I am 21, just passed NCLEX on the first try, and have not worked as a nurse yet. I have made up my mind that the Air Force is what I am looking for and figure that it is the safest route because you are always in a hospital (words of my recruiter). I have read many threads on this wonderful site comparing the different military branches. I will be thankful for any responses or insight to my questions below:
What base(s) are you at/have you been to? which would you recommend for learning and quality?
What are you thoughts on NTP/COT? Were you prepared after training?
How long after joining did it take you get into graduate school? What is a good GPA to have if you want to be selected for CRNA/NP school?
When is the earliest you can deploy after attending COT and NTP?
What is your work schedule/hours like (both when in US and abroad)?
Was anything promised that you didn't receive?
What is the most common charting system (paper/computer)?
Do nurses who take the OB route get deployed less than those in Med/Surg?
Thoughts on private sector vs military nursing? Which did you like more?
Did you know if you would get the sign on bonus / tuition repayment before you gave your final word? Did you receive a sign on bonus/tuition reimbursement?
Is the internet available overseas and at all bases? Has anyone tested the speed (is it like dialup, dsl/cable, or T1)?
this is kind of a random question but do you think having dogs be a problem, ie, working too much and fulfilling other duties that you'd never be home to take care of them? i have two dogs that i would take with me and it would be a deal breaker most likely if my work schedule preventing me from having them.
do AF nurses have their own Liability Insurance or is the military different so that you don't need your own coverage?
what specifically differs from day to day between military and civilian nursing? i keep reading 'not much' but i'm curious what that entails.
are there nurses that come in straight from school? and how to they adapt compared with experienced nurses that come in from civilian hospitals?
I believe you have to do everything else (MEPS, paperwork, personal statement) first.
The Chief Nurse interview is part of the application process, and from what I've been told, a huge part of it. And it actually makes a lot of sense - this is the only chance the operational Air Force gets to see who you are (or at the very least how you can project yourself). This one individual is your only liaison between you and the Air Force (your recruiter really doesn't count - they're the headhunter not the hirer, so to speak - although if you're a tool, your recruiter will filter you out very quickly), and their opinion carries a lot of weight.
The notes from your interview go to the board with the rest of your package. Your package is then evaluated by the board and compared with everyone else who has applied, and then you're accepted based on the needs of the Air Force (a line you'll hear a lot both during this process and your military career).
Once you are assigned to a base (and that happens when your package goes to the board - the AF tells you where you're going when they tell you you're accepted), that medical squadron's/group's chief nurse reviews your information and decides where you'll be working. They then assign you to a position. I found out when I was accepted that I'm going to the oncology unit at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base (Lackland was my first or second choice - I can't remember which) in San Antonio, Texas.
do AF nurses have their own liability insurance or is the military different so that you don't need your own coverage?
I would assume (and AF RNs correct me if I'm wrong) that nurses are covered by the Feres Doctrine (commonly pronounced the "Ferris Doctrine"), by which members of the Armed Forces cannot sue military health care providers for medical malpractice. However, I don't know how you're covered when you treat civilians - and you will definitely treat civilians (family members, retirees, etc).
About dogs - the difficult thing about dogs is, if you're single, you have to have some sort of plan in place for their care if you're deployed. Plenty of people have dogs/cats/whatnot in the military, but if you're single, it's another ball of wax entirely, and when I was in it was mainly due to deployments. (I was an AF cop, but trust me - we had the worst schedules of anyone. My roommate and I had two dogs, and the only time we had a problem was the one time we both got deployed at the same time.)
The AF does not work you to death - you're able to have a life, you just have to remember that their needs come first.
Honestly, mandatory PT and PT testing is great! At 36 I am in the best shape of my life. I don't see it as taking away from my personal life, I like to think it's adding to it. Yes, extra duties can be annoying sometimes, but the benefits that I receive in return are worth it to me. I can tell you that it is my experience that the older RNs who have had jobs elsewhere seem to adapt better to the AF than the younger RNs. Perhaps it's life experience and having personal reference of other nursing jobs and experiences. I just tend to appreciate the extras that I get in return for my service (health care and other military perks).
I know - I remember the shape I was in when I graduated from the AF police academy right after BMT and it makes me feel physically ill...won't discuss what I weighed and could run like the wind...!!
The only thing I really hated about the AF and PT were the so-called "wing fun runs". Give me a break - there is NOTHING fun or even remotely amusing about being ordered to show up somewhere on your (usually) Saturday off to serve as a rent-a-crowd (more like rent-a-formation) for the base colonel/one/two-star (who half the time isn't even there anyway) and run a 5K. I used to swap days with people to have to work that day! HATED that stuff. I hate running as it is, but I'll do it and do it gladly/willingly because I have to - "fun runs" push my limits, though. Grrr.
I have my chief nurse interview on the 28th. It is the last thing I have to do besides giving more initials on my application which I have done so much of already.
I am really starting to have doubts about doing it. Some people are saying the work load is less than working as a civilian, other's are saying you work lots of overtime, which of course you don't get compensated for...
Has anyone ever heard of a nurse getting rejected? I don't think I would be very sad if I did... Nurses are abused no matter where they work, and the people who help society the most are not compensated fairly. That's life isn't it?
i'm kind of in the same boat you are in... now that it is getting closer i'm starting to doubt what my reasons were for joining and am actually getting quite scared. but i think if you look at the big picture you might see that it would be worth it to give it a try. i am currently in my first RN position and it's grueling- every day i leave i wonder why i ever went to nursing school- i hate it most of the time. but i know if i stick it out it will get better. so maybe i'll hate the air force too- sure i'm stuck for four years but honestly will it be THAT bad? maybe, but 99% of the threads you read and people you talk to say they wouldn't change their experience for the world. so yeah, maybe it'll be bad but it could be amazing and i'm almost positive that no matter where you get your first RN position you aren't going to love it for a while. so in my opinion i'd rather try the air force and at least live somewhere that i know i'd never pick up and move to and be able to look back and say i did it and look where it got me than to forever wonder what would have happened. at this point i've thought about so much that i know i'd regret it if i didn't follow through. and while you're young enough to move around with minimal committments i'd say give it a try- otherwise you'll never know. don't get me wrong, i'm terrified, but at the same time i'm hoping it's an adventure that will pay off in the long haul! (i went to initial some forms the other day and got physically nauseous when the recruiter asked for my base choices- not even kidding)
on another note- i have no idea how many people they reject. or what the likelihood of not getting accepted is. i'd like to know that myself actually.
i am currently in my first RN position and it's grueling- every day i leave i wonder why i ever went to nursing school- i hate it most of the time. but i know if i stick it out it will get better. so maybe i'll hate the air force too- sure i'm stuck for four years but honestly will it be THAT bad?
I can relate to how you are feeling. I quit a good paying job to return to nursing school. I spent a ton of money and got myself into a great deal of debt, which I'm sure I'll be paying until I retire! I took my first job and immediately started to regret my decision to become a nurse. I felt stupid every day and I left both mentally and physically exhausted. Fast forward to today and things are completely different. I really love my job and feel it was the best decision I could have made. While I am far from being an expert, I feel much more comfortable in my clinical decision making and I am a much more confident nurse. It took a lot of time but it will come.
It's funny because I read so many of the posts on this site about the decision to join the military...should I? shouldn't I?....and I think "that was me not so long ago". Now that I'm in the AF I think "what was the big deal? why was I so worried?" I don't mean to belittle anyone's feelings of doubt; joining the military is a HUGE decision mostly because you can't just up and quit. It's just that I don't personally see any difference in my (personal) life now than I did when I worked as a civilian. As for my work life, well that has greatly improved. The camaraderie is amazing. My patient load is slightly less but it feels like a lot less because I have so much help. I have received a ridiculous amount of training in my specialty as well as leadership training.
I work with many young nurses who say that when their commitment is complete that they are getting out. When I've asked, not one of them says they regret their time served. Most (and my most I mean the people I know, not to generalize everyone) get out because they are homesick or left behind boyfriends/girlfriends that they want to go home to. Each says they will be a better nurse because of their service. So in a long winded effort, I'm trying to say it won't be THAT bad.
i'm kind of in the same boat you are in... now that it is getting closer i'm starting to doubt what my reasons were for joining and am actually getting quite scared. but i think if you look at the big picture you might see that it would be worth it to give it a try. i am currently in my first RN position and it's grueling- every day i leave i wonder why i ever went to nursing school- i hate it most of the time. but i know if i stick it out it will get better. so maybe i'll hate the air force too- sure i'm stuck for four years but honestly will it be THAT bad? maybe, but 99% of the threads you read and people you talk to say they wouldn't change their experience for the world. so yeah, maybe it'll be bad but it could be amazing and i'm almost positive that no matter where you get your first RN position you aren't going to love it for a while. so in my opinion i'd rather try the air force and at least live somewhere that i know i'd never pick up and move to and be able to look back and say i did it and look where it got me than to forever wonder what would have happened. at this point i've thought about so much that i know i'd regret it if i didn't follow through. and while you're young enough to move around with minimal committments i'd say give it a try- otherwise you'll never know. don't get me wrong, i'm terrified, but at the same time i'm hoping it's an adventure that will pay off in the long haul! (i went to initial some forms the other day and got physically nauseous when the recruiter asked for my base choices- not even kidding)
on another note- i have no idea how many people they reject. or what the likelihood of not getting accepted is. i'd like to know that myself actually.
good luck!
Agree. If you think about it, whenever you take a new job, you are gambling. The upside with the air force is so much better than any other place that I could work at the moment, as a brand new RN. That's what keeps me going. That and wanting to free myself from my parents :stone
My recruiter told me he has never had a nurse rejected. Remember we are in one of those fields where we will always be needed due to people always being sick, and there will never be enough of us. :) I have spoken to 2 people I know that were/are nurses in the AF, and both say it's way better than being a civilian, as well as a 3rd person in the AF, not in nursing, that seems to be enjoying himself.
I am taking advantage and starting my Master's as soon as I'm put on active duty. I was already accepted to Ohio State, and will be doing online classes. This is going to be covered through the AF's tuition assistance program. My GPA was around 3.5, GRE above 60%, 3 references, an essay on why I wanted to be an AHNP, ect...
kkcrank,
What masters are you going for? I am curious if you have started already and if you have figured out (if there is a clinical component to your program, how you are going to complete it?
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mobro
159 Posts
this is kind of a random question but do you think having dogs be a problem, ie, working too much and fulfilling other duties that you'd never be home to take care of them? i have two dogs that i would take with me and it would be a deal breaker most likely if my work schedule preventing me from having them.
do AF nurses have their own Liability Insurance or is the military different so that you don't need your own coverage?
what specifically differs from day to day between military and civilian nursing? i keep reading 'not much' but i'm curious what that entails.
are there nurses that come in straight from school? and how to they adapt compared with experienced nurses that come in from civilian hospitals?