Becoming a military nurse

[MeekRn712]

Hello All,

I would like to thank you all in advance for any experiences, suggestions, and comments that you may share.

I have been a civilian nurse for approximately 8 months (wow, didn't think that it was that long, so soon, lol.) Anyway, I am very interested in becoming a military nurse, not too sure of which branch yet. My curiosity was sparked while previously working at a VAMC in my area as a student nurse while still in nursing school. While there I spoke to former nurses in the military and civilian nurses considering a career in the military.

Although many people are telling me to consider the Air Force, before I decide on which branch to join I want to make sure that my decision is an informed one. So for those of you who were or still are nurses in the military please share your experiences as far as time-span it takes to actually get in, length of training, places of deployment, work hours and conditions, etc. Also, please provide the pros and cons of each branch and the advantages of one branch over another, if any. I really appreciate any input you provide.

[athena55, BSN, RN]

You missed the intent of that post; of course its not a nurse's main role to close with and destroy the enemy through fire and manuver. The possibility is just an added bonus .

Cursed:

Hahahahhahahahahaahahahahahahahahahaa:smokin:

[mellue8]

can anyone shed some light on the financial packages you all got? Loan repayment, sign-on bonuses, ect....

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

lots of great info already in this forum - spend some time and peruse.. there is also an exp sticky up top... it's typical for civilians to say join AF.. it does have a better overall lifestyle but that being said.. the medical/nursing world in general is a much more comfy place then being a line Soldier..

you can find some basic info by jotting down what is important to you.. lifestyle, location, loan repayment, etc.. and then writing down info from every branch.

If you don't want to do that...just take my advice and goarmy.

Oh, don't do that - trust your instincts and cross into the blue!

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Don't forget about the blue side of things. Navy nursing!!!

All your duty stations are close to the wonderful beaches and water. You won't have to worry about field training. You just have to learn how to swim. But personally no matter where you are stationed in the navy there is no bad location i.e San Diego, Virginia, Bethsada, Jacksonville, Pensacola, etc compared to Ft. Leonard wood I love you ANC nurses and I know you will jump on me for this one but the Army has some of the most desolate "boring" cities to be stationed especially if you are young and single. Just my

two cents!!!

Uh, avoid confusion, please - Navy WHITES and Air Force BLUE... :)

[mellue8]

can you guys put the branch bias away and give some good advice and real experiences. You all have just said go army or go blue. But what we are looking for is what is it really like to be a military nurse. What is a normal day/schedule like? ECT!!!!

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

can you guys put the branch bias away and give some good advice and real experiences. You all have just said go army or go blue. But what we are looking for is what is it really like to be a military nurse. What is a normal day/schedule like? ECT!!!!

lol....The truth is day to day the similarities are more common than different. One branch doesn't have some special hours that another one doesn't. No one service puts on their shoes different than another service. I am AF and have got to spend a little time in an Army hospital OR. I now am based at the National Naval Medical Center, and there is trully not that much difference.

Here is my take on the differences:

Navy has the best bases, if you like being near the water. Navy has a crap load of uniforms that are a lot to buy when you first go in and can be a little bit of financial burden initially. It has decent promotion rates, and plenty of opportunities for advanced education up to DNP/PhD. Overall, the Navy and the AF seem very similar, but the Navy does have more of selection of bigger hospitals to work at than the AF.

Army is the most gung ho of the branches in my opinion. It is known for having some of the most austere deployment sites and worst on base housing. In general though I have found that the Army is was actually ahead of the AF in building new houses and the base houses I saw at Ft Polk a few years ago were really nice. It would be nice if the Army had a little different mentality about being deployed and would upgrade there overseas deployment bases, because no matter what branch of the service you are in you could very well end up on an Army base instead of on a ship or with an AF base. The Army has serious retention problem, but that equates to some of the fastest promotion rates and increased opportunities for advanced education/training. The training opportunities for advanced nursing education are the same in the Army as the other branches with probably more slots available to get into school vs the other branches. Most peoples biggest concern with joining the Army is the very real potential of 12+month long deployments and this doesn't include the two months spin up time that most nurses will have to spend before they even deploy.

The AF is a nice blend of all things in military. We have nice base housing at most locations that I have been to. The work schedule is similar to a civilian work place with addition of mandatory additional duties that you will have to spend time doing...which I don't think really changes from service to service (at least it doesn't seem to from what my Navy and Army friends tell me). The biggest problem with the AF has been promotion past Captain in general it takes the AF longer to pin on Major than any other branch for nurses. The AF like the Navy and the Army has ample opportunities for advanced education etc..

And don't forget about USPHS which is close to be civilian as you can get while still receiving the same benefits as military friends. The deployments are pretty much non-existent, but your experience is going to be widely driven by the individual place you work and not on the USPHS as a whole.

The best thing to do is decide what your overall goals you want out of the military are state them, and then we can give you more information. It is really hard to make general statements about this branch or that branch it is more of personal preference than anything else.

Hope this helps!

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Best post yet on this particular subject, wtbcrna! I didn't know you were at National Naval.

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

Best post yet on this particular subject, wtbcrna! I didn't know you were at National Naval.

That is my main clinical site while finishing up my nurse anesthesia program....This month though I am hanging out at Baltimore Shock Trauma.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

So you may be hearing from me in a year or so while I sort out if CRNA is what I want to pursue - I haven't really made up my mind yet and plan on using the Air Force to do some soul searching and exploring, if you know what I mean. Trying to decide if critical care's where I want to be, or if I'm more into primary care.