XLR99

+1 on the AWD comment-Tires are the key - I've never had an AWD vehicle, don't need one. If you have an AWD car/truck, it's still only as good as those contact patches, and cheap, quiet all season tires won't get you through big snow or ice. Get a set of real snow tires, have them put on in November & swapped out in April - your car will keep going until it can't drag itself anymore. (Plus if you're leasing, you'll have half the wear on the summer tires & can then either sell or keep the winter rubber for your next car) Here's an interesting anecdote - a few years back when I worked in the OR, we had one of the monster storms come over. About a third of the OR staff called off, but ALL the patients were on time.

+1 - be strong, hold your ground. As the non-scrubbed person you end up playing traffic cop sometimes, but depending on the scenario, it becomes an infection control/patient safety/privacy/HIPAA issue. Some reps seem conditioned to not care if the patient is even asleep before coming in the room, let alone draped. I think the example fracturenurse cites would have been asked not to return after a stunt like that. Amazing what some people think they can get away with.

Thank you very much Robert! Larry V also hit me up with a great overview of what to expect training-wise. I'll report back after I get with the recruiter this week-the one whose name I was given seems a bit elusive; part of the game...

I think the tech experience should count-doesn't say 'OR Nursing experience' does it? You have a good understanding of the OR environment, sterile technique, room setup, as well as understanding what goes on up at the field. This is worth far more than the 'BSN recommended' in the real world.

Hey Larry V - I can't respond to PMs yet - can you PM me your email address please? Thanks! Andy

Hi all! First post here, but I've been lurking for awhile and gathering info. I haven't seen a ton of recent threads on flight, so I'll start a new one. I've been playing phone tag and trying to track down the correct HC Recruiter for my area. Hopefully I can get the initial interview with the recruiter going in the very near future, but from what I've seen, I'm looking at 2012 before the process is complete. I'm about to turn 41 , have a pretty varied nursing background including remote history with an air/ground critical care team as an EMT. I've done everything from NICU to adults, organ donation, worked in an OR, and currently work in IT, so I'm pretty adaptable. I've spent quite a bit of time talking with my family regarding AES time commitments, especially the first year, how to handle deployments, etc. I'm working on getting back in shape and have gotten to the point where I'm above the PT minimums for my age group-dropped ~ 10lb so far over 6 months, but I've also replaced some fat with muscle. By the time COT rolls around I'll be in far better shape I feel like I have a bit of an idea of the process from reading on here: -Interviews-I assume initially with the recruiter, later with the AES commander - any other steps in this process? -MEPS -COT -SERE -Water evac school - haven't seen much info on this -Flight school Anyone currently working with an AES who can fill in the gaps or provide any other advice? Looking forward to getting the ball rolling on the selection process now! Also, if anyone's on here from the 445th, that's the unit I'm looking at.