Join as Officer BEFORE nursing school? Advice....?

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Hi All,

I am prior enlisted E5 with 4 years in the USN. Every time I turn around I remember one more thing about the military that I miss. I have since received my BA is Psychology from UNC Chapel Hill and I am currently working as a PT aide, CNA and HUC to get great experience with the Health occupations and then go the BSN to NP route. Needless to say, I LOVE IT. The health community is where I am supposed to be.

I had thought about waiting till I was accepted to Nursing school (Jan '11 start date) to apply for the Army's NCP or something similar but lately the calling has been growing stronger and stronger. Now that the Army is actively recruiting Officers, part of me feels that I should just go ahead and earn a commission and then try to go the IPAP (Army's PA School) route to PA or the FNEP (Funding for Officers after 1st tour to go to Nursing school) route to the BSN then on to FNP.

The only hurdle that I have is that I will have to get a medical waiver for High Freq hearing loss in my right ear. I feel that since the Army is needing officers, and every facet of me that I can control is in perfect shape, they might be a bit more lenient to pass that waiver. Especially since I was approved for the waiver in '99 when I enlisted in the Navy and it hasn't really changed at all.

I have heard that High freq hearing waivers are not a huge deal to the MSC either but I am worried that If I wait a year and the waiver gets denied I will miss both shots.

Opinions, Comments, Anecdotes welcome!

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Specializes in EMT, ER, Homehealth, OR.

If you join as a MSC officer and want to go to PA school or nursing school the Army may be able to in both. Last year there was a program for 25 officers O3 and below in another branch to go to nursing school and become a Army nurse. Do not know if they still have this program. If you join as a MSC officer then go one of these routes the MSC branch will need to release you, do not know if that would be an issue or not.

Can not answer about your wavier other then you need to speak with a recruiter. Make sure this recruiter is a healthcare recruiter not a enlisted recruiter since you know what they will try to have you go back enlisted then get your nursing degree.

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I'd recommend this thought:

if you want to be an army nurse: the student program is a great way to go... enables you to focus on school, know your immediate future and have a monthly stipend to support 'life'.

if you want to be an army PA: rather then joining as a medical service officer OR a nurse officer - simply finishing nursing school and prepare to enter a PA school - whether that means applying directly or working for a period of time - whichever you need to be competitive for your desired school... as soon as your hot hands have the acceptance letter to PA school there are a myriad of opportunities for joining as a PA into the Army ... or navy for that matter.

If you entered in as an MSC or NURSE corp - yes it is an issue to have higher bless off and to send you to a new branch.. plus you have to finish a minimum obligatory time period in that branch... the balance is you deciding how much you want to control vs someone else controlling...

my humble 2 cents.

best of luck -

  • ps. google the navy collegiate program + physician assistant
  • also look at your state's national guard opportunities for PAs... some states have programs to pay all tuition and give you monthly pay + BAH for a big of guard service post graduation.

v/r

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I am currently in FNEP at AASU in Savannah.

I would first become a nurse, THEN join the army as an officer. I was able to transfer from another branch within the army, but I have always had the full support of all my bosses in whatever I wanted to do. That is not necessarily a given. I know of some officers who did not get along with their chain of command as well myself and have run into trouble getting what they want (like switching branches and getting the assignments they wanted, etc.)

FNEP is not automatic, nor is IPAP. The losing branch must sign off on the deal, and for FNEP, you must get accepted into a BSN program starting in the Junior year so that you can graduate within 24 months. That will probably mean taking pre-req courses on your own time. This is harder than you might think because if you are in a FORSCOM unit like myself, you will be deployed every other year and have to go to NTC and JRTC during the year you are at home. Also, semester long microbiology, chemistry and A&P courses may be difficult to schedule outside of your active duty obligations. I would get your education out of the way where you know you can concentrate on it on your time with no distractions or broken promises in the way.

Also, it is harder to become a PA after nursing school than many people think. PA school pre-reqs are basically pre-med pre-reqs. The pre-reqs for a BSN have some of the pre-med requirements (usually a yr in chemistry w/lab, yr of biology w/lab, microbiology w/lab, and stats), however, very few BSN programs require a year of physics, a yr of organic chemisry and a yr of calculus. That being said, if you do happen to have those under your belt, PLUS a BSN, PA school should be a breeze since more than half of the courses in PA school will have been taught to you already in a typical BSN program.

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Thank you very much for your reply! It is good to hear from someone that is in the FNEP. I decided to go ahead with nursing school now and I'll either do ROTC with SMP so I can fill that military void with the guard or I will apply for the ANCP. Either or, im pretty excited to get back. Thanks again!

Chuck

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