Military Nurse

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Risking sounding like an idiot... here goes:

I want to do something involving the military, whether that be military intel/ intelligence analyst or a nurse. Most likely nurse, but I have a few questions if anyone can help me out!! I am looking at becoming an RN at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's nursing. :)

1. What exactly is the difference between a military nurse and a civilian nurse that works on the base, can you be a civilian nurse working on a base?

2. is my BSN enough?

3. Can anyone enlighten me on what EXACTLY the military nursing experience is like.. are you always with the military? how do you choose a branch? what do you usually do?

Thanks!!! :nurse:

Specializes in CNA.

What exactly happens when you are inactive, or even released to being a citizen.. can you work on the base as a nurse? or do you just go to a regular hospital? If it helps, i am leaning more towards the army.

also, does anyone have any further info on army ROTC in college for nursing, such as what does it consist of, etc?

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Specializes in CNA.

Can anyone tell me the distinct differences between a medical surgical nurse and an intensive/critical care nurse in the army?

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Posting problems? :)

The differences for med-surg and ICU in the military are essentially the same as they are for the civilian sector. What type of information are you looking for?

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Specializes in CNA.

YES! many posting problems, computer froze, long story. :(

I am looking at going into army ROTC in college, and becoming a nurse. However, I did want to know what exactly a nurse in the ICU does and what a med/surg nurse does. For example, operating room nurses sterilize the operation rooms, clean, and prep for surgery. I'm looking for specifics on what med/surg. nurses do, and what nurses in ICU do on a day to day basis.

Thanks,

Keegs

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YES! many posting problems, computer froze, long story. :(

I am looking at going into army ROTC in college, and becoming a nurse. However, I did want to know what exactly a nurse in the ICU does and what a med/surg nurse does. For example, operating room nurses sterilize the operation rooms, clean, and prep for surgery. I'm looking for specifics on what med/surg. nurses do, and what nurses in ICU do on a day to day basis.

Thanks,

Keegs

Hey - it happens! I was mainly checking to be sure it was a posting problem and not a forum problem.

Justcause posted a great link.

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keegs, I will toss in that it should be very important early on to look at your primary goal is it to be a nurse or a commissioned AF officer? If you get your BSN you could always transition into the military.. if you go the ROTC AF route and don't get into a BSN or get strayed along the path... well you still have options to be an officer just not as a nurse... that being said getting your BSN and then maintaining the same physical state / clean record / etc will always afford you a path to transition at time of graduation or later... doing ROTC while maintaining BSN path might be difficult depending on your schools nursing options, your personal path, finances... I'd just say 'look into it'... the type of nurse doesn't matter so much at this time as even if you had a desire to go one route vs another - not much you can do... the common pathway to all of your nursing goals is this "BSN".

v/r

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Specializes in CNA.

Thank you all for the help so far,

As I stated before I am going to school for nursing, to achieve my BSN after 4 years in my school's nursing program, while I am enrolled in the nursing program at The University of Tennessee- Knoxville, I will be doing ROTC to become a nurse in the Army.

After my BSN, entry into the Army, and some years of experience, I would like to become a physician's assistant, again in the Army.

Does anyone know if it is possible to go to school to become a nurse, get a few years of experience with my BSN and then get more training in the Army to become a physician's assistant?

Thank you for the help, everyone!

Keegs

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Anything is possible... is it the route that provides the clearest way to being an Army PA? Most time efficient? .. probably not, possible potentially.

As a ROTC grad you'll be serving out your obligatory time.. if you google army + ipap you can actually view the regs and such for the Army's PA program... the thing you won't find is that they don't want nurses to leave their branch to become PAs.. they are different branches.. branch migration is something that is managed / controlled.. that being said you will / can have a pretty clear path from BSN to NP.... I'd also identify what army 'job' you want.. NPs and PAs in the Army have very different realms. Possible yes.. but if you go that route I'd recommend keeping options open and not relying on that route as your sole route... best of luck!

check out the army IPAP site.. new 2010 reg was just realized last week ;)

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Specializes in CNA.

Thank you so much! I wasn't aware that it was very difficult to switch branches, so thanks for that part!

Keegs

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Specializes in ICU, Med-Surg, Military Nursing.

Hey Keegs I just finished nursing school last December (NCLEX in Jan) and commissioned into the Army Nurse Corps at the end of April after finishing my ROTC requirements. I did Army ROTC for 4 years---they paid my tuition at my private school, and gave me a monthly stipend as well as a book allowance every year.

The thing I have to say about all that is---you certainly earn your officer commission if you commission through ROTC. The majority of people who do ROTC aren't going to be nurses, but you still do all the same training as them, and yes, some of it is difficult physically and mentally, but not rocket science. Being in decent physical shape helps a lot, but there are plenty of chunky people who still finish just fine.

In regard to your question about Med-Surg vs. ICU nursing---The Army requires all new graduate nurses (your rank will be 2nd Lieutenant (2LT), as mine is now) to work on a med-surg floor for a year to a year and half to gain experience, then you can take a specialty course (Critical Care, OB/GYN, Psych, etc.). Once you complete the specialty course (most of them are about 3-4 months long), then the Army will have you work in that area. Or, you can choose to not specialize and just remain a 66H (Med-Surg nurse).

As someone else mentioned, after about 4-5 years if you stay in, the Army (and probably Navy and AF) will want you to go earn your master's degree. They'll pay for it, and pay you your full salary while you earn it---in exchange for more time. You don't have to of course, but if you want to be competitive for promotion (which means more money and usually more responsibility), you'll need to have it at some point.

I know this is pretty Army-specific, but that's really all I know, with the exception of half a dozen friends who did Navy ROTC and commissioned in the Navy Nurse Corps (they had it A LOT easier than I did). Navy is similar in a lot of ways in regard to how new RNs are treated, as I'd imagine AF is as well. The Army does expect you to be physically and mentally tough. You are an officer first, and then a nurse. The Army's Officer Basic Leader's Course is 9 weeks long (vs. 2-4 weeks for Navy and Air Force)---and even if you do ROTC you still have to attend (I'm going next month). I know Navy ROTC grads just go straight to their assigned hospital after graduating and passing the NCLEX, and don't have to do any more "officer training"--and I'd imagine the AF is the same way. (But if you do ROTC, Army AMEDD OBLC will be a breeze compared to what we had to do as ROTC Cadets. You get your own room and nights and weekends off at OBLC... not that case at LDAC).

But that being said, because the Army is tougher on its people in some ways, there are a lot of opportunities for nurses and for advancement because most nurses prefer to go into the Air Force or Navy (as you can see just by reading this thread).

I apologize for the winded response, but there's a lot to tell, and it's a big decision to make! Lemme know if you have any more questions. -Mike

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ODS - Navy Officer Development School - is five weeks for active duty per their website.

Air Force Commissioned Officer Training (COT) is also five weeks for active duty. The two week course is ONLY for reserve officers.

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