Military Nursing Questions Answered

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Hello. I have seen many questions posted about the recruiting, the military, and future military experiences, I wanted to start a Q & A forum where you can ask questions related to the military from someone who is in the military.

- I am NOT a recruiter. I am fellow nurse who wants to inform others so they will be more informed than I was when I joined.

- I have been in the U.S. Navy for almost 3 years now. I have worked in the ICU for the same amount of time. I have also deployed as a Navy Nurse overseas. I am currently pursuing a masters in anesthesia degree.

- I will do my best to answer all questions. I will not lie to you about the military. If the subject is sensitive and possible jeopordize my career I will not answer you publicly about the issue but in a private email response.

Thanks and good luck.

Specializes in Critical Care Emergency Military Nursing.

SNLO: you will be busy as a nurse. 12+ hour shifts, 7 shifts over 2 weeks, plus it can be very challenging trying to take your leave/vacation. As with any facility, you will be busy.

Regarding ship life; unless you are selected to deploy on the Mercy or Comfort, or end up working on a FST or ERSS team, you won't see sea duty. And Yes, I always felt safe on a ship. I suggest reading some of the earlier posts in this thread to get an idea of what navy nursing can be like. It should help with a lot of your questions.

Also you need to be a little more specific in your questions, not sure what to say about your statement about wanting to be a critical care nurse. Good luck

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There are nurses on carriers and other ships. All the nurses I've known that did sea time were 1960s. They said they loved it. If you have access to nko you can look at all the operational billets on ships or green side.

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Specializes in Critical Care Emergency Military Nursing.

And Aircraft Carriers of course. thanks dschulte.

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I just sat here and read through all these damn posts to find the answer to a different thread that you stated to check out this post for the answer. I just want to know if it would be a bad idea to apply for FY 2014 DA if I don't graduate until december. The board convenes in october but I don't want to wait another year. Would it be a waste of time to apply?

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You should contact a recruiter to have that question answered. No one here is going to know the dates and quota numbers better than a recruiter....even recruiters have a hard time figuring that out, for some reason.

If I had to take a guess, I would say that applying in December is a bit late....FY14 starts in October. Plus, you'll be a new grad with no experience. Most DA's I've heard from have half a year to a few years of experience. You'd be the frist DA I've ever heard of who got in with zero experience. Not saying it isn't possible or it hasn't happened before, I just haven't heard of it. The NCP is where the Navy gets their nurses with zero nursing experience.

But, yeah, contact a recruiter. Good luck.

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I did contact a recruiter and they said that they will be leaving their post soon and someone else is taking their place and to contact them later when he's gone. I was trying to say I wanted to apply by this october but the problem would be is I dont graduate until december. Then I also wouldn't have my license so I am assuming if most DA's have at least 6 months experience I would not be a very good candidate this year so maybe I should wait for next year? I didn't think it would be so hard to join the navy. :(

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Yeah, joining the Navy is no easy process. It's also very competitive and time sensitive. Basically, you have to be a strong candidate and the stars have to be aligned in order for you to get in....or at least that's what it seems like to me. But, it's worth it, so keep on trying. Good luck. :)

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I am considering the Navy Reserves. I am currently an ICU Travel RN in NorCal (currently, it changes every three months or so). I was wondering if you had any info on the reserves that would be helpful in my situation. I want to continue travel nursing, and I thought that the reserves may fit right into that schedule. I plan on talking with a recruiter, but I want some information that a recruiter may not disclose. I know the question is kind of vague, but any info you may have would be helpful.

THanks

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Can you start the application process before you take your NCLEX?

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I was finally able to turn in my kit today for fy2014. I started the process almost two ears ago hoping to do ncp however spots filed up by the time I was halfway done and my recruiter switched me over to direct accession for this upcoming fiscal year. My kit is all done an am working with a recruiter from San Diego medical center. I just graduated August 25, 2013 and have yet to take my nclex because I have not received my authorization to test yet (my school lagged on paperwork). Therefore my kit has everything except my RN license... My question to you is did you have your license already when you sent your kit to the board for consideration? My recruiter made it seem like I have a great shot at getting in and has invested countless hours working together, but I still keep thinking that the lack of my rn license will automatically disqualify me regardless of how early I turned in my kit and how qualified I am. I got sting recommendations and scored a 9 and 10 on interviews. My only downfall is lack of nursing experience and a license that is pending. Can anyone who is currently a navy nurse with similar experiences or knowledgable about the boards give me some input? My kit was sent to the San Diego districts program manager today. I am just so concerned as this is truly what I want to do.

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Hello, I was trying to read through the posts to see if I could find my answer but I figured I'd just ask since its like 20 pages long!

I will be graduating May 2014 with my BSN and I talked to a navy recruiter today (over the phone) and all she told me was keep my GPA 3.0 and call her back when I get my license. I feel like it's not that easy since I keep reading everywhere how you guys are applying and there's a long process apparently. I had no idea that wanting to be a nurse in the Navy was so competitive. Anyways, any advice you have for me on what I should be doing in the mean time before I pass my boards in the summer time? I want to make my chances of joining and being a nurse the best I can.

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For Navyman7 or others with similar situations to mine,

I am currently considering Navy nursing as a career move. I am simply not finding a lot of fulfillment in the typical rat race of work to live and live to work. Not to be self righteous but simply want to use my skills in a higher calling so to speak. My situation is not simple in the sense that I am married with 2 kids. Currently residing with friends so nothing tying us down to where we live. We don't mind moving and actually enjoy the change in scenery.

My family has a long line of Navy background with a great, great uncle who was an admiral and had a Nimitz class destroyer named after him (USS Coontz). I also speak Portuguese and know of a Naval base in the Azores. I have been a nurse for 13 years with various experience (Peds, Peds ER, Urgent Care, & Nurse Manager for +5 years). All these things would seem to make me appear as an "interesting" candidate. Not trying to self inflate, so to speak, but I have read this entire thread and things like this seem to help.

So, Is being a Navy Nurse really not ideal for a family man? Seems like it could be a pretty good gig with opportunities to further my career and retire in 20 years debt free and with plenty of money in the bank. Is it just the moving and potential deployments that are the problem? I think my wife wouldn't actually mind the occassional break from me. :)

Would really like to know if I am simply wasting my time diving deeper if my first priority (my family) would reep only negative results. And hard work and sacrifice is not neccessarily what I consider "negative."

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