Army Nurse Corp - Specific Questions

lifeafter40 · Aug 27, 2008

greetings, i have been a long time lurker on the all nurses boards and relatively new observer of the military section. i have a few specific questions that i would greatly appreciate your help/opinion on.
background: prior service army officer, left service (about 1 year ago) honorably to pursue nursing degree.
questions:
1) a bsn is required to enter active duty - will a masters entry program in nursing full fill this requirement? (there is a program local that is cost effective and quick that i would like to enroll in) yes, you can commission with a msn
2) at what point can you initiate the contract - as soon as you have the acceptance letter or? nurse candidate program can be started within the last 24 months of school. other wise, it is usually you last year of school.
3) i have the gi bill and will be using it to pay for bills and such... will i still be able to take school loans out to pay for tuition and then have this loan repayed? not sure, but i doubt it... maybe get bonuses though.
4) are there any stipends available if you join and are currently in college? nurse candidate program offers a $1000 per month stipend for up to 24 months (while enrolled full time in classes)
5) prior service - do you know if the obc type training will be required after entry? as it is primarily an introduction to the amedd, i would say yes... prior service enlisted must go, and i would think that prior officers would also.
6) any comments on rank - i understand they will evaluate... trying to understand how leaving as a jr cpt transferring in will be affected. you should be able to retain your rank and time in service
7) any comments on the new army residency program for non-experienced nurses?
thanks - i look forward to any comments and want to thank you in advance.
v/r

i highly suggest you contact a health recruiter... since you have been out such a short time, they might even be able to reinstate you as an officer. if i remember correctly, the recruiter told me that officers that want to become nurses can go through a program that allows them to go to two years of nursing school while receiving full pay and allowances... you should check it out.

Cursed Irishman · Aug 27, 2008

Yes, you can receive the GI Bill and student loans concurrently; as long as you have the loans prior to rejoining, you should be ok w/ repayment.

lifeafter40 · Aug 27, 2008

Yes, you can receive the GI Bill and student loans concurrently; as long as you have the loans prior to rejoining, you should be ok w/ repayment.

I wasn't sure how that would work. That's good to know... for a two year degree though, I would still look into the bonus, unless you plan to take out more than $30k in student loans on top of GI Bill...

Rme4life · Sep 6, 2008

i met someone at obc that was prior service officer (i think MI). He lost rank coming back in. I have heard of other stories, just not first hand, of this happening when you switch branches. For example I heard second hand that an officer applied for PA and ended up losing rank to go into the program, but did not loose pay and she never left the army. I also met someone at obc that had a msn rn license and still came in as a 2LT. She was told that even though she had a Masters degree it was still only an RN license and not a license for NP and they do not look at the RN masters the same as say a masters for a PA or NP. Good luck.

wanted to mention, that i have heard you can ask to waive obc if as a prior officer you have been through obc, but you have to put in for that, they will not just offer it up to you to get out of the course.

dreamon · Oct 4, 2008

Yes, you can receive the GI Bill and student loans concurrently; as long as you have the loans prior to rejoining, you should be ok w/ repayment.

Whew- that was making me a bit nervous. My loan won't be a huge amount but I would hate to be penalized for taking out a loan even though I received the GI Bill and college fund.

just_cause, BSN, RN · Oct 4, 2008

Correct - prior service are not required to attend OBC - but you need to discuss with your health care recruiter.... prior service also have the ability to retain rank (potentially) and there is a review process to determine what rank you will transfer in as. However you will retain your 'time in service'.

That being said OBC is going to be required if your are prior service but did not complete a OBC within a different branch - lets say if you were coming from the enlisted side of the house.

Lifeafter40 - I'm in the same boat as you - feel free to email through allnurses.com for any comments, questions or brainstorming.. prior service NBQ CPT within the IN here.

lifeafter40 · Nov 19, 2008

I dug up this old thread rather than make a new one, so not sure this question is really appropriate for this topic, but here it goes:

I was wondering if ACUs are the most common duty uniform for med/Surg nurses in most Army Medical Centers? If not, what is?

Thanks,

Still working toward getting back in...

LA40

just_cause, BSN, RN · Nov 19, 2008

Just visited/shadowed some med/surg nurses and that was the duty uniform.

lifeafter40 · Nov 19, 2008

thanks, JC! more expensive to replace than scrubs... have to try to stay clear of the wet stuff, lol.

just_cause, BSN, RN · Nov 19, 2008

Yup, they had scrub tops that they said they do where - but everyone I saw at that time were in ACUs proper. They indicated it really wasn't an issue - sorry I don't know much more then that!~

athena55, BSN, RN · Nov 19, 2008

Hello All

Well, on the floors at the Army MEDCEN where I work military wear ACU-type scrubs and when I asked about them the majority of people said that they were more of a bother than wearing ACUs or scrubs. Why? Well, there are no type of belt loops so the ACU-type scrub pants are always traveling south...especially if you have "stuff" in the pockets. The ACU-type scrub tops were not as uncomfortable

I do not wear them as I work in the unit and wear scrubs.

hope this helps,

athena