flight school and b)ever be placed on flying status. That's the advantage for going reserve/ANG AND keeping your day job. Almost no one can make a full time living on reserve pay---unless they are on active duty and even then, expenses add up on temp duty plus keeping up your home (and family, if you are married) and you can expect a delay getting your gov't ck. from the service --sometimes weeks and weeks. Been there/done that. (I was single, so I could handle eating p-nut butter when I ran out of funds). I will tell you it is the most satisfying and exciting nursing I've ever done. I am so glad I took the leap as a 22 year old and joined -- it was worth everything to me.(back during Nam, they wern't so choosy about years of experience, plus I worked ED) The travel was beyond comprehension. The leadership was astounding and my learning curve was thrilling. I literally grew up professionally and it flowed into my full time job, and made a huge difference in my own leadership skills, as well as working with various personalities. I laugh now, but for a short time I was the only 2nd LT. flight nurse in the Pacific. Not at all popular with regular AF flight nurses who had waited years for flt. school and then longer for flying status. Good luck with any decision you make.

Enjoyed the thread on likely the most exciting nursing I've even done: in the air. Don't forger, reserves are not the only place to be a flight nurse, ck. out the Air National Guard (unless they've closed that down, too). I was a young RN with a couple years experience in varied fields of nursing when I joined the ANG, and trained literally, around the world. I flew active duty mostly out of Clark AFB, Phillipines(which is no longer even there) bringing back guys from Nam, lots with mud still on their boots. I worked full time, co-ordinated my holidays, vacation days, off days, and military days so that I got as many off at the same time as possible to go active duty. I had to work weeks and weeks with no days off, but it was truly worth itl! The times I couldn't go active, I did training flights with my group to places all over the world. I did 1 Guard weekend a month, plus extra nights to keep my flying status by going on essentially "touch and goes"(take off, land, take off-land, etc), just to get my flying time in and keep my pay scale steady, when I wasn't doing a lot of active duty. Yep, it takes some time and dedication, but the rewards are too many to count. My most satisfying nursing experience in a long career. It's one of those things that you have to just take a leap of faith and go for it. I did, against all advice from those who had no reason to know, and I will say, it was one of the best professional and personal decisions I made. I was very proud to wear the AF uniform and prouder, even, with my wings on it.