shapely

that's unfortunate...lpns do a lot of the same work for a lot less money. i'm surprised it doesn't count for anything. good luck.

Drive to Louisville and work for Norton. I worked there too and it's a great place to work and only about 45 minutes up the road. You'll get really good experience.

Awwww...I guess there are age requirements. You could apply for a scholarship through healthcare recruiter. Good luck.

Hi all, I wanted to update as I promised. The AF has been good to me. I've had a very reduced schedule, a physician preceptor, and am slowly building to 90pts/week but I still work 45-50 hours a week. But the job is never done. You always have patients asking questions and labs to review. I definately can't complain about the training but the learning curve from RN to NP is steep and there is always something to learn. It's amazing the problems that people can have. COT was OK. I could have done without it but I guess it's an orientation to the military. I like a little more sleep than they give. So that's my 2 cents for now. Good luck to those who venture to be a FNP in the AF.

The process took me about a year from application to commission. I posted my timeline in the past, you can review my previous posts to find it. I'm AD FNP and a brand new one at that. The process is a steep learning curve from RN to NP but I work with some awesome people. The learning curve from civilian to military hasn't been as hard. Day to day I don't see any difference between being in the military or not being. There are some small differences like mandatory meetings and recalls but overall there's not much difference. Peds will probably be less hours than FNP because you probably don't have as many abnormal labs to look through. Good luck.

a. Yes b. I wouldn't worry because it could change by time you get there. c. Use NCLEX study books when studying for exams, they have good questions for the actual NCLEX and a lot of teachers use questions in NCLEX format because it prepares you for the test. Keep a notebook for clinicals that has all the important stuff or stuff you learn while there. Keep it for all clinicals. Good luck. d. No, bring it on

I had applied through USAjobs.com

I worked at Ireland (Ft. Knox) in L&D a few years ago as a GS employee. It's a nice hospital. Most GS jobs won't even look at your application if you don't have one year of experience in the field that they are hiring for. They hire through an outside agency who forwards qualified applicants to the manager. The government can be very detail oriented and not so detail oriented at the same time. All of the nurses I worked with full time were GS at Ireland. The prn nurses were contract.

NPDuckie--I have heard what wtbcrna is talking about before. There was an Adult NP on this forum who went army and they didn't have a MOS for adult NP and she went in as med surg with the hopes that the chief nurse would be able to use her as a NP in one of the clinics. Prior nursing exp applies to higher rank? - Page 2- Nursing for Nurses Here is one of the many threads in which she discussed this. See number 14 post. Basically I want you to be careful and read the fine lines. The specialty pay is across all branches. Some branches may take ANP and others may not, therefore offer the speciality pay for that MOS or not. And it may be something they have offered in the past and don't currently or will be offering soon in the future. Again, I just want you to read the fine lines carefully. As for me this was a long process. You have to be credentialed as a NP before applying to the board which was like another board in itself. It has taken me a year. I've been waiting 6 extra months just for this COT class. I wouldn't count on January. March would be a good estimate but still pushing it as far as time goes. The application time is about a year. And I agree with WTBCRNA, if you get in the January class, there's no guarantee that you'll make that wedding. They pretty much own us. It's different. Good luck with your application. I'll keep you posted and you do the same.

I'll post back to your thread in about 2 months. I'm a new grad FNP leaving Monday. I can tell you this now...if you are considering this, start the application now because it is a good year before you will committ and actually leave for an assignment. Anytime before that you are not committed. During the application period you will have two interviews and get to tour a medical facility and speak to staff there for more input. I decided to go for the military for the exact reasons you listed. You max out too early in the civilian world.

I thought in order to be licensed in the states you had to graduate from an accredited program. I'd check with a health professions recruiter.

The MSN would be sufficient but I've heard that they are taking less NP's without floor nursing experience. Not none but less.

Mbarn08--sorry if i upset u. Didn't mean to put you on the defense. That's just what some of the crna's I talk to have mentioned because I've asked why pacu doesn't count when we too hold for icu overnight. When they explain it...it sounds good. I don't know if I'd go as far to say you can get the same daily experience in a small er as a large trauma center but I'm far from the expert. Just wanted to add some extra thoughts for process. Sometimes words come across a little different in writing than conversation. Good luck you all.

ICU experience is most liked because they are usually more comfortable with drips and codes. Er nurses sometimes start drips and depending on size frequently do codes (big er). Er stabilizes and transfer to floor asap. Icu manages a little more long term. The experience is different. As a PACU nurse I 1 crna who was an or circulator prior to school and even he's shocked he got in. Most circulators aren't too comfortable with direct patient care. Good luck I've never met a crna who didn't love the job.

Thank wtbcrna! That sounds great. I guess I'll see for myself soon. I'll keep you posted.

Sorry for the long vent. I'm not really a complainer. I'll keep you posted. Maybe my sponsor will contact me before I leave.

Thanks wtbcrna. You've got me thinking. NP's can quickly lose their skill set being in a different role for an entire pcs change. That's disappointing that a commander could be unprofessional and not utilize someone in the role they have trained for because they don't like the role. That should be based more on the individual and job performance not the role. I was told you have to have an opening at the hospital for your job code which is requested by the chief nurse. Why would they take someone they don't need. I hope this doesn't come off offensive. I'm not defending my job. This has been a long process for me. Now I'm 2 weeks away from a 4 year committment that may not be for the job I think it is. I'm concerned to lose my skill set early on. I don't have any medsurg experience and my paperwork is coded for fnp. I understand officer first and nurse second. I could scrub floors if that was the immediate need. I can do anything temporarily but I would hope that if an opening came open, I could move into it. I will struggle with being put in a different role because someone doesn't like me or my job. I have more than loved every job I've ever had. I thought I would love it more with the military. I was raised in the military and my husband is active duty. I was hoping to experience the pride and camraderie that they did. I understand rank but it just seems a tad unprofessional to use your rank and position to hold others back. So disappointing to hear this......

wtbcrna--what is afit. what do you mean most nps don't work as nps for the majority of the time? that will be very disappointing for me. i was told the opposite, only minimum time would be spent not being a np especially for the 1st 8 years and then it might flip to more administrative if you wanted?

Typing on iPod...not always the easiest

Don't get out of the msn program. You can always do bedside nursing with your master's degree. Us nurses sometimes eat our young. When I interviewed with air force fnp, she said she didn't like direct entry np programs without experience. But it's personal opinion. The af as a whole will accept direct entry np's and that's where your focus should be. Experience will make you more marketable and competative and I do recommend it. I couldn't imagine being an np without my experience. But it is doable look at the pa's...they do it. Keep looking for jobs even if it's basic med surg fir a while. I worked 30 hours a week during my fnp program...so instead of prn maybe you can find part time. As far as reserves now. You would be signing a contract which has job as rn without an identifier and you'll be in the reserves so if you get activated in the middle of school you'll have to go and since you'll be under contract I don't know how hard it is to change your job in the middle of the contract. There are programs that allow you to go to school and they'll pay everything plus stipend...these programs put you in inactivr ready reserves which has small chance of being activated early. Good luck! Nursing is awesome you'll love it. Vit's so much better than school :)

You don't have to have rn experience but when you deployed if they don't need a np you may work as a med surg rn. I've never worked med surg so that would be interesting. My recruiter mentioned that experience makes you more competative. You could get a prn job while in school. It would help during the interview too.

Butterfly-it took me from August to Novemember to get my packet ready for the board. I didn't get a result until March. and now I'm leaving in August. And they still come back saying they need forms filled out. It's a long, long process. Definately start 1 year before graduation. I wish I had known that. I've heard the nurse is 120% over their recruitment numbers and they did turn down a few applicants this year but considering the number that apply 95% get in. I got my 3rd choice of assignments. Your recruiter will give you a list because certain nurses are only at certain bases.

good luck

If your civilian doctor said you have asthma and you don't agree...get another doctor (can be another civillian). You can always see a pulmonologist. One visit doesn't make a diagnosis of asthma. People wheeze for a variety of reasons.

I noticed you mentioned air force reserves. I was under the impression that reservists had to have experience. I would double check with recruiter because reservists typically work part time and ntp is a full time program. Good luck!