Active duty nursing specialty

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Apr 22, 2015

Yes and no. Yes, all 3 branches offer specialty codes that will lock you in to the ICU (generally you need 1 year of full-time experience to get it). However, the military definition of ICU differs from that of the civilian sector; they're generally more like step-down units. In fact only 1 military center to my knowledge even has a level 1 trauma center (SAMCC: San Antonio).

Many people think that the military is on the cutting edge of critical care medicine, but that really isn't the case on the whole. The capabilities offered at most community hospitals are superior. Most of the docs are young and only stay until their loans are paid off. Most of the patients are active duty military or retired military...generally a healthier mix of patients than the general population.

I'm not saying it's all bad, but you'll find few opportunities to use your skills (outside of a deployed environment). If you are a gung-ho bedside critical care nurse, you're going to be a bit disappointed.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Apr 24, 2015

I'm currently employed as an ICU nurse in a very large MICU. I don't have my BSN, but will be done with it soon. If I joined AD when I complete my BSN, is it possible to be guaranteed an ICU position?

From an Army perspective, you would have to demonstrate a minimum number of hours in the ICU specialty (it used to be something like 1750 in the preceeding two years, I think) and there is a lot of competency-related paperwork your nurse manager or clinical educator has to fill out to verify skills, etc. Then your packet is reviewed and the Army decides if you are awarded their special identifier for ICU. Being designated as an 8A (ICU nurse) doesn't guarantee you will work in ICU, but the Army does like to make the best use of its assets. I was awarded the M5 identifier (ER nurse) prior to my packet going to the selection board in 2010, and I have worked in an ER (stateside and then Afghanistan) for my entire time in the Army. But there are no guarantees - you will go where the Army needs you, period.

The military is very competitive. If you don't have your CCRN, you'll need it. The Army currently has selection boards once a year, in the late autumn. You would already be very late in working on this for this year's board. You should contact a healthcare recruiter if you are interested to get the latest numbers on how many ICU nurses they are recruiting for. Good luck!

cablefree · Apr 25, 2015

Thanks for the info!

Seaofclouds, BSN, RN · Apr 26, 2015

You should speak with an AMEDD recruiter about the best path to take (in regards to joining the Army and then trying to get a RN job with the Army vs. joining straight as a RN in the Army). Those would be two very different paths. Joining the Army Nurse Corps is very competitive. They only select a small number of candidates each year, out of many applicants. If you have not already gotten your CCRN certification, you may want to look into that. Good luck!

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Apr 27, 2015

(in regards to joining the Army and then trying to get a RN job with the Army vs. joining straight as a RN in the Army).

I am not sure what you mean by this, but if you mean join the Army with another AOC then switch to the nurse Corp this would be a tougher route. Not only do you have to be accepted by the nurse Corp but released from your branch. Going from enlisted to officer would take time before you would be eligible to apply and again no guarantee that you would be accepted.