Thinking about Civilian nursing for the Army

live4today, RN · Jan 10, 2005

I previously worked as a Department of the Army Civilian Nurse. I search the USA JOB site all the time looking for "the perfect assignment" to apply for. :)

I miss working in military environments. The discipline and organization supercedes any civilian hospital's organizational structure that I've experienced. Once an Army Civilian Nurse always an Army Civilian Nurse, I suppose. It's sooooooo in my blood I can't shake it.

Go ahead. Give it a try. You just may like it! :) Of course, having been married to the military's property for a long time also had a lot to do with my addiction to it. :uhoh21:

peaceful · Jan 10, 2005

Let me know the response you get from your resume. I am also interested in military civilian nursing. Love to travel. Do they supply housing do you know? Trying to figure out if the salary and benefits are worth it? Any idea on all that? Look forward to hearing more from you on this subject.

Hey all,
Just looking for some information about working for the department of the army as a civilian nurse. I have always wanted to travel overseas and really "see" europe and thought this would be a good way to do so. I have filled out a resume on the Dept of Army website (we'll see how quick I get a response). So, now just looking for some advice or someone who is doing this too. Looking foreward to going to Europe..meeting some new people..seeing the sights.

nurselily3 · Jan 11, 2005

Let me know the response you get from your resume. I am also interested in military civilian nursing. Love to travel. Do they supply housing do you know? Trying to figure out if the salary and benefits are worth it? Any idea on all that? Look forward to hearing more from you on this subject.

I'll keep you all posted if anything new happens. I've just been doing a lot of searching on the Office of Personnel Management website. opm.gov... The summer months are perfect for me. I talked to a guy that was at an 800 number for the dept of the army med stuff...he said that depending on the length of the assignment they will pay to ship all your stuff (car, furniture) and you over. They also give a housing alotment because we can't live on the base. The pay in on the government pay scale...everyone gets a GS rating I believe. The pay was a little more than I make at my current job so it was pretty comperable.....not counting the housing alotment. The benefits are government bene's so...it can't be that bad. During my search I found jobs in Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Japan. Even if it were only for a year..it would be such a worth while experience. I think the only way to really see a place is to live there for a little while. So...like I said, will keep you posted.

nurselily3 · Jan 11, 2005

I previously worked as a Department of the Army Civilian Nurse. I search the USA JOB site all the time looking for "the perfect assignment" to apply for. :)
I miss working in military environments. The discipline and organization supercedes any civilian hospital's organizational structure that I've experienced. Once an Army Civilian Nurse always an Army Civilian Nurse, I suppose. It's sooooooo in my blood I can't shake it.
Go ahead. Give it a try. You just may like it! :) Of course, having been married to the military's property for a long time also had a lot to do with my addiction to it. :uhoh21:

Where all did you work? Any recommendations?? Any advice? I tried travel nursing last year, didn't like it to much. I moved across country, didnt like the hospital at all. I met some GREAT girls and we have such a good time. We'll be forever bonded! I think I went for the wrong reasons though, I just wanted to get away from here and the assignment came up. This time, I really want to see Europe, make some new friends...the work part is just a part this time, not the focus.

peaceful · Jan 11, 2005

Thanks for info. What do you mean summer months are good? That is when you would be going? That is so cool the countries you are thinking about. Years ago I lived in Turkey and German. Have travelled quite a bit in Europe. You will have a blast. What exactly is the pay range? What type of nursing are you looking into? Sorry so many questions. When i go on the OPM site, the pay range seems low, like starting 38,000, 42,000/yr. Just seems a lot lower than many jobs. Am i way off on the salary? Housing allotment does help. Are the assignments a year at a time? I take it you are single? Sorry so many questions. I am excited for you and all the possibilities!

I'll keep you all posted if anything new happens. I've just been doing a lot of searching on the Office of Personnel Management website. opm.gov... The summer months are perfect for me. I talked to a guy that was at an 800 number for the dept of the army med stuff...he said that depending on the length of the assignment they will pay to ship all your stuff (car, furniture) and you over. They also give a housing alotment because we can't live on the base. The pay in on the government pay scale...everyone gets a GS rating I believe. The pay was a little more than I make at my current job so it was pretty comperable.....not counting the housing alotment. The benefits are government bene's so...it can't be that bad. During my search I found jobs in Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Japan. Even if it were only for a year..it would be such a worth while experience. I think the only way to really see a place is to live there for a little while. So...like I said, will keep you posted.

nurselily3 · Jan 11, 2005

Thanks for info. What do you mean summer months are good? That is when you would be going? That is so cool the countries you are thinking about. Years ago I lived in Turkey and German. Have travelled quite a bit in Europe. You will have a blast. What exactly is the pay range? What type of nursing are you looking into? Sorry so many questions. When i go on the OPM site, the pay range seems low, like starting 38,000, 42,000/yr. Just seems a lot lower than many jobs. Am i way off on the salary? Housing allotment does help. Are the assignments a year at a time? I take it you are single? Sorry so many questions. I am excited for you and all the possibilities!

I think the summertime is when they do the reassigning of the troops. The positions that they give to civilians are ones that couldn't be filled by military personnel. I think..at least that is the way I understood it. The countries that were on there are the ones I mentioned..and yeah, I think it would be awesome. My sister just recently married a guy in the AF...they are currently stationed in Turkey. The pay range seems kind of broad....but your GS rating is based on education or experience, or both. So...when I talked to the guy at the 800 number with the department of the army...he said I"d be an 11. I only have 5 years exp and a bachelors degree. The range for that was 48 to 63 or so...plus housing. I guess the assignment length comes with how bad they need you. I don't know, anywhere from 6 months to three years. Yep, as single as they come. I figure if I can't meet anyone here, might as well travel a litle and enjoy that. Who knows, might meet someone while traveling. I just wish I could find someone who knew a little more about it and could tell me the in's and out's ya know. Are you also interested??

peaceful · Jan 11, 2005

Now that makes sense about the summer time. I agree with you, travelling overseas may be a great way to meet someone. You just never know. I like adventures, so travelling really appeals to me. I have 9 yr old son, so is really the only thing stopping me. I grew up on military bases and moving every 2 years, so use to that lifestyle. Not sure if they allow single moms for civillian jobs overseas. Would be neat to hear from others doing this right now.

I think the summertime is when they do the reassigning of the troops. The positions that they give to civilians are ones that couldn't be filled by military personnel. I think..at least that is the way I understood it. The countries that were on there are the ones I mentioned..and yeah, I think it would be awesome. My sister just recently married a guy in the AF...they are currently stationed in Turkey. The pay range seems kind of broad....but your GS rating is based on education or experience, or both. So...when I talked to the guy at the 800 number with the department of the army...he said I"d be an 11. I only have 5 years exp and a bachelors degree. The range for that was 48 to 63 or so...plus housing. I guess the assignment length comes with how bad they need you. I don't know, anywhere from 6 months to three years. Yep, as single as they come. I figure if I can't meet anyone here, might as well travel a litle and enjoy that. Who knows, might meet someone while traveling. I just wish I could find someone who knew a little more about it and could tell me the in's and out's ya know. Are you also interested??

live4today, RN · Jan 11, 2005

where all did you work? any recommendations?? any advice? i tried travel nursing last year, didn't like it to much. i moved across country, didnt like the hospital at all. i met some great girls and we have such a good time. we'll be forever bonded! i think i went for the wrong reasons though, i just wanted to get away from here and the assignment came up. this time, i really want to see europe, make some new friends...the work part is just a part this time, not the focus.

i worked for only stateside military hospitals. when we were stationed in europe, it was during the downsizing of the military in the early 1990s, so i did not get to work as a nurse overseas then.

i really enjoyed living in germany. someday, i'd like to go back just to vacation to see more of europe. i did not like frankfort, germany that much, but i thoroughly enjoyed augsburg, germany. :)

trbelch · Feb 16, 2005

I think the summertime is when they do the reassigning of the troops. The positions that they give to civilians are ones that couldn't be filled by military personnel. I think..at least that is the way I understood it. The countries that were on there are the ones I mentioned..and yeah, I think it would be awesome. My sister just recently married a guy in the AF...they are currently stationed in Turkey. The pay range seems kind of broad....but your GS rating is based on education or experience, or both. So...when I talked to the guy at the 800 number with the department of the army...he said I"d be an 11. I only have 5 years exp and a bachelors degree. The range for that was 48 to 63 or so...plus housing. I guess the assignment length comes with how bad they need you. I don't know, anywhere from 6 months to three years. Yep, as single as they come. I figure if I can't meet anyone here, might as well travel a litle and enjoy that. Who knows, might meet someone while traveling. I just wish I could find someone who knew a little more about it and could tell me the in's and out's ya know. Are you also interested??

Hi,

I too am interested in working as a civilian army nurse overseas. My research led me to the site http://www.cpol.army.mil. They had a large variety of nursing opportunities available worldwide. The vacancy I submitted a resume to closes 12/31/2005 and the e-mail I recieved said they would rate your application after the vacancy closed. Do I really have to wait until after the new year to get a lead on a job?

Any help, advice, etc. is greatly welcomed.

Thanks,

T

Southern_Male_Nurse · Feb 16, 2005

cheerfuldoer: did you work with the 34th general hospital in Augsburg? If so, when and where at in the hospital? I worked on D2 (med-surg floor) from end of 1989 to 1991.

nurselily3 · Feb 17, 2005

I don't know how it works. I submitted my information to the resumix database and that was before christmas. I haven't heard anything. I am kinda suprised cause they seemed like they had a real need for people. I'm crosstrained for ICU and OR from a level one trauma center. Who knows. If anything happens though, I'll make a post.

If you hear anything let me know too :)