Want to work as a civilian nurse for the Air Force

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Specializes in NICU.

Hi,

I recently married my active duty Air Force husband in August. We PCS'd to Charleston AFB and I'm working at a large university hospital in the area.

I graduated college May 05' and he went to Kunsan AFB the whole first year I started my career. Of course, being a new grad, I worked straight nights and that was fine for me...then. Now that I'm married though, I am feeling burnt-out with the whole hospital atmosphere and most definitely the night shift thing.

I have heard that the clinics on base hire civilian nurses, but I've never used base healthcare and I'm not really sure what their duties are. I know they work a schedule that I am desiring.

What's a good way to get my foot in the door?? Will the pay be better?? When we PCS again, will I be able to find another civilian nursing job at our new base??

I have a lot of questions and I will be very thankful to anyone who responds.

Thanks,

-Kristina-

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Specializes in US Army.

Check out USAJOBS - The Federal Government's Official Jobs Site

The pay for Civil Service jobs are pretty close to the civillian sector, but the benefits are much better. Also when your husband PCS-es you should get priority placement at his next duty station. Nursing duties and responsibilities are the same as in the civillian sector- no difference. Good luck to you

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Hey! I'm not much help, but we're in Charleston too. My husband is in the Navy.

Good luck with finding a job!

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Contact your civilian employment office on the base. I worked at military clinics in several places overseas and loved it. The pay wasn't great (not even comparable at the time to the US), but it kept my skills current and that was the important thing.

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Here is evidence to one of the stupidest things new grads accept! Never, never accept night shift because you are a "new grad" Go elsewhere! New grads need a lot of nuture and exposure to daytime hospital happenings, trainings and experiences.

If you get the feeling that because you are at the bottom of the totum pole it is because of an archaic system perpetuated by older nurses.

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I apologize KK7724; this will be wandering away from the meaning of your post.

The bummer of first year nursing.

I guess I was kind of lucky when I graduated.

- I live within 60 miles of 12 hospitals two of them are level 1 trauma centers.

- I was 35 and had been working on my own for quite a few years.

- I had years of medical training in my back ground

- I knew how to negotiate my salary

But still when I first hit floor nursing it was swing shifts 2 weeks of 7-3, 2 weeks of 3-11, two weeks of ll-7.... Six months into it I was frazzled. I finally walked into my DONs office and told her I would leave unless I got a set shift. She told me there were no 7-3 shift positions and when I advised her my preference was 3-11 my assignment was changed.

Few years later when 12 hour shifts started trickling down into the woods where I worked I went straight weekends and received multiple shift diffs for working the hours I preferred (7P-7A: one diff for 7-11 than another diff added on for 11-7 add to that weekend diff, team leader diff, if I floated I got a diff for that).

Sometimes you can play the system but a lot of times the first year or two the system plays you. In the end you have to have other options and they need to know you have other options. As an RN you are for the most part in big, big demand.

Now back to your original topic:

Army:

http://www.cpol.army.mil/

Iv noted multiple branch listings but you have to wade through all the VA listings to find them:

http://www.usajobs.gov/

Also:

americajob.com

If the above links don’t pan out I wonder if talking with the chief nurse might be good course. There may be other people who you can contact but I am unsure…

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