msive22

I don't have childcare issues in New York, plus its much easier to find a reliable provider where I am from. When I was enlisted childcare was right on my base and open during my work hours. They even had saturday hours once a month, it was actually more family-friendly. So when I accepted my commission, I thought the CDC hours would have extended hours for the hospital. Walter Reed Bethesda is only really a Hospital.

Command collaterals hold a little more weight, doing volunteer work is good for performance reviews. Your first two promotions are automatic, O2 & O3, you have to get an advanced degree to be competitive for O4, plus take on multiple collaterals.

@dolphins421 Thank you. I went to ODS when Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval merged, the Clinical Nurse Transition Program was a new program, which has changed a lot since I started. You might be contacted by a sponsor. Definitely write the DNS, however like I said before, the navy tends to assign you where they need you. If you have ED experience, it has to be in your contract that you are an ED nurse to go to the ED. All new nurses do med-surge for at least a year upto 2 years. I was med-surge (wounded warrior) for 2 years, but I liked my patient population. Now, my old ward is more gen surge/neuro/ortho =| If you don't have nursing experience, medsurge isn't a bad start, plus Bethesda practices team nursing so you get maybe 3-4 patients each nurse (not like most outside hospitals). Your orientation is pretty long, so by the time your done, you are ready fly high on your own. Even if you get the specialty code in your contract I think you still have to do CNTP. Picking a place to live:: The Hospital doesn't offer enough parking for staff, so you have to find a place off the metro redline the closer the better, I highly recommend either North Bethesda or Downtown Bethesda (walking distance) traffic is pretty bad in that area, and I'm used to NYC traffic. If you don't have to drive, don't its super frustrating. You do not have to report in dress blues... you stand out like a sore thumb, if you want to stand out go for it, but khakis are fine. Your corpsman are your saving grace, respect them don't abuse them. Bethesda also has LPN's in almost every department. Most are civilian and they have more experience than you've probably been alive, don't ever undermine their license. *Epic mistake from new ensigns* They can help you tremendously or see to it you drown. If you collaborate well with your team in a tactful manner, trust me you will be winning. The army also has their LPNs and they are enlisted. These guys/gals have a ton of experience, most were combat medics, they are also a wealth of information. The equipment at bethesda is pretty new and they offer tons of additional training for free (acls, pals, tncc, nrp... etc) take it all, sign up for a 1 or 2 collateral duties and you are golden. Whatever you want to do, if you don't get it at first, keep up with your own independent study and after 9 mons of being on the floor, start planting the seed... Your leadership on the floor will do what they can to staff the floor but they also try to get you where you wanna be.

xxxxxx

When I was looking into military nursing a few years ago, it was tough finding information on how single parents balanced work and home life, while being active duty. So, as a single parent I wanted to put some info out there to help mothers decide, whether or not military nursing would be a good option. My background: Prior-service 9years enlisted, I had my son while I was active duty. During this time, there was plenty of childcare resources available, which we needed as we were a dual-military couple. Work-home life balance was do-able because there were childcare centers and sitters available that catered to military work schedules. My Army unit Commander was very understanding and even went as far as offering an alternate work schedule while my husband was deployed. Upon my husbands return from deployment I decided to get out of the military and go to school full-time for nursing. After a short break from the military, I decided to re-enter the active duty component as an Officer for Nursing. I submitted my packet to the Air Force, Navy and Army. The Navy approved me first and offered a sign-on bonus =) so I signed with the navy during my last year of nursing school. At this time, I had already been divorced and managing quite well as a single parent. I had family support for childcare and financial support from my ex-husband. Upon graduating and passing NCLEX I received active duty orders for Officer Development School with ultimate destination to Bethesda Naval Medical, Bethesda, MD. (Great) my first pick on my list of duty stations. Prior to entering the Navy I had no work experience as a Nurse, I was contacted by the Hospitals Nurse Internship Program director, she interviewed me over the phone, as I was in training at the time. She made me aware of the schedule during my internship period 6 months long at the time, which varied based on where I would be working in the hospital. She also advised of the waiting list for the Child Development Center on base, she said it might be hard to find a provider right away and she told me it might be a good idea to leave my son with my family for the first 6 months until I became familiar with the area and the hospital. Okay fine. So, this is what I experienced as a single-parent in the Navy Nurse Corps: - My preceptor didn't know how to "deal" with me because she 25 y/o single and lived in downtown DC with a roommate. (I was 29 y/o divorcee, with a 4 yrs old son) - Daycare on base had a 1 yr waiting list. - Off base daycares do not open as early as 6am, or stayed open past 630pm - Babysitters cost a lot $$$ to cover extended hours $15-$20 per hours. - The Navy Command expects you to deal with your issues, when you present any work/scheduling conflict, they hear you out and then say find a solution. (GREAT) i was new to the area, had no family and I sought out Family Fleet Services they offered my therapy, really??? - NACCRA is a subsidy available to offset daycare cost for active duty military that do not have base CDC available... I thought GREAT! except for my 4 year hold it cost $1600 a month to cover my 7a-7p shift 2-3 days during the normal work week and plus you have to pay a babysitter hourly for weekend care. (My rent $2000 a month in the maryland/DC area) This is just your normal schedule, how about the days you have to be at work on your days-off for mandatory training? or Collateral duties??? more money. - My first year as an officer was my toughest, I spent 3 months with my son because all the local daycares had waiting lists, plus finding a sitter for a 6am start was really hard. - Interpersonal relationships at work was affected, the days my daycare would close or open late due to weather, meant that I either had to stay home or come-in late. Needless to say, my co-workers didn't like that at all because it meant they had an increased work load. Not something I wanted to happen, either but sometimes I had to call out, as some childcare facilities don't even notify you of delayed opening or closures. How I survived my first Duty station: - During my 2nd year at Walter Reed Bethesda my Service Chief was replaced and the new leader coming in was a single-mother during her early years as a nurse. She offered me a flexible work schedule, I still had to do my shift work but instead of switching days and nights every 3 mons, I was able to stay on 1 shift whether it be days or nights for an extended period providing consistency for my childcare needs, because I had 3 babysitters quit on me because my hours were too long and the switching was hard to cover. - My service chief offered me a transfer off the med-surge ward to PACU to work 8-10hrs shifts monday through friday. =) sweet. I loved it. However, in the Navy PACU is not critical care, big bummer because if it was you would get assigned a specialty code and you would only work in this type of environment. So for 1year i had no issues with daycare other then the occasional weather closures, sometimes walter reed would delay opening when the govt was closed. - Now, I am at my second duty station (which will remain nameless) I am back to square one again, since I didn't have a critical care identifier, I got assigned to the ED, okay not too bad its a specialty area, cool! I thought great, can;t wait to start! Until they presented me with my work schedule. The ED is under-manned and their shift turnover starts even earlier, than the 7a-7p. Military staff are required to do 12hr shifts and rotate every 8 weeks from days to nights. (only civilians can be assigned permanent shift hours) Either way, I haven't been able to cover my day shift hours. I am on a temporary work schedule until I do find something, which is amazing for me because I never expected my leadership to be flexible. Only during my orientation (3mons long) I will be allowed to work an alternate work schedule. The challenge at this duty station is that my son is of school age and there are only 2 facilities that bus to his school. One opens at 6am and the other opens at 630am. To late for my shift hours... great. There is no base CDC option for me either. Soo, I put in a written request to transfer to any floor in the hospital with 7a-7p turnover, the Command is not supporting this switch, because my current department is understaffed... "The needs of the department" are a top priority for the Navy and I was told to "blossom where I am planted." What will happen next I just don't know, but I will keep searching. Okay, so here is the jist of my thread, if you are a single-parent and want to make military nursing your career, yes it is "do-able" but not always easy. The Navy needs their nurses where they need them. One other major factor to consider is when you join the military your kids are subject to the lifestyle, and babysitters don't care for your child the same way you would, my son has fluctuated in weight because he was not fed the food i would send with him to the sitter (I had a lady feed him 1 orange, no breakfast, no lunch or dinner) she said "he didn't want to eat..." during a 12hrs day home with my son. I had a sitter show up to his bus stop which was directly outside of her home. An employee of the apartment community I lived-in recognized my son, after he spotted walking through the parking lot by himself. (at the age of 5)This staffer brought him to the front desk of my building and called me while i was at work. Those are just a few examples of the negative experiences I went through. I did background checks, reference checks, you name it... You just never really know who is taking care of your child. I am pretty traumatized by all this and I live with alot of guilt. His father was deployed during these times and even now his father is very unreliable. Military nursing is a very rewarding experience for a single-career driven nurse, with no obligations. But if you have a family the work demands are very challenging, and in my case after 12 years of service I am forced to have to leave at the end of my active duty obligation, because I cannot put my son through this anymore. He's in second grade now, the thought of being with a sitter makes him cry. I try to explain to him its only temporary, because soon we will return home to be with my extended family for support. I know this post is long, but I hope it helps single-mothers/dads out there who are considering Military Nursing.

My apartment will be up for grabs as of June 1st. My landlords held my apartment for me in July 2009 when I came here for school, they are excellent, people super nice and very helpful. (example: i had a flat tire the day before my NCLEX, land-lady went out and bought me a new one, so i could continue studying) The apartment is not very close to the school b/c I wanted to be by the beach and away from the madness of San Juan. I'm in a town called Levittown, PR its a 25 minute drive from the school. 1bedrom, eat-in-kitchen combo, rent is $500 a month including all utilities, plus cable. Its on a dead end street, close to the malls, beach, a strip of bars and a track, *if you like to run outside. If interested message me your email address. PS: cars are really crappy out here, if you want something decent it will cost about $5000 or you can ship your car.

Thanks soo much for the insight, I'm waiting on orders and still don't know when Im leaving for ODS b/c of the hole funding freeze, there has been issues w/new grad orders. Anyhow, can you let us know how reporting to your duty station went and what was your orientation like? I myself am about to complete a two year long accelerated BSN program and this last year has been all leadership class, I already have my NCLEX done but I feel like I've forgotten alot of nursing knowledge, so I know I need to brush up on these things but if you could let me know what the hospital orientation is like that would be great. Like, for instance do they teach you nursing techniques? or do they expect you to know certain things? I havent punctured a vein since last may... I'm a little nervous about working on patients. Please let me know when you get a chance. thanks alot!

I agree you have to go in person to request supplemental aid or make adjustments to your loans. If you want the honors scholarship, you have to apply by June in the Honors department.

You have to go in person. Thats the only way to get something achieved through them.

Hi TxLvn, I am a second year student getting ready to graduate in May from la Inter's accelerated BSN Program. Going to school here can be frustrating if you are used to the efficiency you find back home w/normal day-to-day stuff, like running errands and dealing with the school during registration, financial aid, bursar etc. Most often, something that should only take you 10-15 mins to achieve, will sometimes be a 3 hour wait. Even fastfood restaurants aren't fast. The school has a tendency of having staffing issues, as well, here is a good example: when I began in 2009, we didnt have professors for the first week or two of class, and it was a trend we experienced at the beginning of each term. I remember one professor told us:"Oops I thought it was monday" for not coming in for a Tuesday night class... How does a grown adult confuse the days of the week is beyond me... Anyhow, the worst was last year, during my 2nd trimester I didn't have a lab professor until the very end of the trimester and we had to extend the length of the course to meet the requirements of the class, so basically everyone in my class was jumping through hoops craming nursing material that we were suppose to learn over the course of 12 weeks in only 5 weeks. Just like the old saying goes, "you get what you pay for" that is exactly how it is at La Inter. Some students from my program transferred to the UMet or Sacred Heart University and although their programs a little bit longer, they're more structured and organized. Class size is anywhere from 60-70 students. The caliber of student that attends my university falls into one of these 3 categories: 2nd career students, US students that failed Nursing programs back home or young college students who wanted an easy way in and out. So, if you do not have the time to wait to get into a program in your home state, than come out here and take advantage of this program. That's exactly what I did. You def need to have patience and the ability to go with a flow, when changes occur at a moments notice. When you are in clinicals, professors are barely around, the RNs expect you to know everything, some are helpful most don't want to be bothered. So, while most students don't take their practice scenarios serious, I suggest you pay attention because when you graduate your competency is going to set you apart from your peers. Is this program challenging? absolutely not. As long as you do your reading and prepare your case studies in a timely manner, you will do just fine. Expect the professors to only answer questions when you have done your research, they almost always tell you to "look it up" or some just don't know the subject matter they are teaching. If you are driven and self-motivated, than come out here do the 11 month ADN option, sacrifice your summer take the Kaplan review course for NCLEX, immediately after taking Pediatrics (your licensure is a textbook exam, based on critical thinking) If you wait until after the BSN all that information is almost gone and it's much harder to prepare. Once you pass your NCLEX, if you are a 2nd year student at the time, more than likely you will be exonerated from certain classes. I have classes only twice a week and it's been that way since October (when I passed NCLEX) you will literally feel like you're on a paid vacation for your 2nd year. The great thing about PR is that they will endorse your license and you can start working in specialty units while in school. This is an opportunity that is rarely open to new grads in the states. Example: If you want a career in Anesthesia, this is huge... you can work during your 2nd year in an ICU and apply for CRNA programs right after graduating with the Bachelors. Your experience here is all dependent upon how driven you are and how much crap you are willing to take. (like i said before, some of my friends left, I didn't have that luxury as I am a Navy Nurse candidate getting paid to be in this program for predetermined amount of time) There is always a trade-off, yes the school is cheap and not as demanding as those in the states, but if you don't stay on top of your game, you will fall behind. *Also you have to find your own internship opportunities, the school is usually late with notifying the students of deadlines* Classes are only given in the evenings for english speaking students. During your first year you will be in class 6 days a week, most likely. If you're not used to a rigorous school schedule, you will have to learn to adjust. The 2nd year is super easy, mostly leadership classes and 1 tough class: Health Assessment. The Professors for the most part speak english but there are a handful of professors who do not speak it well and use translators to create their exams, thats when things can get confusing b/c their questions aren't written properly and you sometimes don't know what the question is really asking... I have had super great professors and alot of crappy ones. But its no different from going to a private university in NY and having foreign pros who barely speaks the language and lectures with a heavy accent... Soo, I hope this helps. If you have any specific questions, message me.

Sorta-kinda, I mean I work out regularly so I just have to change my routine to work on improving my pushups and situps. My workouts consist of running + taebo. Anyhow, my duty pref picks are: Bethesda, Portsmouth & San Diego... yours? Now, with this budget freeze i'm worried we wont' get sent to ODS 'til after the summer. I am soo ready to leave, I feel like the more time I go without clinical exposure, the more nursing knowledge escapes my brain. (I did a 2yr accelerated BSN program and for this trimester and now the last trimester, we've tackling nursing leadership and community roles. NCLEX was done in september) What school are from MRB39? Let me know when you find out where you get assigned. I wish there were more information on the orientation process and whats it going to be like when we get to our duty assignments. If you know anything, please let me know.

Hi all, I know I'm replying to an old thread but when I was preparing for NCLEX this summer, this thread added to my test prep anxiety. So for all those who have not met kaplan's standard 60-65% on their QTrainers. This is my experience: QTs 1-3 don't really matter they build you up for 6 & 7 which are similar to what you will see on your NCLEX. Diagnostic score: 48 QT4: 53 QT5: 61 QT6: 57 QT7: 59 Readiness: 61 I am a non-traditional student, Nursing is my 2nd career move, studying in the caribbean and I took the kaplan review course this summer, after 10 months of an accelerated ADN program. I passed NCLEX on the first try with 75 questions. My scores were never consistent, I averaged 65% on my qbank quizzes (ans 95% of qbank) and alternated days of questions w/content review. To supplement the course I bought the examcram book to fill in the gaps for info I wasn't familiar with. I put in my study hours daily took a few days here and there but it was my #1 priority and well worth the time spent. Good-luck to all, don't be discouraged if you don't meet kaplans standard, because when you take your NCLEX you are not going to know 50% of the questions asked, unless you have photographic memory.

Hi, I was wondering if there are any NCP's graduating in May of 2011 out there? I am anxiously waiting to find out my duty station assignment.

Hi designer-mom, I am a nursing student at the Interamerican Univ, if you need to find an apartment in PR, you can refer to classificadosonline.com its like craigs list. I suggest the Condado or Guaynabo areas their a little pricey but the closest you will get to living in the states. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

the PVT works, its awesome but theres no better feeling than seeing your quick results! Its official I am an RN! I tested thursday at noon, my quick results were ready today at 130pm. This is such a great feeling! Congrats to all!