iangood

I currently work as an NP in the civilian world, but I used to be a med tech in the Air Force. One of my jobs was to help complete physicals on prospective Air Force members (mainly those trying to go to ROTC or Air Force Academy), prior service coming back into the military and regular occupational and flying physicals. I am pretty familiar with the med regulations (for the Air Force at least) and I helped to prepare waiver packages to go to the Air Force Surgeon General's office for approval. Based on my experience, I would say your chances of getting a waiver for the multiple mental health issues in your history are very slim. I am sorry to be blunt with you, but as others have mentioned, the military in general and the Air Force in particular has way more qualified applicants currently than slots available (blame the economy). This means that they can be much more selective about who they pick. A waiver package is quite time consuming to put together and I would say it would be difficult to get a recruiter on board with putting in all the time and effort to prepare one, when they know that there is a good chance you will not get a waiver and they have so many others trying to get in who do not have the same issues that require a waiver. Unfortunately, most recruiters are quite busy and they will likely put their time and efforts into people they know wll be the easiest to get in the Air Force. Take your history of ADD/ADHD as an example. You would need to be off meds for a long period of time (a year or more) and be able to demonstrate without a doubt that your ability to focus, concentrate and perform complex tasks was not diminished in any way by being off Ritalin. This is hard to document and prove, but it can be done. As many young people of your generation were diagnosed with ADD/ADHD and on Ritalin or other meds during their teen years, the military is a bit more lax about this than they used to be and it this were your only issue, I would say you would likely get a waiver, provided you met the conditions listed above. However...you have the other issues - depression, anxiety, bulimia. The most difficult to get a waiver for is going to be anxiety. It is admirable that you have managed to overcome all of these issues and not only make it into nursing school, but also be successful and be at the point where you are almost ready to finish. I congratulate you on that accomplishment. But the military is much more stressful than anything you have likely experienced up to now and they will be very concerned about your ability to not only cope with this stress, but function at the highest possible level for long hours under difficult and possibly dangerous conditions. Again, you would need to show and have documented by your psychiatrist/psychologist that you have been stable off any type of anti-anxiety medication for a period of one year or more. Documentation and careful frequent follow-up with your provider will be essential. During the waiver process, you must submit all medical records relating to your issues. The people who review them will be looking very carefully at your records and the burden of proof will be on you. All this being said, my recommendation would be to finish up nursing school and find a civilian nursing job. While you are gaining some experience, go to your psychiatrist and tell them you are interested in the military and that you would like to go off any meds if it is safe to do so and set up regular follow-up visits so they can document that you are doing well off meds. After 2 years, you will have nursing experience and a track record of mental stability that will make you a much more attractive candidate to the military and make obtaining a waiver possible (difficult still, but possible). It will be a long road to be sure, but if you truly want to serve in the military, it can probably be done. Best of luck to you in all your future endeavors. Remember if the military does not work out, you will still be a member of the wonderful profession of nursing and will have many opportunities to have a successful and fulfilling career.

nursinadream You can check on the USAJobs website, they post most job openings there. You can also go to the VA you want to work at and there is usually a job posting board in one of the main traffic areas (ours is by the cafeteria). Our VA has a job fair for nursing once or twice a year. OP I have worked at the VA for 2.5 years now as a nurse practitioner. I really enjoy my job and love working with the Vets. As far as the benefits go, they are excellent. All Federal Holidays are paid + 26 days of paid vacation a year and 2 weeks of sick time a year which you can rollover to the next year if you don't use it. Medical, dental and vision benefits are also quite good. They have a regular retirement program, plus a program called the Thrift Savings Plan that works like a 401k, the VA matches up to 5% of your contribution each year. Most of the people I have worked with at the VA truly enjoy their jobs and love working with Vets and there is a very low turnover rate for nurses and medical staff. I would highly recommend the VA to anyone.

Thank you midinphx for your thoughtful reply and advice! I'm still waiting to talk to the Health Professions Recruiter. I talked a bit to his colleague today, but I keep playing phone tag with the actual recruiter I have been assigned. I get the feeling they are not short manned right now, since they are not working very hard to "sell" me at this point. I figured it would take me about 12 mos. from the start to actually going to COT. Apparently, I just missed the suspense for the Nurse Specialty Board coming up in 2 weeks. The next board is in June. I'm not in any hurry as I still really like my job, but like you just really miss the military and am ready for a change. I hope you don't mind if I ask you some questions in the future when I am further along in this process. Thanks again.

I work at the VA as an NP in Urology and I work with a PA. They are used interchangeably where I work, although NPs make more money than PAs at the VA. I've been there 2.5 years and I make more than my PA colleague who has been there 15 years. As far as duties go, we are about equal. I agree with what some have posted about experience level. Where I live, the PA program is through a community college (Foothill), but affiliated w/ a medical school (Stanford). One of my former colleagues went to that school with 5 years of experience as an ER Tech (mainly pushing patients back and forth to x-ray, assisting with splinting, minor medical duties). To be an NP, you must be an RN (or be in a program where you get an RN on the way to being an NP) and you must have a Master's degree (to bill Medicare). As some have mentioned, you can be a PA with a certificate or a Bachelor's degree. Here in NorCal, there are several schools (UC Davis for one) that train both PAs and NPs in the same program. If you are an RN, you can get both an NP and a PA license, if your are not an RN, you only get PA. Others have mentioned the difference in style. PA is definitely a medical model, disease based approach to treating patients. Whereas NP is based on a whole person wellness model. It may be a subtle distinction, but it is why NPs are consistently rated higher than physicians by patients in terms of listening and bedside manner. As a side note, I get called a PA all the time by patients and even colleagues. I guess some people just assume that a male mid-level provider is a PA.

midinphx. Thanks for your reply. It is nice to hear from someone with a lot of experience. If you have a few minutes, I'd like to ask you a couple of questions: -If it is not too personal, why did you decide to go into the Air Force at this point in your life? -So far, is it about what you expected it would be (lifestyle, colleagues, peers, job)? -Was there anything you wish you would have known before you went in? -How was it going through COT? -How long did the process take from the time you first spoke to the recruiter until you were at COT? I know it's a lot of questions, but it is always helpful to hear from some one who has been down the road you are contemplating taking. Thanks for your time.

CRF250Xper, Thank you for your reply and advice. I just started to explore going back into the Air Force. I have not sat down to speak with the recruiter yet, I will on Monday. I've just done the initial paperwork to "pre-qualify." Even though my nursing and NP experience is mainly in the ER and Surgical areas, my training was as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and I am board certified as an FNP by ANCC. I would be looking to come in to the Air Force as an FNP. You sound like you have gone through what I am contemplating, I would love to get some more info from you if you have time. -What type of NP are you working as now? -Where are you stationed? Was the place you are stationed at one of your choices? -Can you give me an idea of what your average day is like? -How long ago did you go to COT? -What was it like to go through COT from a prior enlisted perspective? -How long did the process take from the time you first spoke with a recruiter until you were at COT? Any answers you could give would be greatly appreciated.

You will make it!!! I did the FNP program also, graduated in 2004. I worked as an RN in the ER every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night from 3-11:30pm. I went to FNP clinicals at one site 10 hours a day, 3 days a week (+ 1 hour each way commute) , at another site 8 hours a day once a week and at another site 6 hours a day once a week. Plus class 3 hours a night, 3 nights a week. That's 7 days a week between work and school the whole last year of my program. You'll look back and wonder how you ever did it, but you will do it. Just keep keeping on, it will all be over soon and you will be so glad you persevered.

I am considering going into the Air Force as a Nurse Practitioner. I just contacted a recruiter last week and filled out a pre-qualification sheet. I'm waiting to hear back. A little about myself: I did an RN to NP MSN and have 7 years experience. 4.5 years as an ER Staff Nurse, 2.5 years as an ER Nurse Practitioner and 2.5 years experience as an NP in Urology at the VA. I also have 10 years of prior service experience in the Air Force, 4 years active duty as an SP (MP) and 6 years in the Reserves as a medical technician. I got out in 2004. I have a great job now. I love the patients (vets), the pay and the benefits, and my colleagues are great. But .... I'm 37 and single and am starting to feel wanderlust. I always loved the military. I'm in great shape and have no medical problems or other issues. I know it is a long process, that is why I want to start now looking to enter by 2012. I'd prefer to stay Air Force since I have experience there, but would consider Army or Navy. I would like to hear from anyone who is (or was) an NP in the Air Force. I would especially like to hear from anyone (RNs or NPs) who went in at an older age (35+) and those who were prior enlisted. Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated.