FY2014 Navy Nurse Corps Direct Accession

vinstafa · May 31, 2013

i finally got my kit completed, which took longer than i expected, and was told by my recruiter that they weren't accepting kits any longer for critical care, 1960, specialty for fy 2013. which sucks, because now i have to wait until oct 2013 for next fy just to apply. has anyone else come across this problem?

love2013 · Jun 16, 2013

Vinstafa...I ran into the same problem. I was told all along there were more than enough slots then BAM....ll are gone. I was heart broken:crying2: to say the least, but there is a reason for everything. Now i look at it as time for me to get additional certs under my belt. Where are you located? I am in Newport News VA. It is really bad for me because I feel like I have my family in limbo.

love2013 · Jun 16, 2013

I was told that they are doing LRP, but you have to be approved for it.

vinstafa · Jun 17, 2013

love2013...I'm from Baltimore. I'm not sure about the LRP because I don't have any loans. When I spoke to my recruiter last week, he told me that the board no longer meets before the new fiscal year, like they have in the past. The earliest they will accept any kits for FY 2014 is OCT 1. This whole process seems like it will never end, but hopefully that means more people drop off. On a good note, my recruiter told me that the alternates selected for FY 2013 will have to reapply, and aren't automatically given a spot in 2014. For FY 2012 and FY 2013 there were 15 spots for critical care, 1960. He told me that they normally don't fill them until April or May, meaning, if we are in by the first board, we should be fine. Minus the MSN, I have the same creds as you, and I can't imagine them not picking up two CCRN's for 1960.

Talk about being in limbo, I thought I was leaving in OCT, like originally planned, and I have taken all my PTO. Were they bringing you in as an O-2 or an O-3? I was coming in as an O-2, since I have 5 years experience, and would become an O-3 at 18 months.

love2013 · Jun 18, 2013

vinstafa...When I started the process they told me that they still had 8 slots available. I thought I would be good, but that's what I get for thinking. As far as my rank....I have no idea. I asked my recruiter and she told me that will come when they look at my packet. I am not sure who "they" are, but they will tell me. I have had the privilege of having an O3 and O4 to help guide me through this frustrating process. For instance, I asked my recruiter about the incentive bonus for 1960 specialty...she told me I do not get it. I went into her office with the documentation from the O4 with a note from him and all of a sudden I am eligible for it. Recruiters can be sneaky people.

That is true about the CCRN. There is a lot of new nurses going in, but you would think they would take the more experienced nurse. Show me how to be a Navy officer, put me in the hospital and let me go....I'll survive. So where would you like to go??

vinstafa · Jun 18, 2013

My recruiter was very informative and whenever I had doubts about anything, I always double and triple checked. Luckily, I have a big contact at Portsmouth that was able to guide me in my questioning with the recruiter. When did you start the process? I started back in Feb, and after going to Bethesda for my medical, and getting my interviews done, my kit was done late April. A few days after my kit was submitted to the project manager, I was told they weren't accepting anymore for this FY.

As far as your rank, if you have been working 5 years, with your BSN, you should at least come in as an O2. Generally, it's two years civilian=1 year toward rank; and I think when it comes to your masters it's a 1 year to 1 year. So, you might be able to get O3, but that comes with much more responsibility.

I would like to be in Bethesda since I own a home in Baltimore, but at this point, I don't really care where I'd go. They say it's basically one of the big three hospitals, but you can "ask" for anything. I walked around with the CNS on the SICU in Bethesda, and it was a really nice, updated unit.

Is your recruiter a medical recruiter or a general recruiter?

love2013 · Jun 19, 2013

I started the process in Jan and finished it all (packet, physical, and interviews) in mid April. I had to repeat the lab portion of my physical because WBC's were low; that took an additional 2 weeks to process. I think that could have possibly delayed me a bit. Now my goal is to stay in good shape in preparation to leave...whenever.

My recruiter is a medical recruiter, but I am the first direct accession person she's had. So she is having to talk to the other medical recruiters. When I asked my recruiter where I could go it was one of the big three. I'm open to going anywhere as long as my family is with me. The officers that did my interview encouraged me to go and visit some of the possible navy hospitals, but it is kind of hard to visit where you may go. However, I may come and visit Bethesda just because I did put it on my dream sheet. How did you contact someone regarding a tour? Are you still working?

vinstafa · Jun 19, 2013

Yeah, I am still working. I didn't schedule a tour. I was there doing my blood work, vision, hearing, and my dental exam and in between appointments, we had like 45 minutes to kill and my recruiter asked I want to take a mini tour. The cool thing was walking on the unit and talking to the AF, Army and Navy nurses.

My recruiter also told me that a good bit of the paper work will be changing in SEPT for the new FY; don't know which ones though. Has your recruiter told you when the earliest you could go to ODS if you are picked?

love2013 · Jun 20, 2013

Earliest I can leave....no. All she told me is that she can submit my packet August 1 for signatures then to the "board" Oct 1. She said that the decision to leave is up to me once my packet is approved. When I had my interview, both O4's told me that it probably will be more like Dec '13-Feb '14 if approved. That "if approved" statement is really annoying because why wouldn't my packet be approved...I'm squeaky clean, passed all assessments, experienced, and flexible. I am ready to leave when they tell me yes.

Did you notice a difference between the nurses of the different branches? I had this person trying to convince me that AF nurse corps is better than the Navy. The way I look at it, a nurse is a nurse and you go with the branch that is going to offer more opportunity. I emailed my recruiter yesterday just to make sure all is well, but she's not that great with getting back in reasonable amount of time.

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2013

Earliest I can leave....no. All she told me is that she can submit my packet August 1 for signatures then to the "board" Oct 1. She said that the decision to leave is up to me once my packet is approved. When I had my interview, both O4's told me that it probably will be more like Dec '13-Feb '14 if approved. That "if approved" statement is really annoying because why wouldn't my packet be approved...I'm squeaky clean, passed all assessments, experienced, and flexible. I am ready to leave when they tell me yes.
Did you notice a difference between the nurses of the different branches? I had this person trying to convince me that AF nurse corps is better than the Navy. The way I look at it, a nurse is a nurse and you go with the branch that is going to offer more opportunity. I emailed my recruiter yesterday just to make sure all is well, but she's not that great with getting back in reasonable amount of time.

The reason they said approved is there are more qualified applicants then slot. This means that that everyone will be picked up. As far as each service they all have there pros and cons which means that a service can be a better fit for someone then another one.

vinstafa · Jun 20, 2013

I didn't get too detailed about each branch. They were basically telling me about how things were with three branches working there and answered some questions I had.

Double check with your recruiter about when things can be submitted for 2014 (just because my recruiter told me something completely different and I'll be ****** if I miss the first boards). He told me that they are adding/changing some of the forms like they did last year, and they were scrambling to get them fixed within a week before boards.

What came back to bite me is I was in no rush to get things completed because I get married at the end of July and I didn't want to leave for ODS before my wedding or honeymoon. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to get married and leave the country for my honeymoon, but I am not looking forward to changing all my paperwork from single to married and adding addendums to my security clearance. Do you have any information about the critical care bonus?

love2013 · Jun 20, 2013

I was told that if you have your CCRN, then you are looking at an automatic 5,000-20,000 annual bonus; (look at this site: http://www.med.navy.mil/bumed/Special_Pay/Documents/FY13%20Special%20Pay%20Plans/FY13%20NC%20Special%20Pay%20Implentation%20Guidance%20(14Nov12)a.pdf)

I just emailed my recruiter about the changes to the forms. Hopefully, she will respond to me.