Hi everyone! My name is Renee and over the last couple of weeks , I have been really interested in joining the Army Nurse Corps Reserves. I am 24, and currently in a BSN program in Florida and set to graduate April 2010. I have about $50k in student loans from my AA degree and up to this point, so the loan repayment program really stood out to me... and then i saw the STRAP program and how that is given out monthly while you are in school and I couldn't believe it!!I never even thought about military nursing until I read a lot of the posts on this site and when I spoke to a recruiter yesterday.. i am really wanting to get more info on it and I have an appt with the same recruiter on Monday, but I wanted to get some opinions from anyone that is an Army Nurse (reserve) or anyone who can answer my questions! I would be so greatful!! ok, here they are:
1. Since I have 2 years left before I finish school, will the strap program allow me to finish school without interruption (i.e. deployments) ?
2. How long does the application process take to finish and is it feasible to think that I can have everything completed by August of this year?
3. What would happen when I graduate from my nursing program as far as work? Am i immediately sent off somewhere to a hospital or do I just gain experience working?
4. Do I only work for the Army since I would be in the Reserves, or do I have to just commit to the 1 weekend a month thing with the possiblility of deployment? I'm a little confused about that if the army would be my MAIN employer year round
5. What's the best thing about being a nurse in the reserves?
6. Are the military hospitals pretty much the same as "civilian hospitals?"
7. What is the basic training like?
I think those are all my questions!! I know a lot of them may have been answered on here, but a lot of the threads are old and there are so many of them to go through, so this info would be so helpful!! I thank you in advance for all your help! God Bless
