A few questions on army nursing

NYtoFLRN · Mar 14, 2013

Hey! I hope these questions aren't ones that are repeated all over the forum- I tried to do a few simple searches but had trouble finding all the answers!

I've been thinking long and hard about my future career, and the more and more I think about it the more I think active duty army nurse corps would be perfect for me. I'm a single (unattached) female, 25, no real commitment to any specific place and definitely willing to travel. I'm from a family with a long history of military/navy service, so I'm familiar with the lifestyle and already know it would be a good fit. I'm a third degree nursing student, and am presently completing an accelerated program (will be done a year from now). So I know I'm starting a bit early!

Here's my background. Bachelors in Sociology, Master's in Public Health, BSN in progress. A few years experience working in healthcare, but not in a clinical role. GPA is high at this point, but I'm still early in the program (but working very hard to maintain it). I've also got my eye on a few clinical externships that I'm in the process of applying for.

Here are my questions:

1. I've read conflicting things on the forum regarding hiring new grad nurses with no experience. Can anyone provide some accurate up to date info on that?

If the current practice is no new grad nurses, do you think they would consider me still with the MPH? What if I had the MPH, a very high GPA and a clinical externship?

2. Are you required to live on the base? I tried looking it up on the website and it said that single people live in the barracks. I have a dog that I'm fairly attached to, and also I think I would really prefer to be able to go off base at the end of the night.

3. Where do army nurses usually work? Is it mostly confined to base hospitals? What about the VA? Are they frequently deployed?

4. Do I need an appointment to see a recruiter or can I just stop in? I called the local office today and left a message, but haven't heard back yet.

5. Is there anything that I can start doing this early in the process?

6. This might be a crazy question- but would it help to have a letter of recommendation from a family member who is a Lieutenant?

Thanks!