Question to any USAF Nurse,

I have accepted a position as a critical care nurse working on a PINS unit (Post Intensive Care). My plan is to work for a year, then come back in the Air Force as an active duty nurse. But my question is what type of job will I be offered? Will they make me do med/surg first or could I go right into critical care/ICU?

Is "PINS" an ICU or is it a step down unit?

In general you need 1yr of ICU experience in order to go directly into ICU as an AF nurse with your ICU identifier.

If you are now working in a step down unit you will probably go to med-surg/clinic/day surgery or something similar when you come into the AF.

No matter what your recruiter tells you it is totally up to your chief nurse where you are assigned, but if you have your speciality identifier you will most likely go to that speciality area.

Good Luck! I hope that helps a little bit.

It is a step down unit. But the nurses sometimes float to ICU.

I am pretty sure that won't count towards your ICU identifier.

You might try to get your civilian hospital to switch you to ICU, or take a nonspeciality nursing job in the AF and then later apply for the AF ICU internship program.

No matter what your choice there is little comparison to most civilian med-surg wards and an AF med-surg unit. With the exception of WHMC, the normal RN-pt load is usually 1 RN to 4-5 patients with one tech per 1-2 nurses. The acuity is usually quite a bit lower than what I have seen at most civilian med-surg wards, also.

What is your ultimate goal(s) concerning the AF?

Good Luck!

My ultimate goal concerning the Air Force is to become accepted into an AFIT slot so I can become a nurse practitioner.

Whenever you get in you need to go to a base that has only clinics. For now the AFIT prereq for NP is working in an AF clinic, so your best bet is to go to a base where there is only clinics. Then you can apply to AFIT at your 2-3 yr mark.

Good Luck!

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful advice!!!

Good luck to you also in your CRNA school.

Your welcome. Here is the main portion of the AFIT NP requirements for last year's call for canidates. Also, I just saw on there where it wants both clinic and med-surg/ambulatory care and outpatient clinic expierence for FNP. The best bet still is go to an all clinic base and then just work part time in one of those two areas.

GRADUATE EDUCATION

Nurse Practitioner Programs

Selects clinical nurses for master's level study in Nurse Midwife, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP), Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP), Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). NOTE: A one-year post master's certificate in Women's Health Nurse Practitioner is offered in addition to the 2 year master's program. Successful completion of the academic program and the specialty certification exam results in award of AFSC 46G3, 46N3A, 46N3B, 46PA and 46N3H as appropriate. Duration: maximum 24 months. Family Nurse Practitioners will attend the program at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner students will attend either the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS) Bethesda, MD or a civilian institution program; school location will be determined after candidacy selection. Applications for the Family Nurse Practitioner program must be submitted to the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS) not later than 1 July 2007. Applications and reference forms can be found online at http://cim.usuhs.mil/gsn/contact/gsn_leadership.htm. Click on "Admissions" for application/reference letters submission instructions.

A. PREREQUISITES

1.STATUS:

Time-on-station requirement: CONUS candidates must complete 24 months TOS as of 31 Jul 08 (31 May 08 for FNP candidates). Overseas applicants must complete the standard tour length for assigned location as of same date less the 60-day rollback.

2. RANK:

a.Nurse Midwife - 1Lt through Maj

b.WHNP - 1Lt through Maj

c.FNP - 1Lt through Maj

d.Psychiatric Mental Health NP through 1Lt - Maj

e.Pediatric NP - 1 Lt through Maj

3. ACADEMIC/EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

a.BSN degree required. Nurses with an associate's degree (ADN) may also submit applications for Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric CNS and Adult Health AFIT programs.

b.Cumulative GPA 3.0.

c.ACLS or PALS certification highly desirable. BLS see Atch 3, para B.10.

d.Nurse Midwifery candidates must have certification in Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP) and ACLS.

4. GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATION: Completion of the GRE within five years of anticipated school start date with a minimum combined verbal and quantitative score of 950 required.

5. EXPERIENCE (not waiverable): All candidates: "Shadowing" a Nurse Corps officer or a civilian counterpart in the requested specialty for a sufficient period to understand the role and responsibilities of the specialty is strongly recommended prior to application

a.Nurse Midwife: Minimum of one year intrapartum/L&D experience at date of selection

board required. Nurses who rotate all OB areas should use one-third of total time as time worked in L&D.

b.FNP: Minimum of one year of inpatient, such as a medical -surgical unit, or ambulatory care is acceptable. Ambulatory care is defined as patients receiving surgery and discharged the same day. One year of outpatient experience, such as Family Practice/Primary Care Clinic is most preferred. Emergency Room is acceptable, but not considered equivalent to Family Practice. A year of obstetrics or pediatric experience is also highly desirable.

c.WHNP candidates: Minimum of one year OB/GYN experience (antepartum, L&D, postpartum; inpatient, outpatient or combination) at date of selection board is required. Nursery experience is not creditable. For WHNP Post Master's Certificate program candidates a master's degree in nursing is mandatory.

d.Psychiatric Mental Health NP candidates: Must be a 46P3 with a minimum of 2 years of psychiatric nursing experience.

e.Pediatric NP candidates. Minimum of one year pediatric experience at date of selection board is required (May consider NICU, Newborn Nursery, or PICU experience).

6. NATIONAL CERTIFICATION: See Atch 3, para B. 11.

7. INTERVIEW: A telephone or personal interview with a designated Air Force nurse practitioner in your requested specialty is required. Follow this procedure to complete the interview:

b.Candidates must contact the assigned interviewer to arrange the date and time for the interview. Send a current resume to your interviewer immediately (use resume format found on SGN homepage).

c.On the selected date, contact the assigned interviewer. A standardized interview format will be used. Allow up to one hour for the interview.

d.When the interview is completed, the interviewer will forward it directly to HQAFPC/DPAMN, 550 C Street West, Suite 27, Randolph AFB TX 78150-4727 for inclusion with the application package. Facilities/SDOs must ensure the interview has been completed with the assigned interviewer before submitting the application package to DPAMN.

B. APPLICATION PROCEDURES AND INFORMATION: See Atch 3.

What is the additional service requirement time after completing the program?

Thanks

The payback is 4yrs for the 2yr program and 4.5 for the 2.5yr program.