Hi there and thanks for stopping by! My name is Nick, I am 38 years old, and have been working in healthcare for over 16 years. I spent the first 8 years of my career working as a bedside RN in various ICU settings in a couple of different trauma hospitals in West Texas. In 2014 I got my Master’s Degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner, and in 2017 received a Post-Master’s Cert as an Adult-Geriatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. Since becoming an NP in 2014 I have held a few different positions in both primary and acute care.
I am married to my beautiful wife Angeli, who is also a Nurse Practitioner, have a beautiful 7 year old daughter, and we just welcomed another baby girl in December 2021. In our free time we love to travel, watch soccer matches, cook, read, paint, play games, and spend time with family/friends.
This blog was started as a way to articulate the hiring process for a Foreign Service Medical Provider as I was living it. In January 2022 I accepted an invite to join the Foreign Service, and now use this platform to document the adventures that entails and what it means for my family and I.
If you are interested in joining the Foreign Service, there are two paths you can take: Generalist (Foreign Service Officer) and Specialist (which includes Medical Provider). I encourage you to use the links below to the State Department website if you are curious for more info. Typically generalists have a couple of windows a year to apply and take the Foreign Service Officer Test, and there is no real minimum requirements other than being a US Citizen and having a high school education. Specialist openings are much more varied and seemingly occur at random. These jobs also require a minimum amount of experience/education to be hired. If you sign up for hiring notifications through the department website where the specialties are listed, you will be informed immediately of an opening.
Generalist Info: https://careers.state.gov/work/foreign-service/officer/
Specialist Info: https://careers.state.gov/work/foreign-service/specialist/
Medical Provider Specific Page: https://careers.state.gov/work/foreign-service/specialist/career-tracks/medical-provider/
Regional Medical Officer Page: https://careers.state.gov/work/foreign-service/specialist/career-tracks/regional-medical-officer/
Reddit Super FAQ: https://www.reddit.com/r/foreignservice/comments/aexx18/foreign_service_super_faq/ (this has just tons of useful info and links about joining the Foreign Service in general)
Site master link to a brief explanation of the hiring process for specialists, which is also linked to pages that give further detail about the hiring process: https://worldwidenp.com/2021/07/08/in-brief-medical-provider-hiring-process/