Answering Navy Nurse Recruiting Questions

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Got any questions about Navy recruiting? I'll be happy to answer!

Specializes in SRNA.

I hope you're still checking this thread, the info on here is invaluable! - I'm from North Dakota (username give it away?), and I'm not sure which recruiter I'm even supposed to talk to. I graduate with my BSN in December 2015, which I think makes me too late to try to go for the NCP. I would like to do a direct commission to active duty Navy Nurse Corps -

Here is my info:

Overall GPA 3.78

Nursing GPA 4.0

Nursing Student Association Vice President

Married to a Marine, which was my motivation for wanting to help veterans and active duty military (particularly Navy, so I'd be working with Marines as well as Navy)

I'm not in physical shape yet to attempt to sign up, but I'm working on it really hard.

1. Can I talk to a recruiter and get paperwork set up before I'm ready for a PFT/Physical?

2. Do I have to have experience to apply for direct commission?

3. When should I be putting a packet in for commission if I want the best chance commissioning ASAP after graduation?

4. I am mainly interested in Critical Care/ICU nursing and onward to Nurse Anesthesia, is the 36 months of med/surg set in stone?

I really really really want to be a Navy nurse, and I am working my butt off trying to get there, so any information that can give me a slight upper hand on the competition is appreciated!

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I hope you're still checking this thread, the info on here is invaluable! - I'm from North Dakota (username give it away?), and I'm not sure which recruiter I'm even supposed to talk to. I graduate with my BSN in December 2015, which I think makes me too late to try to go for the NCP. I would like to do a direct commission to active duty Navy Nurse Corps -

Here is my info:

Overall GPA 3.78

Nursing GPA 4.0

Nursing Student Association Vice President

Married to a Marine, which was my motivation for wanting to help veterans and active duty military (particularly Navy, so I'd be working with Marines as well as Navy)

I'm not in physical shape yet to attempt to sign up, but I'm working on it really hard.

1. Can I talk to a recruiter and get paperwork set up before I'm ready for a PFT/Physical?

2. Do I have to have experience to apply for direct commission?

3. When should I be putting a packet in for commission if I want the best chance commissioning ASAP after graduation?

4. I am mainly interested in Critical Care/ICU nursing and onward to Nurse Anesthesia, is the 36 months of med/surg set in stone?

I really really really want to be a Navy nurse, and I am working my butt off trying to get there, so any information that can give me a slight upper hand on the competition is appreciated!

1. You can talk to a recruiter and start the application, however it is up to the recruiter to work with you now or when you are ready to physical. I highly recommend a trainer or have your husband help you with cardio and a nutrition plan to get you back down to your desired weight and fitness level.

2. Direct commission may or may not be an option for a new grad, times have changed and we are downsizing. The likely hood of joining will be in the Reserve for now. What is required for direct or reserve commission is at least 3 months in a specialty.

3. Yes, and some of it can be done during your last semester.

4. It is set in stone, you can move onto specialties after you have baseline experience however.

3.

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Chief, this is in response to NODAKSTUDENT…

There seems to be a TON of confusion on this site regarding Navy Nurse RESERVE requirements vs. ACTIVE … I am going to try and explain as follows:

RESERVES ONLY: Whatever sub-specialty you come in under and accept ANY monies for will require you to complete a minimum obligation tour before switching to any and all other sub-specialties. We do not train Reservists…we expect Reservists to maintain their own clinical skills and competencies in the areas we affiliate them with because if we have to deploy you, whether overseas or in the USA, we do not provide a lengthy orientation to skills we are assuming you have because you hold a subspecialty.

ACTIVE DUTY ONLY: When you commission as an active duty nurse you got through a 12-week orientation upon arrival at your duty station. Every nurse is subject to this. At the end of the 12-weeks you put in a wish list of floors you would like to work on and then you are assigned. Absolutely no nurse is assigned to ICU or ER without some previous work experience, and it is still all needs of the Navy and needs of the facility. You most likely will go to Med-Surg, PCU(telemetry), Post Surgical, Oncology, Mother-Baby, Peds, Labor and Delivery, Ortho, or maybe even Comp OB. We want you to gain basic skills and be good at teaching Corpsmen before you are allowed to move. Generally if you are under 3 year orders you can route a request to change floors at about the 12 month point. Prior to that you should already have been speaking with your Division Officer (think of a Super Charge Nurse) and perhaps floating or shadowing. While NOTHING is a guarantee, the Nurse Corps tries very hard to accommodate all requests. This means sometimes people will not get what they want…please learn to take those sometimes in stride.

While stationed at Portsmouth during my 3 years I started on Med-Surg, went to Oncology at 12 months, went to Cuba for 2 months, and was deployed to Iraq for 9 months with a month of work ups at Camp Lejune and a month of Trauma Training in Los Angeles. You can certainly ask for things, but you have to be willing to give also. My 11 total months of training and Iraq was rewarded with Spain as a duty station.

I won't try to add any more right now, but I do hope this helps shed a little bit of light on the two sides. I sincerely employ anyone asking Chief questions (he is the one who owns this thread) that you are VERY specific with regard to Active or Reserve. It is easy to get the two swapped when you don't work it every day.

Ciao Ciao

LT, NC, USN

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LewisGarza, how do I PM you??

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Hey everyone, sorry I'm new to this, and I'm currently a second degree bachelors student in nursing. I'm definitely reading these threads but would greatly appreciate any advice into joining the armed services (navy, air force, and army). Currently I have connections to both army and air force, but not that many for Navy. Could I asked what brought people to the Navy? Friend's and family always say go air force, never army, but I've rarely heard of navy. I would to put equal thought into each of the branches and hopefully figure out which one is good for me. Besides doing my research, any advice into finding out which one is right for me? Thanks everyone for any help that you can provide. Definitely a new-be here with limited knowledge.

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No Idea!

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So True! I try to keep up, but the "volleys" come from all sides :)

Chief, this is in response to NODAKSTUDENT…

There seems to be a TON of confusion on this site regarding Navy Nurse RESERVE requirements vs. ACTIVE … I am going to try and explain as follows:

RESERVES ONLY: Whatever sub-specialty you come in under and accept ANY monies for will require you to complete a minimum obligation tour before switching to any and all other sub-specialties. We do not train Reservists…we expect Reservists to maintain their own clinical skills and competencies in the areas we affiliate them with because if we have to deploy you, whether overseas or in the USA, we do not provide a lengthy orientation to skills we are assuming you have because you hold a subspecialty.

ACTIVE DUTY ONLY: When you commission as an active duty nurse you got through a 12-week orientation upon arrival at your duty station. Every nurse is subject to this. At the end of the 12-weeks you put in a wish list of floors you would like to work on and then you are assigned. Absolutely no nurse is assigned to ICU or ER without some previous work experience, and it is still all needs of the Navy and needs of the facility. You most likely will go to Med-Surg, PCU(telemetry), Post Surgical, Oncology, Mother-Baby, Peds, Labor and Delivery, Ortho, or maybe even Comp OB. We want you to gain basic skills and be good at teaching Corpsmen before you are allowed to move. Generally if you are under 3 year orders you can route a request to change floors at about the 12 month point. Prior to that you should already have been speaking with your Division Officer (think of a Super Charge Nurse) and perhaps floating or shadowing. While NOTHING is a guarantee, the Nurse Corps tries very hard to accommodate all requests. This means sometimes people will not get what they want…please learn to take those sometimes in stride.

While stationed at Portsmouth during my 3 years I started on Med-Surg, went to Oncology at 12 months, went to Cuba for 2 months, and was deployed to Iraq for 9 months with a month of work ups at Camp Lejune and a month of Trauma Training in Los Angeles. You can certainly ask for things, but you have to be willing to give also. My 11 total months of training and Iraq was rewarded with Spain as a duty station.

I won't try to add any more right now, but I do hope this helps shed a little bit of light on the two sides. I sincerely employ anyone asking Chief questions (he is the one who owns this thread) that you are VERY specific with regard to Active or Reserve. It is easy to get the two swapped when you don't work it every day.

Ciao Ciao

LT, NC, USN

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What kind of nursing are you doing in Spain now?

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I have a question regarding NCP. What if your school does not classify students as full time for summer? Should you even bother applying because some BSN programs will often not have a summer session

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Lewis thanks for the great info in this thread. I have a few questions, the info I've found on the internet has been either confusing or contradicting (most likely out of date). I will be graduating with my ASN this year and plan to go back for my BSN within a year of graduation. What is the advice you would offer for someone in my situation looking for active duty? Is there a demand for nurses in the military/navy? How tough will it be for me to join as an officer and what is the time frame for the process? Also, I am 30 now and will be 31 or so when I join, does age affect anything? I am excited about joining and just curious how competitive it will be for me to get in. Also, does the military still offer the GI bill? I will have a decent amount of student loans when I join.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
Lewis thanks for the great info in this thread. I have a few questions, the info I've found on the internet has been either confusing or contradicting (most likely out of date). I will be graduating with my ASN this year and plan to go back for my BSN within a year of graduation. What is the advice you would offer for someone in my situation looking for active duty? Is there a demand for nurses in the military/navy? How tough will it be for me to join as an officer and what is the time frame for the process? Also, I am 30 now and will be 31 or so when I join, does age affect anything? I am excited about joining and just curious how competitive it will be for me to get in. Also, does the military still offer the GI bill? I will have a decent amount of student loans when I join.

Here is some information to get you started: https://allnurses.com/government-military-nursing/military-nursing-885815.html

The military (all branches) are very full, and accepting fewer nurses. Having experience will help in any branch, though. It takes a long time to commission as there are fewer selection boards due to the services being overstrength. Make sure you keep your grades up, and that your BSN program is accredited - the military requires accreditation and does consider GPA.

The GI Bill will not cover past student loans. Loan repayment isn't really offered right now because the military is overstrength.

Granted, things may change between now and the time that you graduate. Good luck in the rest of your RN program!

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I have a question regarding Graduate Nursing Programs. I am getting ready to start my CRNA program in October. Does the Navy have a program Active or Reserve to help pay for CRNA. I have spoke with the Army Reserve and they have the STRAP program which pays a monthly stipend while in school and commissions you as a 2LT while in school. Does the Navy have a similar program?

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