The deal with civilian positions!

[lulu123]

Hey everyone,

I'm starting my NP program next winter and I am interested in finding out more about civilian nursing within the military. My brother was in the marines, had some health problems while enlisted, and really liked his nurses! He tells me he can't remember how many were civilian and how many were enlisted, but he did say that there were civilian nurses at his base in California and that there were civilian nurses at most of the bases throughout the world. Not that I don't trust my brother or believe what he had to say, but was he right? He's not in healthcare, I don't expect him to implicitly know the status of civilian nurses within the military! But I'm curious as to whether there are positions available for civilian nurses at military bases both domestic and abroad. I know I have a few years before I'll be out in the work force (ug) but I like to get all my bases covered early, especially if there's something I should know before hand, any information that might be useful here at the beginning of my academic career as opposed to finding out after the fact. I really don't like to get caught unaware! So my questions are: are there positions? How can I find out what the employment qualifications are (if they differ from civilian positions)? What is the lifestyle like? Relatively decent pay, relatively decent hours, time off, etc.? And what about locations? I know there are bases around the country and the world, but they're all different corps, Navy, Marine, Air Force, Army, does it matter what branch of the military a civilian nurse works with? Or are they free to work for any branch they can get a job with? Basically I'd love to speak with someone who is a civilian nurse with the military and see what the experience has been like for them. I would be grateful for anything you've got! Thanks!

[Jams95]

I've just begun working for the VA and have recently met RN's who have worked for the Dept of Defense (DOD) as nurses caring for the military. I've looked into this somewhat and it seems to be mostly on Air Force and Naval bases.

Try www.usajobs.gov , you'll find open positions on there...... Good luck!