Nursing School for Veteran Medics and Corpsmen

vanilla bean · Dec 20, 2014

You lost me at

There is a national shortage of health care providers, nurses and other professions.

The reality is that there is actually a surplus of nurses (new grad and experienced) that are unable to find employment in many areas of the country. In part, because of this myth of a nursing shortage, nursing programs do not need to "reach out" to potential students (Corpsmen, Medics, or otherwise) because of the volume of applicants vying for spots in their programs.

androo001 · Dec 20, 2014

Please tell that to the national associations that complain "there will be a severe shortage" due to impending retirements in the very near future. It seems that there is pressure to fill billets in rural and urban settings. Hindsight being 20/20, how can there be a surplus with the National Health Services Corps screaming that urban and rural medically served areas are in a "dire shortage" of medical professionals, particularly nurses. Guys like me would love to go to nursing school and move on to graduate school for family nurse practitioner and go to these underserved areas. Does anyone have an answer to solve these issues? It would be nice to see these areas filled with nurses that can provide independent care in underserved areas. Are you actively working in the nursing field? If so, what is your area of expertise? My family and I had a FNP as our PCM for many years in Jacksonville, Florida. Wish we still had her. Received high quality care and that "personal touch" that made the visit worth the time. I have several nurses in my family and they talk about shortages. What is the truth? Please advise. Merry Christmas and prosperous 2015 to you and yours.

WookieeRN, BSN, MSN, RN · Dec 20, 2014

I would advise you to look over in the career section, especially in the first-year after nursing forum, to see evidence that there really is no nursing shortage in the US.

Nothing is preventing you from nursing school, you just need to go the same route as everyone else.

MrChicagoRN, RN · Dec 20, 2014

Nationally, there is currently no shortage, but I predict that will change suddenly & radically in the next 5-10 years as we AARP eligible nurses retire. Yes, there may be local shortages in rural areas with one small community hospital, but that is the exception. Most people want to go to the urban- suburban areas with lots of people, activities, and lots of hospitals and services; so those are pretty well saturated with candidates.

I do think it would be great though for universities to offer a BSN veterans track that builds on an existing knowledge and experience base.

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Dec 20, 2014

Excelsior College offers an ADN course for specific professions. Most takers are LPNs & RTs but certain types of corpsman also qualify. They are very military friendly.

But that shortage. . . I do believe it will return one day, but I would pay special attention to your local hiring market so you're not unpleasantly surprised at graduation.

elkpark · Dec 20, 2014

A, there's no shortage, and B, what's stopping you from going to nursing school if that's what you want? Are you only willing to pursue nursing through a special veteran's program??

roser13, ASN, RN · Dec 20, 2014

There is a national shortage of health care providers, nurses and other professions..........The nursing profession is missing an entire generation of potential nurses as it watches from the sidelines. I've seen "very few" VBSN" (Veteran Bachelor of Science in Nursing) programs, nor crossover programs to develop programs to get these future professionals. They need jobs and are hungry to do whatever it takes to help others. What is the nursing profession waiting on? Step up to the plate and get it done!

1. To reiterate: there is NO shortage of nurses.

2. I'd be surprised if you have found any VBSN degrees. I've never heard of that degree.

3. If a special degree is created for veterans, why not for others?

Licensed Social Workers, for instance: They have TONS of experience in navigating the current healthcare system, which veteran medics don't have.

Public Relations Specialists: They have TONS of experience in the schmoozing required for Press Gainey scores, which I doubt veteran medics have.

Registered Dieticians: They have TONS of experience in one aspect of patient care, just as veteran medics do.

EMT/Paramedivs: They have TONS of experience in emergent medical care, just as veteran medics do.

Et al.

caliotter3 · Dec 20, 2014

VBSN? What is that? So you are saying that veterans learn a different kind of nursing than others do in BSN programs? What schools offer this VBSN and what employers cater to graduates with a VBSN versus a BSN? How much more, or less, does a VBSN cost? Why can't one find information about this?

androo001 · Dec 21, 2014

The National Health Service Corps has a "Veterans Bachelor of Science in Nursing"(VBSN) that a few universities are offering, University of Southern Mississippi is among them. My biggest obstacle is my credits are too old, according to many admissions programs. The Excelsior College program limits time to one year post service as of recently. I've never asked for a "hand out" and none of us ever will. It just happens that so many of us have had experiences that in the "outside world" is meaningless because of lacking at least a "Baccalaureate Degree". Why can't an admissions department accept what you bring (I have a dual Bachelors and a Masters) and develop a plan based upon the "whole person", academically and experimentally, rather than a typical "cookie cutter model". It seems Duke University thought "outside the box" when they developed what is now the "physician's assistant". So has the University of Washington MEDEX program. There is a sense of comfort in the "typical norm" as opposed to "change", which will always be constant. I appreciate your (as a whole group) input.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Dec 21, 2014

Thank you for your service, and yes if you want to be a nurse, go to nursing school. But there is no nursing shortage. If you're a pt in the hospital and the nurses seem spread paper-thin, it's probably because the hospital chooses to have them care for too many pts. Not that they can't find more nurses--they don't want to PAY more nurses.

To answer your question about where we are, I am in a large metro area; I work downtown. We have several hospitals in the central metro and several in the suburbs, plus many nursing homes. I just looked at usajobs.gov for RN/LPN vacancies at the local VA hospital and there were a whole 4 positions posted (one of which was casual/intermittent.)

My husband's boss's sister-in-law recently graduated w/ her BSN. I contacted my hospital's recruiter to try to put in a good word and try to help connect this woman's resume with those w/ hiring power. The system employs at least 1200 RNs, but when I asked, the recruiter said they didn't have ANY positions for new grads at the time.

From what I can tell, the urban under-served capacity is more community health vs. in the hospital. If that's where your passion is, great! But there is a surplus of applicants for bedside positions. Sure people retire, but the nursing schools have churned out more than enough new grads to fill available positions.

I hate to be discouraging, but it's important to keep things real.

roser13, ASN, RN · Dec 21, 2014

The National Health Service Corps has a "Veterans Bachelor of Science in Nursing"(VBSN) that a few universities are offering, University of Southern Mississippi is among them. My biggest obstacle is my credits are too old, according to many admissions programs. The Excelsior College program limits time to one year post service as of recently. I've never asked for a "hand out" and none of us ever will. It just happens that so many of us have had experiences that in the "outside world" is meaningless because of lacking at least a "Baccalaureate Degree". Why can't an admissions department accept what you bring (I have a dual Bachelors and a Masters) and develop a plan based upon the "whole person", academically and experimentally, rather than a typical "cookie cutter model". It seems Duke University thought "outside the box" when they developed what is now the "physician's assistant". So has the University of Washington MEDEX program. There is a sense of comfort in the "typical norm" as opposed to "change", which will always be constant. I appreciate your (as a whole group) input.

And we, as a whole, no doubt appreciate your service. But as I noted in a previous post, other branches of the healthcare delivery system could very easily request/demand recognition as a whole person with meaningful experiences, just as you are.

Bottom line: If you want to be a nurse, nursing education is required. CLEP test out of what you can. But nursing school is unavoidable.