Deciding what to do

[Navykids]

My daughter is a junior she has been wanting to join navy and get her rn and work In The navy for few years then eventually get out and go to st. Jude's ...this has always been her goal she wants to help take care of our service men/women...my question is is this going to be possible without going to school first she is determined to go navy first...any information would be great

[HollyLynn14]

I joined the army when I was 18. I served for 3 years as I intended to do. The GI Bill and college fund helped me get through my bachelor's program and I earned my RN. I was a civilian nurse for 14 years before returning to serve. I am an Air Force nurse now.

Basically, I think that what she chooses at 18 does not write her entire future. It was never a mistake for me to go army first.

To relate to you as a mom - my son just graduated high school and is leaving for army basic training this very week. I can not be prouder!

Exactly what I did. I worked with RNs/FNPs who were not even medics that while on AD did green to gold. One was supply, the other a fueler. She cannot go wrong by enlisting first. Who she is at 18, and what her dreams entail, may not be the same once her intial contracf is fufilled. I swore up and down, after working as a CNA from 16 until I enlisted, that I would never work health care again. Well....as you can see....as soon as I could reclass I did.

[NavyNurseCorpsPM1]

Navykids…hello and I hope this finds you well.

Just so there is no disillusionment later…the Navy option for ROTC as far as nursing is concerned is not an option at all. I say this because we are currently in the process of doing away with the Nursing ROTC pathway for the Navy. We gave away 12 scholarships nationwide this year, and it will continue to be reduced over the next couple of years until we Zero the program out. By the time your daughter would be eligible there may not be any Nurse Corps options, and at that point if she had obligated to any monies then she would be stuck in the ROTC world with no guarantee of a Nurse Corps quota.

The Nurse Candidate Program is an option, but you cannot apply until you are accepted into a qualified (accredited by CCNE or ACEN) BSN program. Prior to that is the Corpsman route, but again, we will only have the Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program as an option, and there are roughly 25 spaces to accommodate the entire Navy with roughly 150 applications submitted.

In no way am I saying that your daughter does not have the capabilities to be at the very top of her peers, but she should enlist only if she wants to enlist for the experiences and challenges. I can say this because I am prior enlisted also. It may prove to be very beneficial to give her the background and foundation that will indeed make her a better Naval Officer in the long run.

If that is not her desire, then I say she choose college first and military later.

Hope this helps,

Ciao Ciao

LT, NC, USN