Army Nurse Corps FY2013

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Hey everybody, I'm starting a thread here for those applying to the Army Nurse Corps in FY2013. I figure this might be a good place to get to know other future nurse corps officers and a place for the veterans of the ANC to pass on some advice.

Share your story and hopefully we will meet down in San Antonio this Winter/spring of 2013

Ill start with my story,

I am a 28 y/o critical care nurse with 2 years experience in a level 2 trauma center in Virignia. I passed MEPS at Ft. Eustis and have submitted security packet, letters of reference and letter of intent.

I am applying to the October review board for Active Duty Army Nurse Corps for the 66H8A(critical care) and 66T(trauma) programs( I am not sure if they are still running this one, but you don't get what you don't ask for).

I am happily married with a baby on the way, my wife is 100% behind a move the Army and I feel blessed to have her love and support.

The road to the Army has been a long one with a degree in Biology, stint as a drug rep and return for an accelerated BSN.

I love being a nurse and love working in critical care. I hope to serve my country in uniform treating service members & their families at home and in forward deployed units.

I want to be an critical care nurse and officer in the U.S. Army and I hope that I will get to meet all of you in uniform at BOLC, at MEDDAC, CSH or FST in CONUS or OCONUS.

Here's to all us achieving our dreams of becoming Army Nurses!

HOOOOOOAH!

@VTRobinson The one thing I have seen little of when talking about promotions is the ability to lead. Joining the Army is a different ball game, you are not just a Nurse, but a leader to young Soldiers who will look up to you. Take the time to learn as much as you can and get away from trying to chase rank it will come believe me. What you don't want is to find yourself in the middle of the desert when a Hawk goes down, looking at your Soldiers asking what do we do because you were worried about being a CPT instead of knowing what the hell an azimuth is. As a Leader in the Army now, I must tell you do not ever forget Be,Know,Do. Once you live and learn this concept you will be an outstanding leader.

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@VTRobinson The one thing I have seen little of when talking about promotions is the ability to lead. Joining the Army is a different ball game, you are not just a Nurse, but a leader to young Soldiers who will look up to you. Take the time to learn as much as you can and get away from trying to chase rank it will come believe me. What you don't want is to find yourself in the middle of the desert when a Hawk goes down, looking at your Soldiers asking what do we do because you were worried about being a CPT instead of knowing what the hell an azimuth is. As a Leader in the Army now, I must tell you do not ever forget Be,Know,Do. Once you live and learn this concept you will be an outstanding leader.

I do not think that is what this is. they arent just worried about Chasing rank, but more of trying to get a working knowledge of how soon it will help. As a person with a family, the money is a big point to focus on. As a Vet myself, if you do not devote alot of your time to chasing your rank, you can and will get passed up. Chasing that rank though involves being a leader, and taking care of your soldiers. Any fresh LT with no combat arms background, and only dealing with BOLC, would be clueless if they were in a situation where a hawk went down, and needed to lead a squad or more. the good ones will prevail, but it would be very difficult. I am really just trying to point out that these comments do not seem full of "I want my rank and money" but filled with more of, How soon will I be eligible for that pay raise. Seeing as how most here that I have spoke too have families, and are taking pretty big paycuts to serve. again Good Luck to everyone that boarded. I know you are just as anxious as my family is right now.

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Ok first let's be real, some are not joining just to serve but for the benefits that come with serving. As a 10 year veteran during the war there was such a low number of nurses joining that the AECP program was developed. I understand the money aspect of it I do, I truly remember being an E-4 married with 2 children and having 56 dollars in the bank at times but it was my want to improve myself that showed my superiors that I was ready for promotion. When you come in as a CPT you are expected to be ready to command a company or at least be a decent XO, all major responsibilities. If you are not up to par you will find yourself up a creek without a paddle and you are rated from day 1 so when your OER comes to you there will be nothing held back and this can hurt the rest of your career. I currently work at HRC, right next to the USAREC building and have been monitoring this blog because my wife is up for selection and I just want all to be successful as the Army can be the best place in the world, but it can also keep you up at night ;-). Good luck to all and remember sometimes it is best to slowdown and learn the job then get promoted.

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Sure, there are alot of people here for benefits, I kow for ne my wife will be taking a huge pay cut, and our benefits are outstanding, so that isn't the reason we are joining. I know a few others here that are taking pay cuts, but are joining for the need to serve. I am sorry that you would believe that the only reason people are joining is the benefits, or getting rank, because honestly being enlisted myself, that sounds like something an enlisted person would think. Not that we are stupid lmao, (though I have met some stupid privates if you know what I mean) but that we have high admiration for our officers, and I always deep inside wished I was an officer so I could make some of those troop leading decisions. I am not sure how familiar you are with the nurse make up of a company, and how command structure is, but a brand new nurse whether 2nd or 1st LT (they cannot come in as a captain, to my understanding the most constructive credit you can have is 3 years) arent expected to be company commanders, or XO's straight out of the box. They will definitely have to lead soldiers, and catch on fast, but to keep it real noone here will be commanding a company any time soon. I was merely pointing out that I do not think their are rank chasers here, or at least enough to warrant a comment like that. You were a spec4 with 2 kids at one point trust me, I have been in that boat before, but it is different to these situations. Where as you were an e4 and new for at least 2 years what your pay was and how it would come, these people Most with more than 2 years experience will be coming into a pay cut. So again worrying about rank and money is of pretty big concern. I know that as a soldier, if you are worried about your money and your homefront, and whether or not they are eating, you cannot be a decent leader, and can definitely not keep your mind all on the goal. I thank you for your service. I joined around the same time as you, right before 9/11 and I seem to remember everything with rose colred glasses, is Army life really as peachy as I remember it? Well brother good luck to your wife, I hope she gets in. With her knowledge of the Army already, and knowing what to expect, I am sure things will come alot easier than most. Bye the way, was she promised anything after BOLC? My wife signed up for the ciritical care track, a class right after the nurse track to get the CC identifier. Again good luck everyone, and HooahNurse, again thank your for your service, and happy belated vets day.

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Specializes in Critical care.

Heard from my recruiter, he said results are still out he said we will most likely hear something early next week. Good luck to everybody!

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Heard from my recruiter, he said results are still out he said we will most likely hear something early next week. Good luck to everybody!
Did they say WHY not until next week? My recruiter told me yesterday, that it would be in the next 2 days
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Ok first let's be real, some are not joining just to serve but for the benefits that come with serving. As a 10 year veteran during the war there was such a low number of nurses joining that the AECP program was developed. I understand the money aspect of it I do, I truly remember being an E-4 married with 2 children and having 56 dollars in the bank at times but it was my want to improve myself that showed my superiors that I was ready for promotion. When you come in as a CPT you are expected to be ready to command a company or at least be a decent XO, all major responsibilities. If you are not up to par you will find yourself up a creek without a paddle and you are rated from day 1 so when your OER comes to you there will be nothing held back and this can hurt the rest of your career. I currently work at HRC, right next to the USAREC building and have been monitoring this blog because my wife is up for selection and I just want all to be successful as the Army can be the best place in the world, but it can also keep you up at night ;-). Good luck to all and remember sometimes it is best to slowdown and learn the job then get promoted.

I agree with you...........not everyone joins to serve, many do for the tangible things. That is what makes this whole process so frustrating. There are a select few who genuinely want to serve, maybe were not a 4.0 student however a great nurse and desire to serve yet those people who are in it for the wrong reasons..........are taking slots from the others. I am not by any means saying those asking about rank etc. aren't doing it for the right reasons........The Army Nurse Corps family, those I have met, are the reason I hope my family is afforded the opportunity to become one, followers of Christ fighting for our country! Good Luck to you all

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I agree with you...........not everyone joins to serve, many do for the tangible things. That is what makes this whole process so frustrating. There are a select few who genuinely want to serve, maybe were not a 4.0 student however a great nurse and desire to serve yet those people who are in it for the wrong reasons..........are taking slots from the others. I am not by any means saying those asking about rank etc. aren't doing it for the right reasons........The Army Nurse Corps family, those I have met, are the reason I hope my family is afforded the opportunity to become one, followers of Christ fighting for our country! Good Luck to you all

You can join for whatever reasons you like. I cannot find a wrong reason for a nurse to join the army. Almost any nurse that I know that has any experience already makes more than a captain. So the reasons to join would in my eyes be a willingness to serve. If there are nurses out there joining for the money, lol, they should seriously rethink their choices, more money can be made, if a nurse gets selected, for whatever reason, I cannot see that person as taking someone elses slot. In the eyes of the board, that person meets the needs of the Army over the other candidates not selected. The only reason I can see someone not getting selected, is of course a quota being met, or that were better candidates for the position. Someone said they should hear back within a couple days. I really hope that is the case. The anxiety is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

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Nursespouse you got it down pat! I agree! :) -- I keep hearing word we will find out this week but who knows! Nothing is ever set in stone with the military as you all know. Hey armysupport what did you apply for? Have you worked as a nurse before? Is anyone on this blog still a student?

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Specializes in Critical care.
Did they say WHY not until next week? My recruiter told me yesterday, that it would be in the next 2 days

Not sure, he has told me in the past that RN boards take awhile to get results. My guess and this is speculation, that the grad school and hpsp officer will know first, the not approved packets will know next. Those selected for active duty might be getting orders for forcecom or med com and that might take a week or so( I.e. how many RNs does ft.sam need etc..) and the rest will be oml for active duty or they will be offered reserve commissions....just speculating, good luck, hurry up and wait

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hi everyone. I saw the thread and wanted to say hi....I too am waiting on board results from Nov 5th. I have been accepted to NEU/USAGPAN, and waiting on the board for a DA route commission. I spoke with my recuiter an hour ago, and he said he still expects to hear news before the end of the week.

I am a nurse with 8 years experience, and they gave me just short of 4 years constructive time and 1LT. I was told my next advancement wouldnt be too far off.

Glad I'm not alone in this nail biting boat waiting for board results!!! Good luck to all of you :)

Liz

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I have served as a retention NCO and let me tell you, yes on the front end you make a little more than a civilian nurse, but between the medical benefits and all totaled financial benefits not just base pay and retirement you make much more as an Army nurse!! The biggest thing is that retirement!! BUt you are right some join for different reasons and that is the wonderful thing about the Army, all have different reasons for being there but you will see those reasons affect the attitudes of those around you as you progress through your career. What the original post was meant to get across is that promotion is almost automatic until you make Major, so instead of chasing rank, get all of the schools to include your own civilian certs and concentrate on being a good leader!! A civilian nurse has responsibilities, but trust me once you are in uniform and an officer you are looked at by 4 times as many eyes, some for leadership, some for patient care and some for evaluation. I am a Warrant Officer and have been doing this since I was 17 years old. Do not be to proud to take advice sometimes the best leaders just LISTEN!!!!!!

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