Any nurses in the Army/air force?

[Arimeh]

MNB, Im not a nurse but used to work in the Navy. I was a med assist, so working alongside them. I may/may not be able to answer some of your questions there. Im also an Army wife so if you have any Q's in general I should be able to help there :-)


....and the lifestyle and work is VERY different in the forces to what recruiting tell you. Unfortunately they are just trying to get you in the door sometimes. But there are many really good aspects to the lifestyle as well :-)

Thanks Caz I'll be back later with DH's questions And yes, I thought they would tell us all the nice stuff to get us in the door! lol

[Freya]

Mel, one word of advice - RAAF! Do not bother with the Army. He will have better job satisfaction and its more family friendly. There is a reason why my DH is jumping ship. From memory he will be sponsored to finish his RN's through Uni and when he graduates he will go to RMC or Duntroon in Canberra for Officer training (as RN's etc are officers). He will have a roso (set term of service, usually training + 4 years but these days I think they are negotiable cause they are desperate!)

ETA - yep and recruiting lie, esp for the Army and they will often convince you to do some other job aside from the one your qual'd or looking for.

[Arimeh]

Yeah we are leaning towards the air force over the army - we've heard about it being more family friendly, plus their postings are for shorter periods.

However, he has to go away for 17 weeks to do the training, I'm guessing thats at the end of his uni though? So would be in about 2 years time if thats the case. I think. LOL

[Caz_88]

Yes. Airforce is definitely less likely to deploy go field etc. But I don't necessarily see that as family friendly. We are posted to a RAAF base atm and the sense of community seems non-existant. I find the Army bases so much more supportive and involved, which can make all the difference during deployment..... You also need to consider the places that you will be posted. I actually prefer Army base locations over RAAF.
All that being said I would still like DH home more.....

PS Short posts aren't necessarily good. Disrupts kids schooling more..... but if that's something you like I know some Army wives who would give you their turn..... some I know have been on 12monthers got 3-4years..... it varies so much. We are just about to post on an expected 2+2.

[teresa]

i am not a defence nurse, i am a nurse, i know defence nurses and i am a defence wife!

my defence nurse friends in the RAAF like their jobs but one thing they dont like is that they lose their skills as nurses due to the fact most nursing side of things are done by medics. they did say they do a lot of course tho.
as far as officer training goes, i believe they go to melbourne or point cook for their training not in canberra
RAAF is better then army but i am a RAAF wife so i can be a bit biased.
the defence will pay for your studies but you must complete 3 years with them after you graduate. they also like you to have worked 2 years in emergency post your graduate year in a hospital. i looked into all of this before i met DH as i was going to join.

ummmm what else would you like to know?

[Arimeh]

i am not a defence nurse, i am a nurse, i know defence nurses and i am a defence wife!

my defence nurse friends in the RAAF like their jobs but one thing they dont like is that they lose their skills as nurses due to the fact most nursing side of things are done by medics. they did say they do a lot of course tho.
as far as officer training goes, i believe they go to melbourne or point cook for their training not in canberra
RAAF is better then army but i am a RAAF wife so i can be a bit biased.
the defence will pay for your studies but you must complete 3 years with them after you graduate. they also like you to have worked 2 years in emergency post your graduate year in a hospital. i looked into all of this before i met DH as i was going to join.

ummmm what else would you like to know?

Excellent. Does the officer training take place after your studies AND the two years in a hospital? So, he's done one year, so he would have to do training in 2 years time or 4 years time?

[Freya]

Training comes AFTER Uni and employment if that's needed, they MAY organise that for you actually. From memory we knew a guy who was a soldier, got out and got his RN's then he worked through the military of sorts at the local hospital as part of his 'training' then went to officer school.