Nurse as a commissioned officer in what armed forces??

[cowgirl1357]

Hi all,

I'm about to enter my junior year of college and am going to start my first year in the Traditional Program for a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing at UNF. I'm interested in what section or part of the armed forces I should go into as a commissioned officer I suppose after I have my BSN degree and am an RN. What makes what branch better than the other? Pros, cons? I'm 18 right now, Caucasian female if those make any difference. I have a friend who's going into the Coast Guard with his Bachelor's in Mathematics and he's going in as a commissioned officer, and he was talking about retiring at 45ish with pensions, how's this all possible for nurses??? And how does it happen in different branches? I'm definitely interested in going into a branch of the armed forces after I complete my BSN, just not sure which one would fit me best.

Thanks for all comments!!

[Uncle Rico]

Joining the military isn't as easy as your decision to join. As a military veteran i would suggest that you contact a recruiter to see which branch has open slots for nurses near your graduation date. I know that the Navy prefers nurses with experience in specialized fields prior to being commissioned. Honestly the military is very similar to the civilian job market, each branch advertises that they're hiring but not many nurses are being recruited.

[NavyNurse92]

With a BSN, you can join the Navy, Army or Air Force. Coast Guard & Marines do not have a medical department. Of course, you must qualify--your degree, age, physical fitness & legal status. You do not have to have a specialty..they take new nurses as well as seasoned nurses with specialties. Yes, it is true that you can retire after 20 years with a pension & benefits. I would also suggest you visit a recruiter for information. There are many programs that may (or may not) be available while you are in school that provide a stipend or other benefit(s). Everything is based on the needs of that particular branch of service.

I was in the Navy for 20 years & retired in 2006. While in nursing school, I was in a program called "Bachelor Degree Completion Program" (BDCP) that paid me every 2 weeks, I had medical benefits & accumulated leave, accumulated "time-In-rate" and this time counted toward retirement. A great program--but it's not always offered. I happened to be lucky enough to be in nursing school during a nursing shortage that the Navy was feeling--so I got in on this program. There currently is a nurse candidate program. I'm not sure what that entails--but I do know you need to be selected for that ( meaning it is competetive. Hope this helped. Good luck!