RN looking for some AF info from someone who knows

[icurnanthony]

hello everyone, been lurking here for years but just now registered. i'm a 33 year old, male who has been an rn for 2 years now. i'm working on my bsn and should graduate may 2012. my 2 years' experience is in ccu/micu, er, and house wide nursing supervisor. i recently started taking the steps to enter the air force after graduation next year as a ccu rn with possible crna route. spoke to the local recruiter and the health professionals recruiter for my region and just submitted some of my info. he said i was eligible to apply for a ccu commission considering my background.

what kind of paperwork do i need to get together? when is the deadline for my paperwork if i don't graduate till may 2012? if i don't get a ccu position can i apply at the same time for med/surge to help ensure i get a spot? how hard is it to transfer from med/surge to ccu after being commissioned? what do i need to start focusing on to improve my chances of being selected? any suggestions on who i can get a letter of recommendation from that would do the most good? anything else would be greatly appreciated. thanks

[CRF250Xpert]

recruiters are lazy bottom feeders.

some would argue that the recruiting/retention cmd has the most important mission in all branches of the military.

opinions vary.........

yes indeed. some would argue, but they would be wrong now, wouldn't they?

[79Tango]

Yes they would be wrong.. Without their recruiter they would have nothing to argue about.

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

Yes they would be wrong.. Without their recruiter they would have nothing to argue about.

I personally liked my AF healthcare recruiter. I have had my run in with some other recruiters and they did nothing but occupy space with the minimum amount of work possible. My healthcare recruiter was good at doing the paperwork, and didn't try to BS that he actually knew anything about being in the nurse corps which he didn't. The vast majority of healthcare recruiters will have no clue about anything to do with the nurse corps. This is one of the reasons I choose to post on here and offer help to would be AF nurses.

IMHO recruiters have no business on this website unless they are nurses/ or want to be nurses posting for non recruiting purposes.

The military would be much better off if we made recruiting self sufficient and available online with regional civilian contractors to answer questions/set up appointments as needed.

Just my on the subject.

[razorshark]

You are right. I was asked to come on here to clear up a lot of misinformation concerning "how" to get accepted, not to troll or argue. There is a reason nurses are not recruiters, and I would never tell a nurse how to do their job. Best of luck everyone.

Signing off,

Sharky

[TigerBlood01]

My about my experiences with recruiters:

As a military brat of a Navy LDO, my father was assigned recruiting duty for 2 years when I was 10 years old. From a first hand perspective, I can assure you that many military recruiters work very hard and spend a lot of time away from home on the road. I think we saw less of my father when he was doing recruiting duty compared to his time on sea duty. 12-16 hour days were the daily norm. I think that some people do not understand that recruiters have families and a life outside of their recruiting duties. Honestly, does someone really think that a future employer (whether it is the military or civilian) should be available to them 24/7?

As a veteran, I have never had a negative experience with my recruiters in the past. Currently, my AF recruiter has been very efficient and professional. He keeps me updated on my status and informs me of any paperwork that he needs. We have a mutual respect for each other as well. For example, I do not call him after his working hours to ask him questions about my application and he understands I have a busy life too. Another thing I learned from being in the military is that there is the concept of "hurry up and wait." There are many things that are not in the control of a recruiter or anyone in the military. Many things need to be approved at a higher level. It just takes patience and a delayed sense of gratification to wait for results.