MBRN74

hey psycheab, Just curious, are you currently in a hospital over there as a nurse. I wanted to go work overseas but didn't want that to affect applying to the military. Your case is a bit different as you have an active duty husband. Please let me know. Thanks so much.

Hey Zacheus81, I'm curious to know as to why you weren't gettiing anywhere with the active duty side? I say if you want active to keep pressing forward. Especially if you are younger and have time. As far as reserve time it depends on what sort of bonus you take for the length of years, for example i think the minimum is 3 years and not sure if there is a bonus. But i think that's the least time. I think you would be happy with the reserves. I understand it's a little more laid back. Besides, i also believe you can pick up active duty billets as they are available while in the reserves. That's the fun part. You can live where you want and keep your civi job as well. Let me know if you have any more questions. I will be glad to help you and offer what i have come to know. :)

Hey, I had been in acutes as well. From my experience they like to have more bedside experience. Although, if you show on your resume how you use all your nursing skills while in acutes it's a benefit to you. If you have further questions feel free to send me a private PM. Talk to a recruiter as they can tell you more about being qualified.

Hello zacheus81, Are you currently in ICU or CCU? For flight nurse they like for you to have at least 6 months in that field. It could be different now but the last time i checked that's what they were looking for. Have you spoken to a recruiter? From what i understand there are not a lot of slots for flight nursing in the reserves generally. You could try to get in the reserves and then try to get into the flight aspect of it later.

Hello, I'm not sure why your recruiter wouldn't be able to tell you about time in grade. If i'm not mistaken they take your time and do some calculation (generally split your tiime in half or something like you get 6 months for every one year) and that's how much time in grade you get up to a certain amount. Someone else may chime in on here who knows for sure! Not sure why he/she wouldn't mention sign on bonuses either. That's strange they usually do unless there are specific bonuses for certain specialties but still. Did the recruiter say you would be applying to the nursing board in April? Generally, you do submit the paperwork but you also get sent to MEPS for your physical to make sure you are even medically qualified. What is your experience in? Let me know if you have any other questions and i will be looking out for your posts. I will try to help out.

Hey Carlily, I didn't know you could go from the ANG to active duty AF? Is it because you switched over to a CCU specialty and that is one of their needs? Let me know about that? If it's easier to get picked up by ANG and then switch over, well, that sounds like an option? Thanks so much.

Just a little input. If you aren't sure of nursing then trying a job as a cna or patient care partner will be good for you. That's what i did. I started very young as a patient care tech in dialysis. They will hire you without experience. I also got into a program and became a volunteer EMT. Best experience I have had. If you are strong in wanting to become a nurse then go for it and become an RN. Im not saying LPN's are not needed but are becoming more and more placed in nursing homes and Dr's offices and such. Which is great as nurses are needed everywhere. I commend you in choosing. As an RN you have more flexibility and more pay if that is of interest to you. There are so many things you can get into. From research, advice nursing, legal nursing, managerial aspects, etc......So often times they are discussing mandating every RN to have a BSN. They are phasing out associate degrees nurses in positions. You could ultimately start out in an associates program and then once you get your RN degree you can work for about a year, save money and go back for you BSN. I really encourage you to do this. YOU can do it. I'm not saying it will be easy but press forward. There are other options as well. I loved being an EMT!!! Perhaps look into that as well. This takes a little less time to achieve. If you get a job as a CNA , then great!! Be the best CNA you can be! We need CNA's and good ways at that. Plus, starting out as that will give you a greater appreciation for CNA's when you become an RN. I know i do. I love having a great CNA around. They are vital to every nurses job. Let me know what you decide and if you have other questions or if i can help you. Good luck!!

Thanks pamelarn06. I know i have been told several different things. I was told that they start looking at packets during september and would possibly meet at the end of last week of september. But again, i also heard numbers come out october 1 and that they would meet after that. who knows... Appreciate your input. Anyone out there close to VA, DC or MD???

To Sailorwifey, Did they happen to mention to you when exactly the first board is? Or does anyone out there know? I was told end of september? What type of unit are you working on? Are you applying for a med/surg nurse or some other specialty? How was your recruitment process? I wouldn't say being a new grad is an automatic no so keep head up! How long have you been a new grad?

To Stephers85, If you aren't getting a response in your area then call another state to start working with someone and explain that you aren't getting anyone where you are. But keep calling, be persistent. It would be helpful to start applying for jobs so once you are done you can have that lined up. Are you in a patient care tech job now? If not get started in that and go from there. That's valuable experience. You want either AF or Navy? Decide on which culture best suits you! They have different aspects to them. AF has locations in almost every state I think and if you don't care about being stationed in places like ND, Utah, Maine, Ohio, etc.... and you may get stationed later at bases with clinics not hospitals and potentially at a army hospital. Navy is more west coast, east coast and work with Marines. Despite what alot of folks thnk, nurses generally dont get stationed out on a boat either. Those postions are few and far between. Nurses who want those compete for them. So dont worry about that. Also, AF has increased their time on station to 4 years instead of 3 like the Navy. Unless you decide to take an assignment in another country somewhere after 3 years. These are just things to keep in mind. Not everythiing is in stone, things change as well. Good luck with things.

Hey staugnurse, I'm 38 and this is second time applying due to it filling up so quick last year and packet didn't make it in in time. What extra stuff did you have done since you are 40. Have you recently started nursing or have been doing for a long time? What specialty are you applying to? How has your experience been with recruitment? Did you apply to any other branch? Apologies up front for all the questions? Trying to figure all this out as well. Thanks in advance.

Hello BabyRN05, Hope all is well. Thanks for your post . I am a potential and have been an RN for quite some time. I would like to get more info from you and your experience. I was trying to PM you but for some reason It won't let me. Thank you so much. Maybe you can PM me because I am not sure it won't let me do that with you right now.

PolarBear, I have heard of the Nurse Candidate program but I really dont know much about it. It's a good thing you are applying already. How far along are you in school? That may make a difference. I'm pretty sure slots fill up fast. I encourage you to do very well with your grades, get a job as a patient care tech or something, go volunteer as much as you can somewhere and join a nursing organization (perhaps if your school has a student nurses association) or just find one of those in general. You need to show some leadership and community activity all the while maintaining your grades. Keep yourself in good physical shape. Also practice swimming, can you swim? I"m assuming so? If you keep a regular workout then you may be able to include that in your packet somewhere too. Perhaps you can also volunteer at a hospital, be an educator at a health fair (hand out pamphlets or something), do a community soup kitchen on a regular basis, volunteer at a nursing home on a regular, all these things you can include in your packet. Also be thinking about your motivaional statement if you havn't done so already (of course you may have to update it). Also, think about your motivations about why you want to join. Good luck to you and keep me updated. Feel free to contact me regarding questions you may have and I will try to answer. You are off to a good start, so keep it up:)

Hi PolarBear, I will try to answer some of your questions. I commend you for seeking information. I would say the best thing to do is talk to a recruiter. A lot of nurses are trying to enter into the military these days. One thing you want to decide on is what mission do you want to follow? The Navy is sea-baring, however alot of nurses do not necessarily have to serve on ships as corpsmen usually do this. If you were to get commissioned into the Navy you go to officer school in newport, rhode island. You learn how to be an officer and you have physical training to complete. The difference with the navy is that you have to jump off of a plank into a pool and swim to get out. You will then have to tread water for a couple minutes (i think) and another piece is you will have to jump in take your pants off, blow in them to make a flotation device. that's the difference with the navy vs. other branches. I believe with the AF you do have an obstacle course to go through but it's not really a pass or fail thing. It's more about teamwork. In the AF most times you are scheduled to be at a duty station for four years, not written in stone as that could change based on eligibility for any training or schools or their needs. After being at your first duty station for 2 years you can request transfer to another duty station, provided they dont really need where you are. The mission in the AF is a bit different than Navy. AF is about flying, you have the potential to be an Aerovac nurse(noncritical flight nurse). AF has different locations throughout the US however keep in mind they dont' have as many waterside locations like the Navy. The Navy has some of the nicest locations on the water. You should do a search on all the locations for both the AF and Navy. You may want to also check, I think the AF promotes a little slower than the Navy but don't quote me on that. I dont see any real reason for you not to have a pet. My friend had one in the AF while in Italy and he brought the doggie back to the states with him. Yes, if you were deployed then you would have to have someone take care of your pet. I'm not sure if you could have a pet in base housing or not? I would think you could but another question or recruiter. If you come in the military straight out of nursing school with no experience you more than likely will be put into med/surg right away to gain experience. HOwever, you would let your commanding officer/chief nurse know what your goals are right away so they can help stear you on that path. I would recommend you get a job right out of school and then apply to the military if that's what you decide to do. They always like to see experience. I would recommend if you could to get a job in critical care if you find some place to take you as a new grad. As a new officer i dont think you have to live on base. You can live off base and receive housing allowance. Alot of people like to do this. Navy hospitals dont always have base housing (i think). As far as the hours for a miilitary nurse they are similar to that of civi nursing. Typically 12 hours shifts unlesss in a clinic you will do 8 hr. However, remember it's the needs of the military so you could work a little more without overtime like civi. Just keep that in mind. But there are so many other things to make up for like the service to your country, the discounts at the base exchange, and other incidentals, plus, education and training that gets paid for. Besides you can always work at a civi hosp on your days off. A fair amount of people do this. Just have to get permission. So, remember, it's the needs of the military. You make a wish list of where you want to go. For Navy, new nurses generally get sent to Portsmouth, VA, Bethesda, MD, or San Diego, California. The navy also takes care of the Marines too, so you could possibly end up at one of those bases. Just look up those three big medical centers. Those are the biggest ones for the Navy. As far as the AF, they try to put new nurses in hospitals too. I dont think their hospitals are as big except for the one that merged with Brooke Army Med Ctr in Texas. What branch matches up with what you want to do? Navy conducts humanitarian efforts via ship, you could get a chance to do that. But ask about that. They have waterside locations if that is of concern to you. The AF is about the flying mission and generally their hospitals really are located within a base per se. Unlike the Navy. So, if you are interested in perhaps flying missions sometimes then think the AF, but remember there is no guarantee. You just have to make your intentions known. Besides it could also take sometime or just depends. Be mindful there is always the Public Health Commissioned Corps. It may be harder to get in there. It's part of the military but you dont have to move around as much and you wear a uniform and make rank as well. It's just not as much bedside nursing i dont believe, but here again check into for sure. Oh by the way, have you checked in ROTC. They can help you with school and you commission right after you graduate and serve your time to pay back. I hope this helps you. Let me know if you have further questions and I will try to help you. What state are you in? Either way i suggest you start working as a tech or something now if you aren't already and get a nursing job right away when you get out then apply.

I know apparently after you are cleared and scrolled and they get "the call' then I think they have seven days to do it. Which i didn't realize. But yeah you just got told so. Looks like Kadena is a nice place. I think it's just a clinic though!! I'm not sure if their is a FB page or not. I havn't checked that far into anything.