Nurse Candidate Program (In need of information)

Specialties Government

Published

Hello all,

I am a 20 year old living in Southern California. I was hoping to go to nursing school, began the transfer process from my community college to WCU, but everything went to crap when the financial talks began. I was unable to take out a loan with a low interest rate, and I was not about to ruin my life by taking out a loan which would have resulted in me paying almost as much interest as the loan itself.

I turned to the Navy, and was prepared to enlist. I talked to a recruiter online, and she informed me that I may have some options, and she mentioned the NCP. She told me that the schools I would go to were hand picked by the Navy (something like that). I have a few questions regarding this program. I am currently waiting on a call from my local recruiter, but I'd like to be a little more informed as the wait is killing me.

  1. Which schools would I be able to attend to get my degree?
  2. $34,000 is a lot of money, don't get me wrong, but is that enough to cover my tuition?
  3. I can't seem to find any sort of academic qualifications. Just simple stuff like no criminal backgrounds, medical history, etc. How competitive is this program? I am but an average joe, and I believe I have a W on my transcript, and a GPA of about 2.7 or so. This is all on my community college transcript, not anything having to do with nursing. If that would keep me from being accepted into the program I'd much rather enlist at the bottom of the Navy food chain.

As you can see I am but a lost soul with no purpose, and I just want to start this next step in my life as soon as possible. I want to serve my country, but this lack of information is killing me. Sorry if I sound stupid, but if anyone can answer my questions I'd really appreciate it.

Woah woah everybody calm down please. I would not even consider enlisting if I truly didn't want to do it. I had all but given up on becoming a Nurse and was prepared to enlist and make a career out of being in the Navy. I have always wanted to serve my country, but my desire to become a nurse was even greater. Eh things with my loan didn't work out, and I was ready to enlist. Then a recruiter told me about the NCP, and I wanted to learn more about it. I asked about it on here hoping to get more information. I was correct and learned that I'd most likely be wasting time if I tried applying for it. Excuse me for getting a little excited at the prospect of possibly becoming a nurse. Enlisting won't be a burden and it will be an honor, so please lay off with the attitudes as of you knew everything about me.

I appreciate all the responses and will reply to more later.

Michael,

Quote: "so basically it seems like I'll have to throw away my dreams and enlist :(" Followed with a bootcamp reference of :/. No, I don't know you. .. I'm going off your very own writing...and "emotions" you attach to those words.

I'm not suggesting that you toss out your dreams. I'm saying that based on your other posts you didn't seem too pleased with the idea of enlisting...so why do it? There are more options than just NCP or enlisting and if being a nurse is your goal and enlisting is not, then pull up the grades, plow through nursing school and opt for a direct commission later on. They offer a nice bonus that can help pay off the juice loans, too.

Seriously.. Well I'm sorry if you misinterpreted my post. Like I said, the recruiter I spoke to on the phone was very vague when she mentioned the NCP and got my hopes up. (Still waiting on a call from my local recruiter by the way) Yea my dream is to be a nurse, no, enlisting wouldn't make me unhappy. (Repeating myself here) Not everyone gets to live out their dreams, and that's fine. I already said I'd be perfectly content making a career out of the Navy. People have mentioned that I could even get experience and go back to school later. That's cool too. As of how I can't afford to waste 2-3 more years of my life at community college to get the right transferable classes to transfer to UCI. I'm not as fortunate as others, and I'm my only support system. I'd rather work in the Navy, get some good life experience, and then possibly go back to school with my available resources. I'd appreciate it if you stopped questioning my decision to enlist as if I were taking such an opportunity for granted. This thread was made to get more information about the NCP, and I learned everything I needed to know.

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

/thread

Dude, do what is right for you. We are just giving you advice.

Michael, if enlisting is what you want to do then there is nothing wrong with it. You may enjoy an MOS close to healthcare like a corpsman if enlisted(just throwing it out there). Though I'll give you one more option if you REALLY want to become a nurse in the military faster. Many community colleges have ADN programs(it's just a matter of searching). This will drastically cut the cost of nursing school. That way you can either save you money while at community college and do an ADN-BSN program or work as an ADN for a couple years, then do an ADN-BSN, then direct commission. Just another suggestion. Hopefully things work out. More advice if you plan to enlist: Be careful listening to the recruiter. They love sweet talking people into an MOS they don't like.

Few things its not MOS in navy it's called your rate(job). If this is your dream why are you giving up so quickly? There are so many ways to nurse corps. Get your grades up. And do Ncp or direct commission. If that doesn't work and you decide to enlist put in for a mecp or stag21 packet. Or do ur time and then use your gi bill. I know a nuke that joined went to nuke school. Right out of nuke school put in a packet to be an officer. He got picked up and didn't do a day of nuke life after school.

@tanner I got paid summer months when I wasn't in school. I got picked up back in 09. My recommendations were from a teacher a critical care icu nurse I shadowed and 2 navy nurse tht I had telephone interviews with

Mgntanner,

Just to clarify, you can get up to $34,000 if you are counting the bonus ($10000) and the monthly tuition for two years ($24000). Obviously if you are not in the ncp for two whole years, then you won't get the full $34,000.

Hey Michael. Im kind of in the same boat with you. Not sure if I can get into NCP. Not losing hope though.

@DSchulte: When were you accepted into the NCP? Just out of curiosity and what were you recommendations like(that is my only problem for I don't know many health professionals and I know zero people in the military that I am not related to)?

mgntanner, I know your question wasn't directed at me, but I was just accepted into the NCP in May and I was allowed to use a relative as a reference. I have an uncle who has done well in the Army, and at first I had assumed that I couldn't use a recommendation from him. However, my recruiter encouraged me to get a letter from him, and the board accepted it. I don't know any people in the healthcare field, so I used my uncle (Army officer), one of my dad's old buddies from the Army (officer also), and a few of my college professors and clinical instructors as references. So if you have a relative in the military (I'm assuming you do based on the wording of your question), don't be afraid to use them! It also helps to mention your family's military background during the interview. Good luck with your app! :)

when you do direct commissioning, do you still get the sign on bonus? You will not get the monthly stipend since you will already have your BSN and should be working as an RN, correct? So, is it more money if you go the NCP route instead of direct commissioning?

One more question to add, and sorry to the OP for jumping the thread...

I am interested in doing an ABSN program since I already hold a B.S. One of the programs I am looking in to is CCNE accredited, however it is not from a regionally accredited school, just national. Would that be acceptable for the NCP or direct commissioning? What about later if I wanted to go in to a speciality??

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