Foreign Language for AFROTC Nurse?

Laina26

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Oct 12, 2016
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I will be going to college on a four year Air Force scholarship. I know there are certain "strategic languages" such as Arabic, Russian, etc that the military encourages. Are these languages that would be helpful for those studying nursing, or just cadets going into intelligence based jobs? I'm starting to schedule classes and I'm torn between studying Arabic and Spanish. Does anyone have any experience with this or know if there's a benefit of taking one over the other? Or just any general advice?
 
I will be going to college on a four year Air Force scholarship. I know there are certain "strategic languages" such as Arabic, Russian, etc that the military encourages. Are these languages that would be helpful for those studying nursing, or just cadets going into intelligence based jobs? I'm starting to schedule classes and I'm torn between studying Arabic and Spanish. Does anyone have any experience with this or know if there's a benefit of taking one over the other? Or just any general advice?

Of course talk to your College Advisor and your ROTC PAS to see what opportunities either language opens up for you. Just a thought though - your subject heading indicates you may be entering Nursing School? If so, realize that most taking ROTC will not choose the military as a life long career. Nursing is a significant commitment to service and if your chosen field - you will likely spend as much time in the United States as anywhere else. You will undoubtedly encounter many more Spanish speaking patients than those speaking Arabic as a Nurse. And it could be a major asset to you in seeking employment. Also, if you are in the Air Force or Air Force Reserve, National Guard - you may well find yourelf on emergency medical missions to Latin America more often than to Asia or the Mid-East.
 
As the spouse of a retired AF nurse who is now teaching nursing, I would suggest you think carefully before trying to do a language along with nursing. Nursing is difficult, there is a lot to study, and you'll have labs and clinical outside of class time. Plus, I don't know about the school you chose but some nursing schools don't admit into the School of Nursing until junior year and there are strict GPA requirements. But if you're doing a language you can go with what the AF wants and try Arabic. It might help you if you're deployed in an area that speaks that language or possibly for a humanitarian deployment. If you think you want to do post-military work with an NGO like Doctors Without Borders, then Arabic would be good. If you think you'll be doing nursing in the southwest post-military, then Spanish would be helpful.
As a career aside, she went into the AF as an L&D Nurse, then the AF sent her to get her Masters in Nurse-Midwifery and she finished her career as a Certified Nurse Midwife. Friends became Nurse Practitioners and became providers. And some became Certified Nurse Anesthetists. There are lots of good career options in Nursing. And it's a good AF career to take you overseas if that's what you want (we had tours in Okinawa and Germany). Good luck!
 
Of course talk to your College Advisor and your ROTC PAS to see what opportunities either language opens up for you. Just a thought though - your subject heading indicates you may be entering Nursing School? If so, realize that most taking ROTC will not choose the military as a life long career. Nursing is a significant commitment to service and if your chosen field - you will likely spend as much time in the United States as anywhere else. You will undoubtedly encounter many more Spanish speaking patients than those speaking Arabic as a Nurse. And it could be a major asset to you in seeking employment. Also, if you are in the Air Force or Air Force Reserve, National Guard - you may well find yourelf on emergency medical missions to Latin America more often than to Asia or the Mid-East.
Thank you for this advice! I haven't been assigned a college advisor yet but I'll definitely ask them when I am assigned. I also was thinking about emailing my detachment but I'm not sure if that would be appropriate yet since I haven't technically gotten my medical qualification yet. Thanks again for the advice!
 
As the spouse of a retired AF nurse who is now teaching nursing, I would suggest you think carefully before trying to do a language along with nursing. Nursing is difficult, there is a lot to study, and you'll have labs and clinical outside of class time. Plus, I don't know about the school you chose but some nursing schools don't admit into the School of Nursing until junior year and there are strict GPA requirements. But if you're doing a language you can go with what the AF wants and try Arabic. It might help you if you're deployed in an area that speaks that language or possibly for a humanitarian deployment. If you think you want to do post-military work with an NGO like Doctors Without Borders, then Arabic would be good. If you think you'll be doing nursing in the southwest post-military, then Spanish would be helpful.
As a career aside, she went into the AF as an L&D Nurse, then the AF sent her to get her Masters in Nurse-Midwifery and she finished her career as a Certified Nurse Midwife. Friends became Nurse Practitioners and became providers. And some became Certified Nurse Anesthetists. There are lots of good career options in Nursing. And it's a good AF career to take you overseas if that's what you want (we had tours in Okinawa and Germany). Good luck!
I will be attending University of Pittsburgh for nursing so their program is direct entry and I start with my nursing classes from my first semester. I know it will be a lot of time and hard work, but I have about a semester taken care of with AP/community college credits so I think I'm definitely capable of pursing it. But you're right, it'll ultimately just depend where I'm stationed for which one is more useful. Thank you very much for the advice!
 
At my local VA, nurses need Spanish and Tagalog. At my local hospitals, same thing.

Just some food for thought.
 
Spanish is useful anywhere in the country now, not just the southwest.
 
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