Civilian Hospitals vs. Military??

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Hi!

I am seriously considering getting my BSN via the Navy, but I've been reading a lot of posts on the regular boards that give me pause. Some of the posts make nursing conditions sound unbearable at best. Understaffing, pay that's a joke, bad attitudes... Is this the same in the military??? I want to work as a team with people who are going to support me and that I can support in return. I'm not into "politics" and stepping on others to get ahead and that sounds like that happens a LOT in civilian nursing.

Please let me know your thoughts on military nursing in general. Is there any particular branch that is "better"? Right now I'm looking at the Navy because of their signup incentives, but are the incentives there because it's an undesirable branch? I just want to be well informed and recruiters are great, but will always put their best foot forward - I want the down and dirty!! :)

Specializes in ER, Trauma, US Navy.

Matt-

For the USN we have what is called DUINS, Duty Under Instruction. Basically being paid as active duty to go get my master's. Like anything else I had to put a package in and apply. You have to meet minimum requirements and some specifics depending on what you want to do. Here is what I can tell you about recent years and this year. In recent years the DUINS board would receive 125-150 packages for about 75 spots total, about 50-50. This year there were only 87 packages for 81 spots, REALLY good odds. So it is kind of hit or miss depending on the year. I would suspect as long as the OP tempo remains the same and things keep up, this will be the trend for the next few years, it's a good time to apply in the USN. For a bit of a break down, the CRNA program had 18 spots and 21 packages, 3 didn't get it. I applied for ER/ Trauma and there were 7 spots, 7 packages, no brainer. I'll be starting at the University of Maryland in August. If you need any more info, please let me know.

LT Dan

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The Army program is known as "Long Term Health Education and Training" or LTHET. The selection rate for LTHET is fairly high. Here are some of the FY05 rates:

Overall (all programs) 104 apps, 88 selected (87%)

MSN: 42 apps, 33 selected (79%)

FNP: 15 apps, 13 selected (87%)

CRNA: 37 apps, 36 selected (97%)

PhD: 4 apps, 2 selected (50%)

Like all services, selection rates are somewhat impacted by OPTEMPO and needs of the service. For Army folks, there is a pretty wide window of opportunity for attending LTHET - from your 3rd year of service until about the 14th year. The Army also has a wide scope of needs as far as degree programs are concerned as well - CRNA, FNP, CNS (all varieties), admin, education, informatics, etc.

I know you're looking for USAF info - but I thought I'd throw all of that out there for others who may be interested (and perhaps to sway your decision - afterall, every nurse is a recruiter!).

ANC_Maj

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Specializes in Telemetry, OR, ICU.
I can't speak for the AF or USN, but for the Army Nurse Corps, a Master's degree is a promotion discriminator for LTC/O-5, not MAJ/O-4. So, in other words you needs a MSN/MBA/MA, etc to be fully competitive for that promotion in addition to completing what used to be called Command and General Staff College (CGSC), now Intermediate Level Education (ILE).

For what it's worth, I've been an ANC officer for ~11 years and love it! Wouldn't change a thing! Go Army! Not just because I'm biased, but because the education opportunities are more plentiful and the career advancement/promotion timeline is faster.

ANC_MAJ

ANC_MAJ - Ma'am, thanks for the above info. I was hesitant to answer Matt's question regards to a Master's degree requirement, and now the record is straight. If I decide not to re-apply for the Army CRNA Masters program down the road maybe I can pursue a Master's degree in Health Administration via the Army? Oh well, I have a lot on my plate right now with the ECCO online course, then report April 3rd for AD at MAMC, followed by the 6F-F5 Critical Care Nursing 14 week resident course at MAMC. After achieving the ASI 8A, I'll need to schedule my Advanced OBC [A.K.A. CPTs Career Crs]. :uhoh3:

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Specializes in Telemetry, OR, ICU.
The Army program is known as "Long Term Health Education and Training" or LTHET. The selection rate for LTHET is fairly high. Here are some of the FY05 rates:

Overall (all programs) 104 apps, 88 selected (87%)

MSN: 42 apps, 33 selected (79%)

FNP: 15 apps, 13 selected (87%)

CRNA: 37 apps, 36 selected (97%)

PhD: 4 apps, 2 selected (50%)

Like all services, selection rates are somewhat impacted by OPTEMPO and needs of the service. For Army folks, there is a pretty wide window of opportunity for attending LTHET - from your 3rd year of service until about the 14th year. The Army also has a wide scope of needs as far as degree programs are concerned as well - CRNA, FNP, CNS (all varieties), admin, education, informatics, etc.

I know you're looking for USAF info - but I thought I'd throw all of that out there for others who may be interested (and perhaps to sway your decision - afterall, every nurse is a recruiter!).

ANC_Maj

LOL, ain't that the truth! Through PMs, I've been helping allnurses.com members interested in the Army Nurse Corps by sharing info with them on matters related to my ANC, and general military experiences.

Again, I, too, appreciate your post on ANC info.

ancmini7cq.jpg

HOOAH!

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ANC_MAJ - Ma'am, thanks for the above info. I was hesitant to answer Matt's question regards to a Master's degree requirement, and now the record is straight. If I decide not to re-apply for the Army CRNA Masters program down the road maybe I can pursue a Master's degree in Health Administration via the Army? Oh well, I have a lot on my plate right now with the ECCO online course, then report April 3rd for AD at MAMC, followed by the 6F-F5 Critical Care Nursing 14 week resident course at MAMC. After achieving the ASI 8A, I'll need to schedule my Advanced OBC [A.K.A. CPTs Career Crs]. :uhoh3:

No problem! For admin you have 2 options - the US Army/Baylor program at Ft Sam for true healthcare admin and the traditional LTHET civilian school option for nursing admin. Don't sweat ECCO, just use it as a tool to refine your knowledge of critical care nursing. Enjoy Madigan and the CCNC!

ANC_Maj

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Specializes in ER, Trauma, US Navy.

I'm feeling outnumbered here...HA-HA!!

LT Dan

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The info from both USN and USA seems fairly consistent in that the odds are quite reasonble from one year to the next. While I will still be looking from some branch specific figures, I do feel somewhat relieved with the feedback from all of you. I will admit, some of my recent findings were really turning me to rethink the overall quality of return from my commitment.

I would be shocked if the USAF figures were distinctly different... but thats what all my searching for info is about... avoiding shock and awe.

Thanks so much to all of you; this resource has been invaluable and I hope you all don't mind my posting more questions as I discover them.

Oohrah.... had to put a fellow marine in a body bag today... taking care of the vets from WWII and stuff is part of what inspires me to come back and help our active duty folks. I really could not think of a more noble cause than helping our fellow servicemen and women when they need it.

Mattatoar

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Does anyone know about Reinforcement Training Unit(RTU) program for RN's in the USAR? I'm thinking about it since it's extremely flexible. Does Air Force have similar program?

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