bman2019

i live out by Randolph on the north east side of town. its a nice area, houses are mostly still packed tight with very small yards (i come from an area where 1 acre is a small yard). I-35 (and all the other highways for that matter) is horrible and people drive like usual city drivers... so if you're commuting on a motorcycle I don't recommend living far out and taking the highways. I've been riding for 12 years and I wouldn't feel comfortable commuting on a bike here (i sold my last bike before coming here, i do miss it terribly but I'm so busy studying that i hardly notice anymore). You absolutely cannot ride a bike while in BOLC anyways. Plus there are a bunch of military rules/regs you have to follow before you're allowed to ride while on active duty. I live about 20 mins from base with little to moderate traffic, heavy traffic will up that to the 30's. it's never taken me more than 45 mins... there's plenty of back ways to get there through city streets too. There's a lot of military dense areas throughout the city, it's "military city USA" if that gives you a hint. I would live closer if I could, Alamo Heights area is nice, albeit more expensive. Shoot, living on base wouldn't be bad either. just all depends on what you want. You should get 10 days permissive TDY to come down before BOLC starts to look for a place while living in on base temp housing. Try to hook up with a realtor by phone before coming and discuss areas/options/ and dates to look at places before you even get here b/c those 10 days go by fast. But I guess you gotta get in first, so best of luck and let me know if there's anything else I can do to help. Cheers!

this is what happened for me, results will vary and are subject to change from class to class!!! I'll just add to what soldier murse already talked about... Timeline: I was a direct accession that made the early board in June so I received my acceptance from both the military and NEU by end of August (no clue what the timeline is for the November board). Received my orders late January. You go to the BOLC class they put you in which will be the one that ends closest to when classes start in mid June. I did BOLC mid march to end of May. You will do your commissioning stuff as soon as you get to Ft. SamHouston. what kind of "flexibility" are you refering to as far as BOLC? You should get orders that have you report to Ft. Sam 10 days before BOLC starts. This is up front permissive TDY to look for a house, so if its not on your orders definitely talk to your recruiter. I live out by Randolph AFB and commute and I like it out this way, but I have a big house for me and my family so my priorities are different than yours. I know some people live right off base in and around Alamo heights and they like it. There are some rough areas so definitely check it out and talk to your sponsor and a realtor before you sign any leases/buy. Best of luck to you and soldier murse, let me know if you have any more questions. cheers!

I did the same thing, just stick with it... imagine the excitement you'll have once you get accepted. plus you are getting yourself into a rhythm for when school starts because it is a lot of information. good luck with the application. cheers.

micromedex and lexi-comp is what ive used, and i prefer the look of lexi-comp's chart. I have a backup lexi-comp app on my phone and our unit has a drug book if the internet is down/system upgrade. i prefer the online lexi site since I'm already on the computer checking off orders from cpoe and it can be done at any computer. just my preference. cheers

My story is similar to yours, as I'm sure many can identify with. I worked as a cNA, then OR orderly when I found out about the CRNA profession 11 years ago. My journey led me to Iraq, nursing school, and 3 different ICU's, along with getting married with 3 kids along the way. And now, I am 2 months into my nurse anesthesia program. It is very challenging and the most studying I have ever done, but I'm getting good grades and I love what I am learning and doing. You seem to be wiser beyond many the same age as you and I'm sure you will excel once you start your program. As you so eloquently stated to everyone, you can reach your goals by opening one door at a time. Eventually, it will lead you to where you were meant to be. Stay humble my friends. Cheers,

have you talked with the program staff here in Texas yet? the o-chem question is a good one to ask them to see if they will accept it so you don't have to take biochem (although it's a really good idea to get refreshed on biochem). I came from the enlisted side in the guard so i'm not sure how they handle the time in grade coming active as a reserve officer. You should keep your years of service, I kept all my years. This is more of a recruiter specific question though but i can ask some classmates too.

how are you looking as far as meeting all of the admission criteria? pm me if you have any questions and i'll try and point you in the right direction.

I looked through the pass ccrn book but i only used it as a reference. I spent a good solid and dedicated month to watching the laura gasparis dvd's 3 times and doing the pass ccrn online practice questions and reading the rationales. the gasparis dvd's were moderately helpful but the pass ccrn is what i mainly used to study and do practice questions. It was a very difficult test but i passed with a pretty good score with like 4 areas with 100% including cardiovascular. that's just what i used, find what works best for you and stick with it. best of luck

congratulations, welcome to the club!

depends on what you want to do. i was never in the navy but in the air force (guard) and army. air force you can do flight nursing on aircraft or ccatt- critical care air transport team. i don't know about navy except they have bigger hospitals and they deploy using the mercy and comfort. As far as CRNA school, you will most likely have to wait a certain amount of time before you can even apply to USUHS; when i asked the air force last year they said it would be like 5 years on active duty before i could apply. I direct commissioned into the army's crna program which was my first choice anyways. hope this helps some

CCRN dude, PM me and I can give you an idea on how military pay works. I brought my wife and kids and honestly I have no regrets. I actually see my kids more than when I was working full time night shift.

It's pretty much like what Pixie RN said, but in BOLC you have nights and weekends off. I live off base and came home every night (except the three weeks in the field). weekends are off, and you come back from the field to have weekends off while in the field. Many people received weekend passes to travel around the area. and yes your family can move with you before you report to BOLC as long as your orders are correct. They should (again with correct orders) give you 10 days before bolc to house hunt.

I came in from the guard as enlisted, were you already an officer or were you enlisted?

I would recommend biochem as it is one of the first classes you will take in the program.

Hi, I am a phase 1 student now. Most questions can either go through the schoolhouse itself or a recruiter (depending on what the question is). The schoolhouse staff are always willing to answer questions and help people get accepted into the program. Before I applied I called the schoolhouse and they told me what I needed to do to become a good candidate. PM me if you all have any other questions.