Navy Questions

DanznRN, RN · May 4, 2006

Gahnosah-

My name is LT Dan and I have been active duty in the Navy for 9+ years, so I'll give you my opinion on your questions.

General requirements, get your BSN and pass the physical. You say you don't have any criminal record, that's good. Make sure your financial history is just as good. The Navy has no preference of what school you got to as long as you get your BSN and it is an accredited nursing school. There is no difference in salary depending on what school you got to, as a matter of fact, no matter what you do in the Navy all Ensigns, LTs, etc.,. make the same, actually all 0-1s, 0-2s in all the services will make the same. The only difference is when bonuses are given for particular jobs, such as doctors, they get bonuses.

Is is hard to get admitted? Generally, it is not too hard, but you do have to meet the requirements and go through OIS. Currently the Navy is also offering sign-on bonuses as well and probably will for some time to come. As far as when to visit the recruiter, in my opinion the sooner the better. The reason is the Navy has programs to assist you in helping pay to complete your degree. I came in through the Nurse CAndidate Program or NCP and they gave me $20,000 ($17,000 after taxes) to help pay for my last 2 years of school, so I would check into it early. If you have more questions, please let me know.

LT Dan

gahnosah · May 5, 2006

Thank You Sooo Much Lt Dan! =)

Corvette Guy · May 6, 2006

Hi (
I will be applying for nursing schools coming up winter + fall. Before I apply I wanted to make sure I was on the right track. I know i want to join the Navy as a BSN nurse but I'm not sure about the whole procedure...
What are the general requirements? Does the navy have a particular preference to schools? (e.g., graduating from a top nursing school UCSF-UW or from Phoenix? ) Does the schools make a difference in salary-entering rank? ...
-eek so many questions-.
Is it hard to be admitted?
I am in good physical shape, 21, clean background (no criminal records/drugs etc), pretty confident i'll do well in nursing school, ..is there any other major factors i need to have or work on before meeting with the Navy personnel.?
I visit the recruiter AFTER i recieve my BSN +RN?
haha, my thoughts are getting scrambled again. I think i'll end here. Any information would be greatly appreciated! :Melody:

gahnosah - LT Dan is an excellent source for Navy questions. So, I'll just add a few comments.

You might want to consider looking into Navy ROTC programs at Universities in your area, which also have a BSN program.

BTW, this :troll: is a Troll.

Here is a link that will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about such creatures that sometimes invade message boards.

NavyCheerGirl · Jul 6, 2006

Actually, one NROTC program at my local university HAS nursing BUT it isn't an actual nursing school (ie anatomy and physiology). ROTC programs focus on ethics and are divided into different sections (at least that's what I've gathered). After you graduate with your BSN, you will attend the OIS (Office Indoctrination School), so be prepared for that. Be VERY familiar with Naval terms and the people. My school is doing a 2-2 year program with the local university for nursing school so I need to wait until my junior year to see if I get into the nursing school at the university, but in the meantime I visit the NROTC with any questions I have. So far I've had a lot of questions answered, but I also read materials from the web and books. A really resourceful book I recently finished is called Married to the Military. It's for girlfriends, wives, and women in uniform, and I knew the book would be very useful since I will be going into the Navy after college. So now that you want to join the Navy, read read read!

Lisa131 · Feb 4, 2007

Gahnosah-
My name is LT Dan and I have been active duty in the Navy for 9+ years, so I'll give you my opinion on your questions.
General requirements, get your BSN and pass the physical. You say you don't have any criminal record, that's good. Make sure your financial history is just as good. The Navy has no preference of what school you got to as long as you get your BSN and it is an accredited nursing school. There is no difference in salary depending on what school you got to, as a matter of fact, no matter what you do in the Navy all Ensigns, LTs, etc.,. make the same, actually all 0-1s, 0-2s in all the services will make the same. The only difference is when bonuses are given for particular jobs, such as doctors, they get bonuses.
Is is hard to get admitted? Generally, it is not too hard, but you do have to meet the requirements and go through OIS. Currently the Navy is also offering sign-on bonuses as well and probably will for some time to come. As far as when to visit the recruiter, in my opinion the sooner the better. The reason is the Navy has programs to assist you in helping pay to complete your degree. I came in through the Nurse CAndidate Program or NCP and they gave me $20,000 ($17,000 after taxes) to help pay for my last 2 years of school, so I would check into it early. If you have more questions, please let me know.
LT Dan

I am currently in the process of applying for NCP...all paper work is done and went through MEPS. But he (recuiter) never really told me about OIS. I checked it out on the internet and to tell you the truth it seems pretty intense! Little worried.... i'm not going to lie, i am a softy and if someone yells at me for abosolutely no reason, yes i prob will cry! Are they as vicious as they are in achually bootcamp???? I can run, and looked at time requirements for the running and they seem really tough!!! Do you really have to run 3.5 miles in 27min??

navynurse06 · Feb 7, 2007

As far as OIS...yes you will get yelled at so you better grow a thicker skin! A marine DI is part of the team that will be training you, along with red rope Chiefs. The red ropers are those who do the training at regular bootcamp. You will do a lot of PT, but you aren't going to be timed on 3.5 miles. For the PRT you have to do a certain amt of push and sit ups in 2 min and run 1.5 mile in a certain amt time. The amt you have to have depends on your sex and age.

So practice on that military bearing, i.e. not crying when you get yelled at!

DanznRN, RN · Feb 8, 2007

I second all of the above. Getting your butt chewed it just part of it.

LCDR(s) Dan

NRSNFL · Feb 8, 2007

Dan I have a question,

The only problem I feel I would have is my financial history, however I don't plan on applying to the program until after I have my associates. I already have a bachelors...but I need the BSN to be active duty. So in essence I have a little over 4 years to get things neatened up, but how far do they look, my early twenties were not pretty to say the least....but I'm good now.

DanznRN, RN · Feb 10, 2007

That will be fine. It will actually be to your benefit from the standpoint that you had a rough past, but showed maturity and growth to get it starightened out. It won't be a problem, unless you robbed a bank or something (Ha-Ha).

LCDR(s) Dan

spydercadet · Feb 10, 2007

hi,

my daughter went through rotc for the army and was able to get all of her tuition paid!!! along with books, fees and a stipend put in just for good measure. her stipend was $450.00 a month but that was 2004, she graduated june 2004. i also am a nursing instructor and one of the patient care techs where we do clinical, was telling me she is graduating this upcoming may and is in the rotc for the navy. so, rotc is really the only way to go if you are planning to join the navy anyways. and, just so you know, you still get the gi bill when you are all finished. my daughter graduated with a ba in international studies with a focus on democracy and ethics (yeah, i don't really know what you do with that either).

good luck, and at least talk to a recruiter. i for one am in awe of all of our military personnel. you are true american hero's!!!

DanznRN, RN · Feb 10, 2007

Actually Ma'am, ROTC is not the only way to go to get into the Navy. There is the direct commissioning program called NCP or Nurse Candidate Program. You get all the same stipends as you mentioned for ROTC plus the GI Bill and you don't have to drill or wear the uniform in school. For some people ROTC is not appealing, but there are other ways to get in the military, just didn't want people being misled.

LCDR(s) Dan