MonTif

Wow...I have to say I am very surprised how many prior Security Forces decided to become a nurse. Prior Security Law Enforcement (K-9) USAF 7 years myself. Got out, received my RN diploma (last graduating class for that diploma program), worked for a few years, and then went back to school for my BSN and the MSN as a FNP. I am commissioned in the USPHS (US Public Health Service) at this time as a FNP. The only military branch that does not carry a weapon. RN - BSN or RN - MSN; you can qualify for COSTEP and be commissioned in your last year of school receiving full military benefits and pay as a O1 (or O1-E in your case). Or you can receive your commission as a RN after graduating. Both are VERY competitive. Depending where you work you may qualify for student loan reimbursement as well. Really good deal. Let me know if your interested and I will tell you more about the PHS. usphs(dot)gov

Unless you have your heart set on USAF, you may want to consider the USPHS. A US uniformed service with the same benefits as the military, but with humanitarian mission goals with natural disasters and a mission to serve the under-privileged of this nation. I transferred from the USAF with 8 years of active duty enlisted and 4 years as a flight nurse officer in the Air Guard. You wear the same uniform as the Navy

In the Columbia, SC area Palmetto Health really helped me out. Ask for the Director of Ambulatory Patient Care Services. You will need to still find your own preceptors but they will give you resources. If you are with South University they already have an affiliation agreement with them. Eau Claire is another organization that may be able to help you out in this area, but you would need to contact them early. They will actually find the preceptor for you, but you may need to travel a bit. Finding an OB/GYN and Pediatric preceptor was my hardest challenge. Good luck!

I can't remember...but I recomend that you purchase the Kindle version. It makes doing your research homework so much easier

The pharmacology course was a combination of research papers, case studies, and discussion questions. It is labor intensive, but doable. I am in the FNP program. Do I feel the are preparing me for my exam? All the information is there for studying, but there is no direction "this is going to be on the exam". Per the recomendation od one of my instructors I have purchased Fitgeralds audio CD's and listen to them whenever I am in the truck. I heard there is direction during the last quarter to help with studying for the exam, but I really don't know. I am not sure if I am the first graduating class or not. If not, I am close to being the first.

So far there is only one class that has exams. There is 1 advanced physical assessment practicum and 4 clinical practicums. I have finished the advanced physical assessment practicum and the adult/geriatric practicum, and am starting women's health tomorrow. After this practicum I only have 2 practicum's left to graduate (July 7th, 2014). So far the only class that has had exams (a mid-term and final exam) was the advanced physical assessment practicum. The tests are taken online and are timed. All other classes require various written papers and projects weekly for grading. The first year all of my books were digital. The second year this was not offered from the school. I purchased every book I can via Kindle from Amazon (Kindle program downloaded onto my computer and I-Pad). The search function is awesome when you are writing papers and are researching for specific information. It has saved me a ton of time.

I am in their FNP program. I graduate on July 7th, 2014. It is a new program and has had some bugs they needed to iron out, but overall I have found it a positive experience. You do need to find your own preceptors and you need to be self motivated to succeed. What questions do you have?

The first week of October the PHS will be announcing what new applications (for a limited number of professions) will be coming avialable. I am not sure if nursing will be one of the professions though... They will announce it on their Facebook page

They have a facebook page where they often give updates. There has been mention of possible nursing opportunities opening up sometime in the fall. No exact date...

Found them. :)

Hello everyone. I had to have called at least 50 different physicians offices looking for a physician or NP that would be my preceptor. I have found a preceptor for 2 of my adult rotations, but need 3 more. If anyone can help me out in locating a preceptor for my clinical rotations I sure would appreciate it. I am close to Columbia, SC but am willing to travel to my clinical site as needed. I still need 1 precptor for a adult/geriatrics, 1 for pediatrics, and 1 for OBGYN. Thank you for your help

Not yet...

Looks like decisions will be released on May 9th. Good luck everyone.

i have both my applications submitted. graduate from an rn to bsn online program next month. my gpa is such that i didn't have to take the gre for either of them, which is really cool. now i am just waiting to hear back. i am not letting the cost of tuition influence my decision because i plan on taking advantage of what nhsc has to offer. i was able to find a grant paying 100% tuition with stipend (or 100% reimbursement post graduation for 3- 4 years of service) for working in a 2012 nhsc loan repayment program. of course, i can't apply until i am accepted. :) i have heard great things about both programs and will feel privileged to be accepted into either university.

very helpful. thank you for your comments. i haven't visited the campuses, but i won't be spending much time there anyway with both being online.

i worked 11 years law enforcement here with 2 years as a sniper on a hostage negotiation team. i made the career change 15 years ago and never regretted it. you will never feel more appreciated. nursing needs good men.

i am sending off my applications to duke and musc for the fall 2012. i have heard great things about both schools staff and program. i think i have a pretty good shot for acceptance with my gpa and rn work experience over the past 15 years, but duke's tuition is twice that of musc. do graduates from duke make more as a np? will i see a return in my future salary as a np from paying so much more for tuition? does the name of the university influence a np's salary? i know for a mba it sure does. any thoughts would be appreciated. thanks mark

Contact your local Angiomax rep. They gave our institution a CD on proper technique of sheath removal and manual pressure. The RN's in our CCU pulled all the shealths that came back to us. It is a great resource.

I actually feel I learned more from the online course. Having to write about what I read helped me to retain more from each chapter. I would recomend it over the traditional classroom setting. Some people that I have talked with are concerned about not being disciplined enough to do the reading/homework without someone to provide guidance. It's whatever works best for you. My friend is going to NP school and 50% of his class through Blackboard (an online forum some schools use). I don't know about CRNA school, but it looks like a lot of material in Master degree programs will be online even if it is considered a traditional program. From previos treads, it seems that the CRNA programs have a lot of hands on training, which is a good thing as far as I am concerned. Good luck.

I don't like the group thing either, but I have some unfortunate news for you. I have already taken some online RN to BSN nursing courses (and am now switching to another due to expense) and they still make you do group assignments. You just have to communicate via email. It really depends on what online program you choose. It does seem you do a lot more work in writing papers. The only advantage I see (which is why I am doing it) is that you are not tied down to attending a class at a specific time. Again, this is also dependant on the instructor and school. Most instructors discourage setting specific times when you have to be online, which is good.

I have served in the Air Force for 16 years now. 11 years as enlisted and 5 years as an officer. I can answer a few questions for you, but the more detailed questions will need to be answered by your commander or first Sgt. You do not need to sign over custody of your children!!!!! BUT, you do need to be sure that in the event that you are deployed, your children will be taken care of. This means that you will need to find someone you trust to care for your children for an extended period of time and give them Power of Attorney. You will also need to ensure that you have a will drawn up indicating who will care for your children in the event you do not come back. (this is where you may be getting confused related to signing custody of your children.) The legal department will help you with all of this (actually, it is mandatory). Related to your recuiter, maturner if very correct in that he will not help you at all. What specialty are you trying to get into and what branch of service? I will try to help you and direct you as best as I can.

Thanks, I'll do that. I havn't done that yet because my biggest concern has been if I would have the money for living expenses. I'll do that and post a thread for FYI. I do have patient contact, but it is periodically helping a new nurse understand swans or (more frequesntly) being called when titrating the drips isn't helping, questions related to IABP, EKG changes, or the patient is generally going bad and the staff nurse needs help.

Thanks for your help. My work offers a preaty standard contract (from what I've seen in this form), 20K plus tuition... The co-signed loan would be the ticket, though I would need to see if I could find one without the co-sign required. I have a family with 2 kids. Before I made this committment, I would need to make sure I had the means to support them while I was in school. That is assuming they would consider me with my current work status. Thanks.

Thank you. It does help alot, although I am a little disappointed. I had hoped that teaching critical care classes and working with the new critical care nurses with their patients would be an added plus. Do you think if I did some PRN on the side it would help, or is the number of hours per week a factor also?

Others have said this, but let me say it again. What a great find this discussion group is. Thank you in advance for your help. I have already quite a few pages of this forum. A lot of my questions have already been answered, but I have a few that I haven't been able to find. I am currently working on my pre-req's for RN to BSN (1 year), which I will start in the Fall of 2005. 1. Will I be considered as for a CRNA school? I have 3 years CCU experiance, but for the last 2 years I have been developing staff, resourcing, and teaching critical care classes (in hospital). I have not been working in a critical care invironment lately, but I teach the critical care classes now (i.e. IAPB, Hemodynamics, Pacing, 12 lead EKG...) and resource for help with critical care patients (usually when they are already going bad). 2. With the one year RN to BSN program, when can I start applying? I would like to graduate the BSN program and move right into a CRNA program. 3. The most important question....how do you support your family when you can't work? I saw a thread concerning a contract with a stipid of 20K while in school. I could see myself making it with 30K or 40K, but 20K seems a bit low. I imagime the cost of the programs will take all of the funds from your student loans. How do you supplement your income? 4. Last...how do you get the contracts? Do they contact you or do you have to find them? I appreciate all your help. Sorry for the long message.