williams84

As dumb as it sounds, they are removing OR nurses from FSTs. They are replacing them with another trauma physician. They believe that the OR NCOs can accomplish most of the "circulating" duties and the other nurses in the unit can take care of the documentation part. If you do join up in the reserves, chances are you'll be assigned to a CSH and you'll rarely deploy in the combat role. If you go active, you'll work in military hospitals. -Recently discharged OR nurse from an FST

WGU Informatics with a start date of October, here. I just finished their MBA Healthcare Management and I loved it. Once you get a rhythm, it's pretty easy to stay on target, even though it's all self-paced. Good luck deciding!

Congrats on getting selected! Do you know what unit you'll be with and can you contact them? That would be my first suggestion. I had 4 months in between commissioning and when I started drilling. It almost felt like I wasn't selected at all. In the meantime, work on getting the pieces together for your uniform and keep working on your PT. Drill will come and your weekends will fly by. Once you have AKO access, you can start Phase I of BOLC (if it's still online). This will allow you to get put in Phase II faster. You don't want to be in TX in the middle of summer. My deployment is 9 months. It feels like it just started, but I haven't been home in months. I'm hoping it flies by a little faster.

You're in luck! I wrote about my time there in February of 2016. As reservists, we didn't have follow on training. We just went home when the BOLC part was done. https://allnurses.com/government-military-nursing/rc-bolc-2016-a-1040816.html

Let's see, in the last year I attended UPL school (1 week active duty), BOLC (26 days?), a 4 day drill weekend, a 3 day drill weekend, 2 weeks at ATTC in Miami, and 1 week AT at Fort Gordon. Plus, 6 normal drill weekends (Saturday and Sunday). I also came in on my own accord to do a command turnover inventory for a weekend. The 2 weeks in Miami were the only ones my unit did "extra" because we were deploying. There will be FTX's that take more than the regular weekend drill. The CSH plans for 2 of those a year (those are the 3 and 4 day weekends).

Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to drop off the face of the Earth. Ok, so for the total time requirement the Army will possibly take up, it varies depending on the unit. I know that's a very vague answer, but I swear it's the truth. I am in a very, very small unit and since we were deploying, I was tasked with doing so much more than the "one weekend a month, two weeks a year" minimum. As the deployment got closer, I was pretty much working Army full time and trying to fit in my regular job. It didn't work and I ended up taking a leave of absence from my civilian job so I could get the unit ready. I do have friends who are in a much larger unit, such as a CSH, and they do the bare minimum. It's really up to you and how much you are willing to contribute to the team. As officers, you will have a huge responsibility for your readiness AND the people who are assigned to you. That's right, you are now responsible for people you've never met solely based on your rank. If you're brand new to the military, this will be an adjustment. Just be willing to learn from everyone, no matter what rank, and you'll be just fine. I was prior active duty enlisted in the Navy, so I had a better understanding of what would be expected of me. Without my enlisted soldiers, though, I wouldn't have been as successful with the transition. They'll say I'm still a work in progress. :-p Driving round trip is definitely worth it to me. We're still deployed right now, but I know that when we get back, I'll be just as satisfied making the drive every month to be with this team. I hope that helps. I'll try not to disappear again for too long.

I am a current reservist. I commissioned in June, started drilling in October, got my first round of bonus in November, and went to BOLC in February. I live 4 hours away from my drill unit. I drive it every month because I love my unit. We just deployed to Afghanistan.

I'm not sure how many weeks the Sill one would be, but I wouldn't plan on bringing your family to either. From what I was told, Sill would be like going away to BCT for enlisted, so pretty restrictive. I did the reserve portion which is the last few weeks of BOLC. The active duty class was there for approximately 4 weeks before I showed up. We were mostly in the field, minus weekends.

Actually, when I was at BOLC in February, they were talking about making FT Sill BOLC I and FT Sam BOLC II. I don't know when the changes were going into effect, but that's what we were told.

Yes, buy a two ribbon rack. Do not attempt to put two individual racks on.

I have no idea on any of that stuff, but I'm pretty sure I'll be finding out the hard way soon enough. Most of what I have been up to lately is trying to get all of my collateral duty schools in.

ORNurse1, How long have you been a 66E? I have been commissioned for a little less than a year. My experience has been limited to about 5 drill weekends and BOLC. We have spent most of that time filling vacant positions and doing little classes on medical training. What my leadership has recommended to me is to brush up on the types of instruments and equipment the unit has, what kinds of cases we primarily see, and getting certified (BLS, ACLS, PALS, CNOR, etc.). A big part of your job is making sure that your team (68Ds) are working on staying current. Many of them may not work in the OR on the civilian side. That bothers me for FSTs, but I do my best to work with what I have. I hope this helps a little. I was blessed to fall into a unit that has strong officers who have deployed with each other a few times. I'm the only new piece, so it's easier for me to adjust to their style. Maybe you have experienced leaders that you can tap into? If not, keep in touch with me and I'll help where I can.

Get excited! It sucks when you're doing it, but it really is a good time.

For an NP in the reserves, you'll go down for 26 days. If you go after October 1 of this year, you'll have to go to Fort Sill for a few weeks before.

For ASUs, it was totally up to you if you wanted the pants or the skirt. I went pants because I don't do heels or nylons. They issue you everything you will need CIF-wise. You can bring your own stuff if you want. Also, CIF is super picky about turning stuff in clean. They rejected a lot of people because their gortex jackets and pants were stained. A lot of Shout was used that day in the parking lot. I got a small Gerber flashlight before I went. It has a white, red, blue, and green lens available. Some people went with headlamps so they could use both hands. It's really a personal preference. I used my white light solely to "charge" my compass so it glowed in the dark. Don't use the white light in the tents. You'll hear about it. If you have any other questions, just ask. There are no stupid questions if I can help you before you get there.