Army Nurse Candidate Program FY2011

Specialties Government

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Any one out there pursuing the army nurse candidate program for this next fiscal year coming up? I am currently patiently awaiting hearing back to see if I am accepted to the RN to BSN program to start spring semester 2011, but I know time is getting short to apply for this next fiscal year. I'm just wondering if anyone can give any insight into the prospects for this next fiscal year, or into how the program works in general? Do these slots fill up as quickly as the commissioning slots? Do you tend to get the bonus quickly, or does it take a while? Would ROTC be a better option (although through the local program, I wouldn't be able to start until Fall of next year)? As mentioned briefly above, I already have my RN and have been a nurse for 5 years now. I am very interested in the military, but the dilemma is affording my BSN without taking out a bunch of student loans. And just a side question, how easy is it to get away from hospital nursing in the military; to do administration or a clinic or case management instead? Any help or insight anyone can give would be greatly appreciated!

The ASVAB may not be required for direct commissioned Officers (or those commissioned through other means) but it is a required element for application to the Army Nurse Candidate Program. (possibly because candidates are enlisted in the IRR while in the program).

That's the exact explanation I heard when I was told I had to take the ASVAB for ANCP.

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Specializes in CVICU.

allarmyallthetime22, I don't mean to get off topic, but I'd like to speak with you and I don't have the ability to send private messages. Would you mind if I could email you or you email me? I would so appreciate it! [email protected]

Sorry, ignore the interuption!

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Specializes in EMT, ER, Homehealth, OR.
The ASVAB may not be required for direct commissioned Officers (or those commissioned through other means) but it is a required element for application to the Army Nurse Candidate Program. (possibly because candidates are enlisted in the IRR while in the program).

You have it right since they are enlisted not an officer while they are in the program.

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I don't understand, ROTC and nursing are definitely doable. For what reason would you be missing LDAC (a commissioning requirement btw which you can do the summer after your junior/sometimes senior year)? Time management is the key. Plus you will be that much more prepared to be an officer by doing all the same skills and requirements as all other line cadets.

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I had clinicals on Wednesdays that I absolutely couldn't miss, which conflicted with the mandatory ROTC schedule. It also didn't make sense for me to miss schooling for a summer to go to LDAC or to try to do so afterward. I really didn't want to wait around an entire year to do LDAC, then go to OBLC, all the while jobless and thus at a total loss for money. Time management is key, but honey, you're preaching to the choir. I just graduated from the honors college and I've been a honors student my entire life. If there's one thing I can do, it's manage my time, but even time management fails when you run out of time to manage! Simply put, if I could've done both, I would've, but for me, ROTC and nursing were just not smart to do together.

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Also, as far as being more prepared, ROTC won't train you for anything that you won't learn in OBLC. While being better prepared is a plus, it's far from a necessity. Not to mention I already had trained at Ft Knox, so preparedness wasn't really the issue for me anyway. I decided that personally, it would be wiser to devote all my time to nursing and not attempt to split my attention between two areas as important as nursing and the military, as I said in my original post. If other folks feel they can do that effectively, great. But I tend to be a very focused person and I wasn't willing to compromise.

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I can totally see how ROTC might put you at a leadership advantage if you are completing your BSN from scratch. I however am going at it as an RN with a little over five years of experience now, and the school I am looking into is mostly online with a total of 150 hours of clinical "on your own time". Would anyone care to share advantages and disadvantages of ROTC if you're already an experienced nurse? And while classes may not be an issue with ROTC schedule, would my full or part-time job be a problem?

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I was told you have to be a full time student in order to join ROTC

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Hi Soldiernurse!!!

I am very interested in army nursing corps, and I would love to get in touch with you to talk more about the nursing candidate program as well as how your experience has been.. please PM me, since I just joined, and I can't PM others.. :( please and thank you!!!

Liz

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