Army Nurse Corps acceptance

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Jul 23, 2018

Are you applying as an NP or as an ICU RN? As an ICU RN, I'd say you're highly competitive as long as your ICU experience isn't from a small community hospital (

I think an ideal candidate would have experience with healthcare leadership, such as a charge nurse. Also, teaching experience would be helpful; one example would be teaching BLS or ACLS.

For ICU nurses, familiarity with specialty equipment sometimes comes up during the application. Make it clear in your application somewhere if you know how to monitor any of the following: flow trac, swan-ganz, ventriculostomy (EVD), CRRT, impella, rotaprone bed, and ECMO.

sammitate · Jul 23, 2018

I'm applying as an ICU RN. I actually did list some things like rotaprone and CRRT. I'm just not sure what they're looking for or how competitive it all is. My experience isn't from small hospitals, but some other forums I've read make it sound like it's impossible to get in. Generally speaking, I thought I stand a pretty good shot. Any advice?

Editorial Team / Moderator · Jul 23, 2018

What are your plans with your FNP degree? The Army may keep you at the bedside even as an FNP if you don't commission as one. In general, I think you have a good shot, yes! :) It will just depend on the needs of the Army whether they have enough spots for competitive applicants.

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Jul 23, 2018

Yes, if there are needs for ICU nurses then I'd say you'll be one of the more desirable candidates.

I would still recommend seeking leadership opportunities: teaching classes and charge nurse. Know that you are welcome to apply to multiple branches (Navy and AF) too. Recently, the Army has been the hardest to join. If

sammitate · Jul 24, 2018

So with my NP I hope to either do trauma or pediatric oncology. I love both areas so much. I really want to serve in the Army though, and it has always been part of my plan. I'm okay with remaining a bedside RN for a while. I'm not in a rush :) That being said...I REALLLLY don't want to wait an entire year before I get to join because of when they do critical care boards.

sammitate · Jul 24, 2018

So I have been a charge nurse on floors, but not within the critical care specialty. The AF had an even longer waiting list than the Army! My dad and both grandfathers are all retired AF so it would go over a bit smoother if I could go AF. I do like the idea of the army though; I really want to eventually have the opportunity to deploy and take care of soldiers wounded in combat. One lovely recruiter however put down in my file that I took anxiety meds at one point. Thanks to all the crazies out there shooting up everything, the military takes any mental/behavioral health disorders VERY seriously and I could seriously just scream at the amount of difficulty that recruiter caused me. He was an enlisted recruiter and he tricked me into being too transparent. I'm not currently on anxiety meds (it was a rather extenuating circumstance) but it's hard to prove you aren't on any. I wish I could take it back considering it was so long ago and completely irrelevant to my health at this point but it's in my file now. Which means I have to provide documentation. Pretty sure it would be easier for a convicted felon that didn't ever have anxiety....

Editorial Team / Moderator · Jul 24, 2018

Convicted felons are not eligible, period. They would have a much harder time! Seriously, if you provide documentation, that should do the trick. If I recall, they want to see at least a year off of meds, which it sounds like you are beyond.

RayRN87 · Jul 24, 2018

Congrats Sam, you seem like a highly competitive candidate. 3.8 GPA and certified in your MOS is legit. Will you be coming in as a 1LT (O-2) with time in grade? The only thing I can recommend is excellent letters of recommendation from your manager, director and charge nurse.

The downside and sometimes a good thing with the military is you pretty much have to just hurry up and wait. Just get your packet squared away and then wait for your recruiter to give you the green light. Once you are selected you have to wait to for scroll approval and from there you commission and your military journey starts!

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Jul 25, 2018

I'm not really sure what information you're getting, but the job of a military nurse in any of the 3 branches is actually quite similar. It is very common to be working alongside nurses in other branches doing the exact same job, especially at larger bases and when deployed. You will be treating wounded soldiers, airmen, and marines regardless of what branch you join. All branches offer the opportunity to do special operations medicine too (for example the Air Force has the special operations surgical team: SOST).

For nurses, the difference between branches is really stateside base locations (PCS locations) and to some extent opprotunities for special duties: ship nursing (Navy), flight nursing (mostly AF), brigade nurse (Army), etc.

I would recommend that you at least look into all 3 branches. You can actually apply to all 3, but it's a lot of work.

The "great" thing about the federal government is that systems often don't talk to each other. Assuming you didn't go to MEPS yet, I bet good money Navy and AF recruiters have no idea about your little anxiety misunderstanding. So, that might be a plus.

catamounts303 · Jul 27, 2018

sammitate, with that academic profile you should be going to CRNA school, or applying to the Army's USGPANN active duty crna school.

msnapper · Dec 13, 2018

Hi everyone, I'm Sam, and I've been a nurse for 3.5 years. I'm wanting to join the ANC as an active duty officer and hope to specialize in critical care. I currently have over 2 years of critical care experience and have my CCRN as well. I'm wondering how competitive it is to get accepted. I've been talking to a healthcare recruiter specifically (I learned early on the regular recruiters redirect you to healthcare recruiters--if you're just starting the process there's my biggest tip) and my recruiter told me he thinks I'm a good candidate. My undergrad GPA was 3.8 and my grad school (FNP) GPA is currently 3.9. What else do I need to be doing to give myself the best shot? As much as I appreciate my recruiter, I'd also like to hear other people's thoughts/opinions. Thanks in advance!

Did you ever decide or move forward with the commissioning process?