I am looking for any information from current Army Nurses (or anyone knowledgeable on this subject) who could shed some light on a couple of questions I have about joining the Army Nurse Corps.
My goal is to commission into the Army as a nurse and serve on active duty. However, when I talked to my local AMEDD recruiter, I was informed that the Army currently does not take in nurses for active duty unless they have a certain amount of hours in paid nursing experience (I am currently a BSN student with one semester left) or if they went through ROTC. He mentioned that I could join the Army Reserve as a 66H and transfer to active duty later on. This brings me to question, is this highly possible? Or would it be a pain in the rear end? I am currently enlisted in the Army Reserve and have previously served on active duty during my first contract. I am aware how recruiters usually say things to acquire numbers and also aware that not everything in the military is ever simple.
Also, I would like to change specialties to 66S (critical care). How would I go about doing this? Would it be beneficial to work as a critical care nurse at a civilian hospital while serving as a 66H in the reserve before transferring to active duty?
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I would love any additional input/recommendations that you have as well!
Though I believe it's for active duty only, the Air Force has its own version of the CST. It involves a 6-person team (ICU/ER nurse, ER doc, general surgeon, CRNA, OR tech, and respiratory therapist) that augments special tactics units. It's called the Special Operations Surgical Team (SOST).
jeckrn, BSN, RN
1,868 Posts
You will get "E" status for pay if you have the equivalent of 4 years plus one day of active duty or 1461 points.