Any Former Veterans?

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Hey guys. I have decided to enlist in the Military. I am hoping to become a Medic either in the Navy, or Air Force or even the Army. (I use the word "Medic" Loosely, I know that each branch calls them different things ) So just curious any Veterans here who are now pursuing a Career in Nursing? Or in health care for that matter.

Regarding going through EMT, that isn't part of the required training, but odds are that you will complete LPN school with more than a few previous medics from both the reserves and Active duty in attendance as well.

My ASVAB score was a 98. You're GT score is what is more important for this course though. I believe the requirement is at least a 110 GT and another more minor requirement exists. Again, since things have changed to make this it's own MOS again, this could be slightly different. For different scores on the ASVAB, you can google the meanings of the different army scores and they're meanings/derivations.

If you have any other questions, I would be happy to help.

One piece of advice, if you choose the reserves, you'll have the ability to go back home and finish your education easier than if you go active at first. You can always switch to active duty later.

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Retired USAF aviator. After 22 years of active duty, I'm enrolled in a BSN program. If nothing else, I will learn more about how my body is falling apart now that I'm in my upper 40s. Life is good!

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Currently Air National Guard as a Med Admin. I spent 12 years active duty AF and switched to attend nursing school. I got accepted to UMSL and I'm very excited.

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Air National Guard member, Munitions Systems Specialist here. Going to Towson university.

IF YOU AINT AMMO YOU AINT S@#T (IYYAYAS) :p

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Air National Guard Member as of Sept 2013, 10 years active duty prior to that. Fighter Crew Chief the entire time. BSN student at Marymount University in VA.

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Specializes in Orthopaedics.

USAF 00-06 1N171

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Retired Army here. I finish my ADN program this May and will be starting my BSN bridge in Jan 2015 after I knock out a couple more prerequisite classes over the summer and fall. Between my GI Bill and Illinois Veterans Grant I will have zero out of pocket for my education. I have also been able to pick up EMT licensure and work part time for a rural ambulance service. This give me plenty of paid time to study between calls.

In regard to quality of training between the branches there is very little difference. In fact, the medical departments of all three branches have started to blend into joint force hospitals. Places like Walter Reed in D.C. and Brooke Army Hospital at Ft Sam are blending with Army , Navy, and Air Force all working side by side. The Army has much, but not all, of the research facilities. The Army is the largest of the medical departments and has the largest numbers of separations and commissions each year. This translates into opportunity for promotion.

Good luck to you in your career pursuit, and to all my veteran brothers and sisters, thank you for your service! Hooah!!

Dave

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PMFB-RN, What colege did u attend to get your RN? I'm currently a 68W with no hospital time or i would try an do what u did an go take my boards in Cali. I'm currently in the process of transfering to the Army Reserves an they are gonna send me to 68C (LPN), when I finish that program I want to continue my education an become a RN. Thanks for any advice

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

Former Navy corpsman here.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
PMFB-RN, What colege did u attend to get your RN? I'm currently a 68W with no hospital time or i would try an do what u did an go take my boards in Cali. I'm currently in the process of transfering to the Army Reserves an they are gonna send me to 68C (LPN), when I finish that program I want to continue my education an become a RN. Thanks for any advice

I went to Southwest Wisconsin Technical College (SWTC). It is part of the Wisconsin Technical college system. There are 16 of them. I started calling them and speaking to program counselors. They all have the exact same ADN program but some operate a little differently than other for admissions. All said they had waiting lists, though I learned that at a few of the smaller, more rural schools the stated waiting list didn't actually exist, especially for LPN to RN.

SWTC is a very small program in a very small school. They do their clinical in small, rural, critical access hospitals. However I feel I received an excellent education and preparation for the NCLEX.

http://www.swtc.edu

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They do their clinical in small, rural, critical access hospitals. However I feel I received an excellent education
I started my career in a small, rural critical-access hospital and, while we saw very few high acuity patients, it was a good place to get started because the pace was slower and the patients were generally stable. Such provided me time to learn the fundamentals without being overwhelmed.

(I feel I received an excellent) preparation for the NCLEX.
Which is a very large piece of what nursing school is about.
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Current Army Flight Medic here.

If the original poster is still around, in the Army, Medic is the second most populous MOS, after 11B (Infantry)...so there is plenty of diversity in the type of medical experience you can get. I would imagine the other two services (Marines don't have Medics) are similar in the large number of enlisted medical jobs available...gotta keep the force healthy. It's the best trauma related medical training on the planet. And plenty of non-trauma related training to be had too if you seek it out.

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