questions regarding air force nurse

aglages · Oct 5, 2009

1) Would AF pay for my college tuition during nursing school or after school?if during school, when should I apply for it?
Look into the Air Force ROTC Nursing Scholarship. Pays for three years of college and you are eligible after completing one year of college. The AFROTC site will have more details and eligibility requirements.
When will you transfer to a BSN program?
2)How long is the contract usually for repaying my loan(with or without bonus)?
In ROTC the commitment is 8 years. 4 active and 4 inactive
3)After contract is done, am I free to live as a civilian? or would military call me again if needed?
After the 4 years active, yes you would be "free" to live as a civilian. The AF could call you up while on inactive reserve, but it is HIGHLY unlikely.
4)Can you choose where you want to be stationed at overseas? or would AF deploy me wherever they need to?
No. You can give them a list of preferences, but the bottom line is that they own you and wil send you where they want / need you the most.
7)Do you require prior nursing experience in AF or is new grad ok for AF nursing?
New grads are fine.

Hope this helps.

wl1000jae · Oct 6, 2009

Hope this helps.

ahh....unfortunately I'm not U.S. citizen yet I hold green card and I can(and will) apply for citizenship in 2012...So can't apply for ROTC now. Besides I'm in community college now doing pre nursing classes...planning to transfer to state school where I can get my BSN. That's why I asked about if AF would pay my loan after or during school..oh well. But thank you very much for your post.

NurseJessi · Oct 7, 2009

They will pay your loan after (as long as they stick with what they've been doing in the past), but it will require an extra time commitment from you if you accept the bonus as well. Loan repayment plus bonus is a six year commitment at this time... Bonus only ($30,000) is four years. Loan repayment only, I think is four years too... someone correct me if I'm wrong...?

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Oct 7, 2009

I don't think you can take them separate - you either take only the bonus, or the bonus with the repayment. Really, giving a company six years in exchange for up to sixty grand ($20K plus up to forty grand in loan repayment) is nothing.

The bonus only is just three years, not four.

NurseJessi · Oct 7, 2009

Bonus only is definitely four years. I just signed the paperwork that says so - . I'm reading a lot of information that doing loan repayment only is three years, but that both is six. This is also exactly what my recruiter has been telling me. The paper I signed says fiscal year 2009, Four Year Nurse Accession Bonus Agreement right on the top.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Oct 8, 2009

Mine says three, my orders say three, and my contract says three - and I'm guaranteed thirty grand - and I signed in fiscal year '09 (6 Jun 2009 with a commission date of 24 July 09). If you get out, you owe them INACTIVE reserve time - but it's a three year active commitment. I'd be happy to show you my orders. No one in my COT class that I've found so far has a four year commitment; this must be new - as in the last month or less.

If I get the loan repayment, I'll be amended to a six year commitment and my bonus will be cut to $20K - also in my paperwork.

Perhaps for fiscal year 2010 accessions it's a four year active commitment, but not according to what I've been told. The budget for 2010 hasn't even been printed yet, though (I'm not even sure Congress has signed it yet), so I doubt this very seriously.

NurseJessi · Oct 8, 2009

Oh, I totally believe you! But I am thinking they must have changed it. Four years is what I've been told from the beginning, back in May. Very interesting, cuz the paperwork def says FY2009 on it, and def says four years. Weird!?

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Oct 9, 2009

That is weird, because all I've ever heard is three.

As long as we both get our cash, I guess it doesn't matter - I always thought three years is a stupid length anyway...I sort of wish it did say four.

:)

DrCOVID, DNP · Oct 11, 2009

I just posted a seemingly official FY2010 document (came from the Colonel/CN I interviewed with) that stipulates the agreement:

Option 1: 30k for 4 years

or

Option 2: 20k + Loan Repayment (ADHPLRP) for 6 years

I am praying they accept me, I don't really like my plan B (USPHS),C (VA hospital near me),D (navy),E (army),F (marines), or G (generic hospitals near me)...

Love how the recruiter failed to tell me the accession bonus would be cut by one third if I decided to take loan repayment!

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Oct 11, 2009

I figured the change to four years was for FY 2010.

The bonus always changes when you take loan repayment, and it should - if I get the loan repayment, they'll be giving me almost fifty grand (I owe about twenty grand in loans), and for some people the combined amount will be closer to sixty grand.

militarygoal · Oct 20, 2009

I'm interested in joining the AFas a nurse by direct commission, but I currently don't meet the weight standard. I was wondering can you submit the packet before you meet the weight standard, or do you have to wait until you meet the weight standard? I'm already a RN, and will finish my BSN on DEC 18th. :yeah: Just wondering?