Navy Nurse Questions

That would be 2 years, provided you don't kill anyone, it's an automatic thing.

LCDR(s) Dan

I am in the process of filling out the application for NNC and I have to reply to the question about the pay in civilian vs military nursing. I will have 3 years of BSN prepared nursing experience when I go in (if everything goes well) and my pay will be extremely comparable with what I am making in the civilian world. I actually have a total of 8 years nursing experience but only my BSN experience goes toward time served which is a downfall for coming in, but I would have to say that with all of the other benefits the Navy has to offer I am willing to take the plunge. Plus no one can ever take away the actual experience that I have learned and have to offer the NNC. Plus I am at a cross roads with my career as a nurse and am very open minded as to what my duties will be when I come in. So I am looking forward to the surprise.

I didn't realize that these messages were from so long ago, but I would like to say that from reading the forum it has helped to make some things clearer on my journey into the NNC and thank you to those who took the time to respond to peoples' questions.

Hello LCDR Dan and ENS PM,

I am in the process of joining the NNC (doing physical and interviews March 7th 08) and have read all your threads. I have been working as a Nurse Extern for 8 years and as an RN for a year as a pediatrics and rehabilitation nurse.

All I can say is that in my world (civilian in Chicago) pretty much sucks, there are very few programs where they pay for your continuing education, traveling is dependent on if you have PTO time and money to go, I have to pay for medical insurance and pricey copays, don't get BAH, and student loans are killing me!!! Yes I make more as a civilian world but believe me I have calculated how much I pay for insurance, student loans, certification class etc.. and I am making less then being in the military. I want to persue my education and obtain my masters degree free or charge as a PNP, do voluntary deployments on the Comfort and Mercy and just get as many experiences as I can!! My husband was in the NAVY for 10 years and had noting but good experiences so I decided why not join. I know where ever I get placed my experiences will be what I make them to be not the other way around I know what I want and I will not let any bad apples in the bunch get to me. How much harder can it be then dealing with the BS I already deal with? With this being said I would love to have positive mentors as yourselves and I am very intrested in speaking with you both personally. I will be going to visit the Naval Hospital in SD on the 19-21, are you still stationed there?

See next message.

Let me know how your interview process goes. I am working on my app at this time and am planning on commissioning in Sept if everything works out.

I'll keep you posted...

PEDS-

I'm stationed at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, I'm the Division Officer in the ED. I'll PM you my phone number and would be happy to talk with you. As a side note, I used to be stationed in Great Lakes in 2000-2002, when the hospital was still a hospital, loved the Chicago area. I used to live by Gurnee Mills Mall. Sending you the PM now.

LCDR Dan

Hi guys! I'm kind of on the fence about the Navy Nurse Candidate Program, and I made a pro/con list and everything (i'm the organized type) but I'm still not sure because it is such a life altering decision. (Background info: I am a female sophomore in the NYU college of nursing which is of course, in new york city and my hometown is Bethesda, MD)

There are many more things in the "pro" column than the "con" column (the "con" column consists of "4-5 year commitment--what if I get there and hate it, I can't just quit like a regular job" and "chance I could get deployed and die"

I'm not worried about deployment because if I am deployed, well, it's the military. Duh. That's not holding me back.

The time commitment is long, but I feel as though I'll be working any other hospital job because my only practical, valuable skill will be nursing once I graduate in 2010. I can't see myself changing careers, and I and not concerned about making more money than everyone I know (I just want to live decently).

Every time I get apprehensive about making the final YES decision, I review my pro/con list and see that it has everything I wanted to accomplish on my 10 year plan (I told you I was the organized type!) This includes: master's degree, world travel, meet a potential husband. Yet I am still apprehensive. I know that I am rambling and not asking a question, but any comments or insight would be valuable to me. Thank you.

I feel the EXACT same way! I am graduating with my BSN in May and cannot decide about the Navy. I agree that there are many more pros than cons, but like you I am unsure of the time committment and getting there and hating it. I'm not assuming that I would hate it, but what if I do??