Working in NG or Reserves before/during nursing program?

SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN · Jan 21, 2014

Are you talking about enlisting and doing NG/Reserve while you're in school or trying to get a DOD job with the NG/reserves?

inspiredbynavy · Jan 21, 2014

What is the difference between the two?

SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN · Jan 21, 2014

If you enlist, then you're in the military. If you take a DOD job, you're still a civilian.

inspiredbynavy · Jan 21, 2014

I see. How would I go about getting a job with the DoD?

SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN · Jan 21, 2014

www.usajobs.gov

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2014

If you go the enlisted route it will be very tough to switch over to active or commission side. As far as being on a ship in the Navy there are very few billets(slots) and generally they are O-4 (Commander) with ICU identifier. Otherwise the only other way to be on a ship is to be assigned to a hospital ship USNS Comfort or Mercy and deploy with them. The other way is to be assigned to a Marine unit. If you are assigned to one this units you would only be on the ship while it was deployed so the chances are slim that you would go out to sea.

Enthused RN, BSN, RN · Feb 20, 2014

Hi inspired,

I enlisted in the Army NG as a student and commissioned as a 2LT recently. Since I'm Army and you're interested in the Navy, I'm not sure if the same path can be taken. I'll tell you what I did. Since I already had a bachelor's degree, I enlisted as a Specialist (E4) about 6 months prior to graduation. My MOS (aka job) was officer candidate which meant I was supposed to go to officer candidate school after basic but I ended up direct commissioning.

I started up my direct commission packet a couple months after enlisting. In the Guard, once you enlist you are considered "in." You get a military ID and you are expected to attend drill once a weekend called RSP (recruit sustainment program) at an armory somewhat close to your home. You receive a paycheck for these drill weekends and you are also eligible to enroll in Tricare and SGLI (life insurance). You take classes on basic soldiering skills, i.e. land nav, working with radios, etc. and do PT during that drill weekend. Quite honestly, I had a blast during those weekends and I felt fully prepared going to basic. Two weeks after graduating, I took the NCLEX and then shipped out to basic training 3 days later. Basic training is only for enlistees and not for the faint of heart. I wanted to go since I was a new grad who would be unemployed for some time anyways and I wanted to learn basic soldiering and Army knowledge since I knew I would become an officer sooner rather than later. It was one of the best/scariest decisions of my life but I had so much fun it was unbelievable. Two months after graduating from basic, my officer packet was finally complete and sent in to the board for review. Less than a month later, I took the oath of office as a 2LT and officially became a nurse officer.

I have a feeling that being enlisted before commissioning smoothed the way to my commissioning, but I am not sure if my path can be taken by everyone. For one, I had a bachelor's degree already which made me eligible for my MOS of officer candidate (09S). This was key to my plan because I was trying to time my direct commission to happen shortly after basic. If you go in as another MOS (i.e. a medic), then you will have to attend AIT (advanced individual training) for some time right after basic. This takes away time from you working on your packet but it could be a valuable experience for you. That's up to you to decide. Research this option carefully. I spent hours researching how I could do this and it worked out for me but there was always that chance that it would not work out as planned.

If you enlist, be prepared to not get picked up for a commission - always have a plan B. In other words, you better be joining because you want to serve your county in any capacity, whether it be enlisted or as an officer. If you rather not take this route, then either look into ROTC or start up the direct commission process about 6 months before you graduate. Be sure you talk to a healthcare/nurse recruiter and not a regular recruiter if you go the latter route. Good luck with your decision!

And like I said, please research your decision carefully! I used multiple official sources (i.e. the Army website) in addition to forums such as AllNurses to make an informed decision.

inspiredbynavy · Feb 20, 2014

Awesome, Enthused RN! The information really helped.

I have a few questions for you. You said you had a bachelor's degree. Was it a BSN or another non-nursing degree?

Also, you waited over 6 months to take your NCLEX? I'm not in nursing school yet but I just applied for several BSN programs and waiting 6 months to take the NCLEX sounds like a long time to me.

And finally, were you allowed a choice whether or not you wanted to go to basic training because you had already received a direct commission?

The route you took sounds like something I might be interested in after I finish my BSN program. I mean, even if I don't get a direct commission or whatever first time around, I could still probably moonlight on the side as a civvy RN, right? Since being NG or Reserves is pretty much a part time job.

Enthused RN, BSN, RN · Feb 20, 2014

You said you had a bachelor's degree. Was it a BSN or another non-nursing degree?

It was a non-nursing degree. I obtained my first bachelor's about 5 years ago and then recently got my BSN so I hold 2 bachelor's degrees.

Also, you waited over 6 months to take your NCLEX? I'm not in nursing school yet but I just applied for several BSN programs and waiting 6 months to take the NCLEX sounds like a long time to me.

No, I think you misread. I enlisted 6 months prior to graduation from my BSN program. During that time, I drilled one weekend per month while finishing up school. I took the NCLEX 2 weeks after graduation and then shipped out to basic a couple days after taking the test. My husband mailed me a picture of my RN license when I was at basic. It was one of my happiest days in basic.

And finally were you allowed a choice whether or not you wanted to go to basic training because you had already received a direct commission? [/quote']
No, I was enlisted at the time. I did not receive my direct commission until 3 months after I graduated from basic training. That's why I say you need to research this path thoroughly before you undertake it. It's not for the faint of heart at all. If you enlist, you need to be in the mindset that you are going to regular basic training and that commissioning might not ever happen. During those 6 months before shipping out to basic, I worked out like crazy, read all the books I could on basic training, and attended all RSP drills. I prepared myself to be an enlisted soldier. Becoming an officer was just icing on the cake.
The route you took sounds like something I might be interested in after I finish my BSN program. I mean even if I don't get a direct commission or whatever first time around, I could still probably moonlight on the side as a civvy RN, right? Since being NG or Reserves is pretty much a part time job.[/quote']
Absolutely, you can work full time as a civilian nurse while drilling as a NG or reserve enlisted solider! A lot of people don't recommend it for various reasons, one of them is that being an officer is "better" than being enlisted. There are myriad pros and cons and this thread is not about that. You can think about being a medic (or whatever MOS you want to be) in the Guard or reserves while working your full time civilian job. But, if you are a BSN-educated RN, then you might as well become a nurse officer. I work full time myself, but I know I will miss a few shifts here and there in order to go to my drill weekends. And that's fine. By law, your employer must accommodate you when it comes to taking time off to perform military duties.
In any case, this sounds like your first bachelor's degree and you're probably young. Why don't you look into ROTC? They give you tuition money and a small monthly stipend from what I hear.

inspiredbynavy · Feb 21, 2014

So are you still NG or did you switch over to active? To be honest, I'm not really too worried about the basic training part. I've always been physically fit and I did varsity sports in high school. I regularly go to the gym and eat healthy pretty often. It's just the getting to where I want to be part that is what I'm worried about.

I'm actually in my 4th year of college. I switched over to nursing after my 3rd year. Pretty late I know. And the schools I applied to don't have ROTC. I've also heard that ROTC doesn't guarantee you the job you want either and that it's very tough to even get into ROTC in the first place.

Either way, I'm planning on doing the NCP for the Navy and then if I don't get that, try to go for direct commission after graduating. And if all else fails, the route you took sounds really intriguing to me as of now. If I still got to be a nurse while being a soldier at the same time, that would be pretty awesome.

Enthused RN, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2014

I'm NG, never been part of the active component. That's good you stay fit and healthy. I know my fitness level was a big (positive) talking point when I went before the board for my commission. It sounds like ROTC is probably not an option at this point since you're very far into your program. I think the next step for you would be to talk to recruiters and see what they have to say. I know currently there's pretty much no signing bonuses or student loan repayments because of the draw down, but hey, you never know if you don't ask a recruiter directly.

Well, good luck with your decision!