Let's be an Army Nurse!!

Testing     On arrival, each soldier is immediately swabbed and ushered into your room with roommates. The medics doing the swabbing... had never done it before, so they got to practice on you! They take their sweet time scooping your brains out of your nose, and they don't care if you cry or cough. Then they do your other nostril. Once your eyes and nose begin flooding all over your face, you haul your things inside and are given folders of paperwork (that you don't fill out and turn in until the last day apparently), and you wait in your rooms for 2 weeks! Luckily for us, all 303 people were negative on the first round, which was apparently pretty rare. Or so we thought.      On day 10, they swab everyone a second time (same amount of snot and tears) because the virus can incubate for 2 weeks before showing symptoms. Unfortunately, around day 7-8 when they got all of our negative results back, the rules were relaxed somewhat and we were all allowed to hang out...

Travel to DCC     On your orders it will tell you somewhere "report to (insert training location) on (day) between the hours of (0900-1700)" and that's the most official information you'll get so don't worry about reading a different time somewhere else (unless your instructor emails you a modification, that's the only exception). *side note - PLEASE study military time if you've never used it before*  I left home with one large suit case, my lapotop, a duffle bag, and a backpack. It was an 11.5 hour trip from home, so I chose to drive about 10 hours one day and grab a hotel over night so I could eat a good breakfast in the morning and show up at the beginning of the day to report. I used the miles on my airlines card to book a room for no charge to me! SAVE ALL RECEIPTS FOR GAS/HOTEL/FLIGHT that you paid for out of pocket, as it will be reimbursed eventually.                             ...

Orders? Huh?     Orders are received from your higher command, after your training and permanent duty station have been decided for you. They detail your every move through training and beyond. It will list your rank, dependents, training dates and locations, your final duty station, and what you're authorized to use (such as travel reimbursement/military move/etc). Depending on your MOS (job type), reserve/active duty status, and availability (not to mention COVID crap...) your orders can take a long time to arrive. For me, I was contacted by someone who is in charge of assignments and filling up training slots. He asked me to rate my choices according to which ones I prefer the most.      I ranked:                              1. San Antonio, Texas                              2. Houston, Texa...

December 2019 My recruiter finally called me to tell me that my scroll had come through and we could officially sign the contract. This is huge! He/she should go over the entire contract with you ahead of time, or just before signing. They will double check every detail with you (or at least should) to ensure accuracy. This includes any sign-on bonus or loan repayment, length of service, rank, dependent information, your personal information, and MOS (job type). All of these things are included along with many other things such as sexual harassment policies, commitment responsibilities, and I swear to do this and that as I am told. HUGE document, but don’t skip through it, as your loan repayment may get screwed if you miss something.  Most people show up at the recruiter’s office, sign it, and stand in front of their flag with arm raised. They repeat an oath after the recruiter, sign the dotted line (67 times), and BOOM you’re an officer! However, you can elect to have another mi...

June 2019 - What is OML? OML is the Order of Merit List. Your recruiter should explain this to you when you submit your application. The recruits who submitted applications for the board are placed in order according to credentials, experience, recommendations, and certifications. The people who are chosen first are given a “spot” and told they are accepted, and the others who are “extra” applicants are placed on the OML list to wait for a spot. These people will be pulled if someone who has been chosen gets pregnant, becomes injured, or backs out of their commitment before the contract is signed.      I was placed on the OML list for about a week (in which I panicked like nobody’s business) and then promptly received a call from my recruiter about being pulled from the list anyway. So, accepted! WOOHOO! It’s happening!      Now wait. And wait. And wait. Freak out a little bit, have a few panic attacks, answer all your family’s questions and conce...

Overthinking in May 2019 I was doing some reading and forgot about my pets! I realized while I was reading through another army nurse’s blog that if accepted, I’ll be bringing the fur-babies with me. Several things are required in order for them to travel, so look these things up ahead of time.  Since Hawaii was my #1 choice, I’ll caution you that it’s a rabies-free state so they quarantine each pet for a certain amount of time to make sure they have been vaccinated or to vaccinate them and wait a period of time for effectiveness… which can take several weeks. Poor babies :( So, I promptly called the vet to schedule microchipping for the pooch (it was already done by the shelter for my cat). Most shelters these days make sure to microchip and spay/neuter pets before they are adopted. I’ve been procrastinating on the dog’s annual appointment for shots/booster/parasite check and I still have to microchip her. I’m going to take the time while I’m waiting (endlessly) to set up an appoi...

Waiting Game (May 2019) This month I’ll be going crazy while the board convenes. They all have to come together and look at each nurse's application and packet and decide who they can take and who has to wait (depending on how much space they have for new nurses of each specialty). To keep myself busy, I’ve decided to look ahead to all the documents that are required for in-processing when you show up for training (and for getting pay/housing figured out). There is a list here for what you’ll need. Please note they must be CERTIFIED copies, meaning with an official seal. Not just a photocopy. Many of these things may take time (like requesting extra birth certificates or your marriage certificate if you lost it).  Here’s where I started:   I got an organizer file thingy like this to hold all my documents so I wouldn’t be looking everywhere for crap when it’s time to go. That’s my life.      My immunizations were all done after a certain year when the...