Roll Call for all Military and VA Nurses and those considering the Service

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As the moderator for this forum ... I am interested to know where everyone is from, their background, branch of service (or VA VISN) and what they like the best about Military or VA Nursing .... this forum generally has some really good traffic, and I would like to pull all of us together and get to know one another a little better. :rolleyes:

Not yet commisioned..OBC will possibly be next March..How was OBC??
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  1. the usmc is not, i repeat not the infantry of the navy. :rolleyes: ask one of your devil dog patients for a more elaborate explanation. the usmc & army have many similar job specialties, etc.

see, i even apologized in advance....hehehe. yeah, like i would be able to live to tell about it if i asked a devil dog that...:rotfl: :smiley_ab

  1. my son's college major is biology, with a minor in military science. his goal is medical school to become a plastic surgeon.

awesome~sounds like a bright young man. what about his brother, what is he doing?

i came into the usar nurse corps as an o2e [1lt] based on years as an rn, the "e" is a prior service designation that adds about $50, or so to my military paycheck. the usar has the only nurse corps branch that will accept adns. however, to be promotable to maj you must have a bsn.

oic...always wondered about that...so, if you don't want to make major, you can just stay a lt or capt???

i took the gre twice with a $1000.00 kaplan gre prep course in between. my scores did improve on the second attempt. i was not going to apply for the usagpan until a friend of mine [retired soldier nurse anesthetist] encouraged me to do so. he witnessed others being accepted to the same program with less competitve gre scores. i did earn an "a" in a college statistics course, and as you well know dosage calculation exams are emphasized heavily in most nursing programs plus, i've taken two pharmacology courses [lower & upper division level] with dosage cal in the curriculum. i can guarantee, without a doubt, i have what it takes to be successful in the usagpan. i was a single-parent with 2 preteen sons during my aas in surg tech program, and single-parent w/2 teenage sons during my adn program, and worked 64 hrs biweekly as a surg tech [a.k.a. scrub tech]. btw, finished w/phi theta kappa honors & 3.4 gpa respectively in the forementioned programs. my two sons left the proverbial nest during my 2 yrs in the rn-bsn online program, yet i did work +80 hrs/biweekly as an adn. i do have to thank my present wife [married 4/28/04], an er rn, for her help & support while in the rn-bsn online program, which i completed w/3.766 gpa. nonetheless, i cannot change the rules and if i'm not accepted to the usagpan d/t less than competitve gre scores, then so be it. :crying2:

:yeah: wow!!! that is incredible! kudos to you!

one question tho-acceptance to usagpan is not the same as acceptance to the crna school itself is it? there are two crna programs up here, and both say that if you aren't accepted the first time, you can reapply, but then are required to have ccrn cert. seems ridiculous to me-i mean, i would think they want well-rounded folks, who can focus on school while also doing ten other things at the same time, rather than the typical, sheltered professional student who lives in a vacuum. that would tell me that the person is motivated and has the aptitude to be successful. kudos to your wife as well...hard to live with somebody who's going to school fulltime and working fulltime! heheh which rn-bsn online program did you go to? how was it? recommend it or nay? why or why not?

  1. no, i don't have ccrn certification. yet, that is not a requirement for the usagpan. yet, i'm sure is a plus for those applicants with such credentials. i do have over 12 months critical care nursing experience in the past 5 years [around 18 mths w/most as wknd nites charge rn], which per the usagpan phase i program director meets the critical care nursing requirement.

(see above)

  1. huh? i knew the fmf acronym [fleet marine force] since i learned same back in 1980 at mcrd san diego. i just wanted to recognize your cleverness in using fmfnurse for your allnurses.com username.

sorry...my dry sense of humor doesn't translate into email very well. i appreciate the acknowledgement :) i thought it was kinda kewt myself...especially since there is no such thing as a civil service fmf nurse hehehe...though i keep raggin' them at work to locate the performance qualificatoin statement so i can get checked off everything for the civil-service fmf nurse warfare device :rotfl: but, if there was such thing, i'd e first in line!!!

i have been working in the or at seton medical center the past 3 years. before that, about 18 months in the or at south austin medical center, 18 months in a 10 bed icu at central texas medical center, and 18 months on the telemetry floor at seton medical center. i began my health care career as scrub tech from 1995-1998.

what did you do in real life, before you went to scrub tech school?

on drill saturdays with my usar unit i work on 2n/sicu, which is a 10 bed intensive care unit. on one of my 2 week usar annual training duties i worked 3n/stepdown unit at bamc. these are the only two areas at bamc i've had direct contact. bamc seems to be a great place to work with it being a trauma level, as well as a teaching facility. the computer charting is very user friendly, too.

are you talking about chcs ii? we are being trained this week coming up on it's use. i like to use icdb a lot, so it seems like they are very similar, as in gui interface vice the dos type legacy program chcs. while it will modify many of our processes, it will also automate some, ie coding, which will hopefully lead to more accurate rvu expression. i thought when i went to work for the navy i would be done with the bean-counter approach to medicine. of course, i've been a nurse long enough to remember back in the old days, before drgs when we didn't have fax machines and computers....and of course, it was great to transfer to working in the icu, with one the best things about it being that we didn't have to wear our caps in the unit. i remember when drgs came along, we actually had to start counting how many 4x4's we used in a dressing change...

it is my understanding, in the near future [under brac] wilford hall will no longer belong to the air force. the ob/gyn related areas will be transferred to bamc. btw, [under brac] fsh will actually be expanding, yet the details i do not know.

who will it belong to? i understand that all military enlisted medical training-dod wide-will be moved to san antonio, as well. yes, it wasn't too long ago that fsh was worried about closing....how times change!

i was pcs at mcas el toro, ca [1985-1988] and did some security training at camp pendleton. love that part of the country. one of the soldier nurses in my usar unit organized a day long behavioral health promotion workshop [worth 5.5 ces] with emphasis on combat stress. your interest in combat stress disorders is very admirable [god bless you!].

that was my first trip to southern california in about 30 some years. it was absolutely beautiful. and, you didn't have to look very far to see the ocean.

i thought texas had beautiful highways when wildflower season is happening, but southern california has texas beat in that regard hands down. too bad the cost of living is so high. i brought a sunday paper home to show my husband of 17 years how our house would compare to there....it would be considered a little mcmansion lol..and well out of our price range hehehe

thank you for your kind words regarding my interest in combat stress. sadly, i believe that we are heading towards a tsunami-like effect in terms of the sheer volume of folks who will require some form of help or support in dealing with the lingering effects of duty where the enemy is difficult to recognize, etc. there were many lessons learned from previous conflicts that benefitted todays warriors, but not much can be done to mitigate the difficulties encountered when the enemy is invisible. hopefully there can be sensitive, focused support for these individuals as they try to reintegrate into the civilian world.

wow, i would have loved to have gone to that workshop. does your soldier-nurse-colleague have it on powerpoint that (s)he would be willing to share??? i can email you my work email address if so...

:uhoh21: my fingers now need a rest! :rotfl:

hehehe, i hear ya buddy!

fmfnurse

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Not yet commisioned..OBC will possibly be next March..How was OBC??

:balloons: Hey There bwidlits!

Sorry, I don't know what OBC is...officer basic something? Which branch of the service are you entering, and in what status (AD or Reserve)? What is your practice environment (hospital, clinic, etc) as a civilian and what is your clinical specialty/role (again, as a civilian)? When will you be commissioned? Where do you expect to be stationed after officer indoctrination? How long do you plan to stay in? And what does "bwidlits" mean??? :roll

fmfnurse

:nurse:

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Specializes in Telemetry, OR, ICU.
hehehe, i hear ya buddy!

fmfnurse

  • my two son's are as different as night & day. i love both of them, yet the 25 yr old is lucky just to stay out of jail. so, let's not discuss him any further. ;)
  • in the usar nurse corps you can earn up to cpt w/o a bsn. since i achieved my bsn last year i'm not really sure what the other pitfalls would be for someone stuck at cpt d/t no bsn.
  • yes, acceptance into the usagpan is the same thing as acceptance into the army medical dept. crna program, which phase i is taught at fsh/bamc. phase ii [clinical] can be at bamc, or 8 other army medical centers throughtout conus, including tripler in hawaii.
  • i completed the rn-bsn online program through university of texas medical branch, at galveston, school of nursing. we were required to attend campus lectures, seminars, etc, 2-3 x's/semester. most of the exams could be done on home pc via secure browser. this was not a self paced program. the courses were on schedule with the generic [classroom] bsn students. the nsg research course was awful, and i dropped it the first time. the instructors did not understand why i wanted to do so with a low "b", however they granted my request. i was taking another course, too, and did not want that one to suffer. so, earned an "a" in the course i did not drop, then earned a "b" the next semester in the research course. yes, i would recommend the program to others. yet, i'd recommend either be very good with pc, or learn fast, and only work part-time. i did work full-time & ended up w/3.766 gpa. :)
  • before becoming a scrub tech [1995]; graduated hs 1979, steel factory 1979-1980, usmc 1980-1988 [aircraft electrician/com nav tech], 1989-1992 e-systems [aircraft electrician], 1992-1995 trinity valley community college & austin community college [plus, odd jobs, certified soccer referee, school work study program, and raise my two sons. :uhoh3:]
  • what is chcs ii, icdb, gui interface, blah, blah, blah? :chuckle i'm not that technical when in comes to specific computer programs.
  • i don't know the details about wilford hall in regard to brac.
  • the workshop was an all day event presented by several different speakers. sorry, i don't believe the workshop is available on powerpoint.

:cheers:

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  • yes, acceptance into the usagpan is the same thing as acceptance into the army medical dept. crna program, which phase i is taught at fsh/bamc. phase ii [clinical] can be at bamc, or 8 other army medical centers throughtout conus, including tripler in hawaii.

:wink2: yes, that would be really tough-phase ii at tripler, hehehe. tripler would also be cool, because they have a telemedicine program there for the smaller pac-area icu's (naval hospital guam, for one). they monitor the patients electronically at tripler that are located physically at nh guam's icu. guam doesn't have intensivists, so this provides them with access to specialty care offsite. pretty kewl, huh? i look to see civilian rural care move in this same direction, and those that have the experience working in that environment all the better for them.

  • i completed the rn-bsn online program through university of texas medical branch, at galveston, school of nursing. we were required to attend campus lectures, seminars, etc, 2-3 x's/semester. most of the exams could be done on home pc via secure browser. this was not a self paced program. the courses were on schedule with the generic [classroom] bsn students. the nsg research course was awful, and i dropped it the first time. the instructors did not understand why i wanted to do so with a low "b", however they granted my request. i was taking another course, too, and did not want that one to suffer. so, earned an "a" in the course i did not drop, then earned a "b" the next semester in the research course. yes, i would recommend the program to others. yet, i'd recommend either be very good with pc, or learn fast, and only work part-time. i did work full-time & ended up w/3.766 gpa. :)

3.766 isn't anything to sneeze over. great job~

  • what is chcs ii, icdb, gui interface, blah, blah, blah? :chuckle i'm not that technical when in comes to specific computer programs.

:rotfl: hehehe, silly yew. chcs=composite health care system, which is the dod healthcare computer system. i'm sure you use it at bamc. chcs ii is the upgrade, and when i was down at bamc, i could've sworn i saw signage referring to it (that it had been implemented). icdb=integrated clinical database, which was developed by the air force as an interim measure until chcs ii implementation. gui interface = graphical user interface, which essentially means point-and-click capability (as opposed to entering lines of instruction). in the legacy system (chcs), you couldn't see everything on one screen: ie, say you want to see a patient's labs and meds...you'd have to enter separate instruction strings and view them on different screens. icdb pulled the information out of chcs, but put it in a one-screen format: you can see someone's outpatient appointments, labs, rad, meds, etc, all on one screen by pointing and clicking with your mouse. chcs ii takes that a step further by becoming the electronic health record. no more handwritten sf600s, etc. and, any mtf can view any patient's info...so if you were tad in san diego and got sick, they could see our health history from your originating mtf. nothing short of a revolution as far as i'm concerned, a good one!!!!

well, i'm not usually online as often as the last few days, but i got flumist last friday, and started getting sick monday...(live virus...if you have the choice, take the shot instead)..and i haven't felt up to sitting up for very long, much less going anywhere....so will try to check back from time to time. best of luck to you!!!!

fmfnurse

:nurse:

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This may be a stupid question but I wanted to know, if a nurse with a BSN joined the military, worked as a nurse for ten years, got out, and then started working for the VA, would his/her service in the military count for the VA job too (as in retirement, senority, etc. like if 10 yrs service + 5 yrs as VA nurse = 15 yrs as VA nurse)?

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I might be the youngest gal on this forum. I'm 19 and will start my first year of nursing (BSN) school next fall. I want to join the military when i get out for better advancement opportunities, travel experience, and a competitive edge that civilians may not have... if anyone can give me advice or insight.. i'd greatly appreciate it. Merci, Gracias, Grazi, Bedankt

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Hello all.. Started as a 91A..(Field Medic) back in 1985 in the Army, was in for 3 years. Took 10 year break to have my kids and find my path. Became an LPN in 2001 and joined the ranks of the wonderful world of the VA VISN 15, at the same time a became a Navy Coreman in the reserves...That lasted 3 years, I guess three years at a time was all I could take. I am still at the VA and love my job, I have worked the Onc. floor, med/surg floor, ER, and subspecialty clinic. Great experience and would never trade it for anything. The patients have so much life experience, and are truely greatto work with. Unfortunatly as an LPN in the VA there are things that they don't let you do that you do elsewhere like verify orders, but small price to pay for great benifets......... LOVE MY JOB!!!!

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I spent 7 years in the military as a corpsman and I was impressed with the RN's that I worked with. However, I also thought they were very well paid for the job they did. I would have done it in a heartbeat if the navy would have ever allowed me to go to college. I spent 7 years trying desperately to get college credits in 3 countries. I finally gave up and went to college in OK. 3 years later and $20,000 later, I have a good job and a great future to look forward to. By the way, I worked with the Marines and I guarantee you I would be in IRAQ right now if I wouldn't have left. I would have never wanted to be anywhere but with my marines when I was in the military and I don't want anything to do with the whole organization now that I am out. I think it is good for few to go into the military as enlisted. It is good for many to go in after college as an officer. I may be interested in a VA job at some point. I was an E-5 and I feel that I was not given a fair shake in many aspects of my career. When you are in the military it all depends on who is around you and what is going on at the time. I am sure right now I could do a lot with little effort since they are having retention issues. I am pro military by the way. I just think our servicemembers and those looking to become as such realize that they are government property in every aspect.

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Linda G. here, USAFRNC, Desert Storm Vet. Never been active duty, except for Desert Storm My husband just retired from the Air Force two years ago, from active duty. He was a survival instructor here at Fairchild AFB in Spokane, Washington. Critical care is my specialty.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

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Specializes in OB, Cardiac.

I was active duty in the NAVY as a builder in the seabees. I went in for college money & am going to University of Illinois for my BSN. I have NOOOOOOOOOOO plans on going active duty in the nursing corps. Currently, I'm finishing up my contract in the reserves so I can get my GI Bill. I'm also getting mobilized for Iraq this jan-----that should be fun:(

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Specializes in Telemetry, OR, ICU.
I was active duty in the NAVY as a builder in the seabees. I went in for college money & am going to University of Illinois for my BSN. I have NOOOOOOOOOOO plans on going active duty in the nursing corps. Currently, I'm finishing up my contract in the reserves so I can get my GI Bill. I'm also getting mobilized for Iraq this jan-----that should be fun:(

What is your MOS in the Navy Reserves, still a builder in the seabees? How long you getting mob'd? The last mobilization [Nov 04] at my USAR Unit was for 18 mos. Good luck over in the Sandbox, and thanks for serving!

1LT Cary James Barrett, AN USAR

and USMC Vet

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