Military critical care nursing

anchorRN, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN · Dec 22, 2017

May I ask why you left?
I'm currently active duty enlisted stationed in Guam with my ship homeported in Guam.
I got my BSN did some ICU and public health work and then enlisted as a gunner's mate. I spoke to the naval hospital nurses in the island and they told me that navy nurse Corps is dying for nurses and that me being 27, male and single and no dependents with some experience will be a good fit.
I'm nearing the end of my first and last enlistment with no intention of reenlisting but have thought about joining the nurse Corps after doing what I want to do when I leave the navy for say 4-5 years and then possibly come back into nurse Corps. I thought about the sabbatical program too. How likely would I be chosen with an NJP record? I went to captain's mast for 2 ucmj articles lol.
Very respectfully,
GM3(SW)

I left because I joined later in life (at 34), had my fun, but was ready to settle back down and not move around every few years. I'll admit I kind of miss it now.

Regarding your BSN - is it from an college in the USA? or is it from the Philippines? I ask because the Navy's Nurse Corps only recognizes BSNs from approved AMERICAN universities. I had many Filipinos try and get into the Nurse Corps because they had Filipino BSN's, but were not allowed entrance.

And regarding NJP's, I'm not sure how those are reflected in your service record when applying for a commission, but I'm sure it's not something they want to see on a resume. And I disagree that the Nurse Corps is "dying" for nurses. When I left, the Nurse Corps was 100% manned and highly competitive to get in. If you had substantial ICU experience (as an RN, not clinicals in school), then maybe you'd get a better look.

Also I'm not sure what you're referring to by "sabbatical program". Never heard of it.

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Dec 22, 2017

I actually took this opportunity to learn about captain's/admiral's mast.

Fun fact: All commander-directed, non-judicial punishment of military personnel in all military branches is authorized under article 15 of the UCMJ. So, the Air Force refers to that non-judicial punishment colloquially as an 'article 15.' The Navy refers to it as 'captain's mast.'

It's all the same thing.

anchorRN, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN · Dec 23, 2017

I actually took this opportunity to learn about captain's/admiral's mast.
Fun fact: All commander-directed, non-judicial punishment of military personnel in all military branches is authorized under article 15 of the UCMJ. So, the Air Force refers to that non-judicial punishment colloquially as an 'article 15.' The Navy refers to it as 'captain's mast.'
It's all the same thing.

Captain's vs. Admiral's Mast are completely different. You may end up with an NJP ("Article 15" or whatever in Army lingo) when in front of a Captain, however an Admiral's Mast is likely going to land you in the brig or out of military service completely. Keep in mind that a Captain in the Navy is an O6 and an Admiral is an O7 or higher (unlike a Captain in the Army which is an O3). BIG DIFFERENCE HERE.

Scooby-Dooby-Doo · Dec 23, 2017

I left because I joined later in life (at 34), had my fun, but was ready to settle back down and not move around every few years. I'll admit I kind of miss it now.
Regarding your BSN - is it from an college in the USA? or is it from the Philippines? I ask because the Navy's Nurse Corps only recognizes BSNs from approved AMERICAN universities. I had many Filipinos try and get into the Nurse Corps because they had Filipino BSN's, but were not allowed entrance.
And regarding NJP's, I'm not sure how those are reflected in your service record when applying for a commission, but I'm sure it's not something they want to see on a resume. And I disagree that the Nurse Corps is "dying" for nurses. When I left, the Nurse Corps was 100% manned and highly competitive to get in. If you had substantial ICU experience (as an RN, not clinicals in school), then maybe you'd get a better look.
Also I'm not sure what you're referring to by "sabbatical program". Never heard of it.

My BSN is from the US. Accredited by the ccne and all. And I'm laughing about the dying nurse Corps part. I guess the medical recruiters wanted me asap to fill an empty billet stat. The sabbatical program is relatively new. It's for all branches called the career intermission pilot program.

Scooby-Dooby-Doo · Dec 23, 2017

I actually took this opportunity to learn about captain's/admiral's mast.
Fun fact: All commander-directed, non-judicial punishment of military personnel in all military branches is authorized under article 15 of the UCMJ. So, the Air Force refers to that non-judicial punishment colloquially as an 'article 15.' The Navy refers to it as 'captain's mast.'
It's all the same thing.

It's not all the same thing because never have I ever been charged with article 15 of the ucmj. My articles charged were 92 and 107. Captain's mast can be a good or bad thing, but anyway, my original comment was intended for anchorRN that's why I got all navy termed.

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Dec 24, 2017

Article 15 is the article that authorizes your supervision to take non-judicial action against you. Failure to obey an order (92) and false statements (107) are the specific rules you broke.

Anyway, I think the underlying point to this discussion is that you're going to have a hell of a time getting commissioned with bad conduct on your record. You're hearing the same thing from three different people in three different branches: military nursing is competitive right now and they are looking for reasons to weed people out.

Scooby-Dooby-Doo · Dec 24, 2017

Just spoke to a navy medical recruiter, they said they're always are looking in different areas of nursing which is fine by me. í ½í¸„ doesn't have to be critical care. Thanks