Quick Tip for ANYONE considering nursing in the military

I couldn't have said it better myself.

There is generally no such thing as an enlisted military RN. You would be a "Hospital Corpsman who happens to have a civilian RN qualification". This is basically a ridiculous situation. If you enlist, you may be forced to work below your capacity as an RN, meaning as a CNA, medic (or EMT) or as an LPN/LVN.

On the other hand, you may wish to enlist for personal reasons. Maybe you have an ADN and can't get a commission until you get your BSN or MSN, and you want to take advantage of the military's tuition assistance programs to help pay for that goal. Maybe you have decided that you want to be a SEAL or SWCC special operations medic (not a corpsman but sort of a paramedic with special combat medical procedures and medevac skills), and it is actually pretty common for people in this "world" to have degrees but still enlist anyway- they are doing it for reasons other than the paycheck or the title; their training makes sure that only the people who want to do their mostly miserable jobs actually want to do those jobs (not just be able to say that they do that job). Maybe you are young and just interested in the adventure of military life, can't wait to do it, and figure you'll get on with your nursing career later on down the line. These or any combinations of these might lead you to enlist. One other positive rationale for this would be that you want to be a big fish in a small pond- to enter in as a Hospital Corpsman with RN license would automatically make you a pretty big fish.

The negative: Careful consideration should be made before enlisting. Enlisted people are treated differently. Most of them will not have the level of education that you have as an ADN or higher. 90% of enlistees won't have lots of free time for school and might end up too tired to focus on finishing any serious school classes at all (esp. those in shift work, overseas, etc.). Enlisted recruiters may tell you otherwise, but they cannot really guarantee what will happen once you enlist. Also, if you are older, you are going to find yourself of being in the RIDICULOUS position of being an E-1 or E-3 at the age of 28 or whatever, being bossed around by 19 and 20 year olds, treated like a numbskull, insulted, etc. Your fellow enlisted might be jealous of your high falootin' qualifications and college degree and treat you badly for it. Did I mention that your pay will be below poverty level for the first few years? Really, really think this one over before enlisting after RN training.

I was enlisted for 5 years and once I got my RN, called the Army nurse Corps main number and they connected me with a recruiter. So much easier than a mall.

The transition was simple and mindless but the cultural change was vastly different.

Remember you NEVER "enlist" as a nurse; you choose to accept and are "commissioned." Commissioned means you pay for your food, your uniforms and you have lots of out of pocket expenses. It's not like enlisted at all. You're expected to lead and if anyone does anything, you're at fault but the problem is many units have no one to lead; they're all officers who still don't know how to salute or march so leading like that will get you no respect (sometimes blatantly so). Going longer term if at all possible makes the transition better (longer training courses, volunteer for "extended duty" or go full time otherwise the idle time will be crazymaking).

I went no where except to a nearby army base when I was commissioned-they even let my brother come and swear me in (he was eligible).

Once sworn at I self scheduled for my basic course.

If you're 28 or older and do enlist, you'd be a PFC by the end of basic training (if you had NO education) and move up rapidly. If you're an RN, you'd start higher if enlisted is your thing. You never see oldsters at the bottom. One of the 3 promoting requirements they consider is age. If someone told me I "HAD" to be deployed tomorrow, I'd take an enlisted LPN position (I'm an RN). This way uncle sam would have all the out of pocket expenses and people would give me respect immediately. Stripes stick together; they're the backbone of the military (as they say).

Serving both, my stripes days were my most rewarding. Money wise, it's a wash with all the officer expenses (depending on rank). Guage both carefully!

Thanks, good insight right from the horse's mouth.