Army reserve question

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I am joining the Army reserves and unfortunately have a recruiter who does not seem to like to answer my questions directly. I was hoping someone here might be able to shed some light for me. I have been a med/surg nurse for the last 7 years. I have a master's degree in nursing leadership and am 2 years away (hopefully) from getting a second master's as an FNP. They want to bring me in as a 1st Lt. as a public health nurse (66B). Originally they had mentioned me joining as a Cpt. When I ask my recruiter he just says they base it on education and years of experience. Basically, does anyone know what the general experience and education is needed to enter as a Cpt.? Then how long does it take for a reservist to promote to Cpt. from 1st Lt.? Thanks in advance for everyones help.

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Specializes in ER, ICU.

I'm in the process of joining the ANG. I thought a Masters could/would lead to being a Captain but not sure. Make sure before you sign. They could be looking to fill a position that you might be overqualified for and not giving you the full rank you deserve. Best of luck, and please post what happens. Also, this will probably get moved to the military thread.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

Moved to Government and Military Nursing forum :)

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ultimately an 'amedd' type ANG board will appoint that - its not necessarily in the hands of the recruiter. 1LT to CPT is short time in grade in the overall scheme of things.. if new to military you have a lot to learn in terms of customers / courtesies and such and this is much easier and more forgiving to learn as an LT vs a CPT. Times are competitive right now for slots I would personally seek to secure my commission as a higher priority then pushing for CPT - my 2 cents. I also personally feel a lot of people get caught up in their accession rank... but the truth is entering as a 1LT can allow you to secure a good grip on what the military has to offer.. use it to your advantage... when you get in a ton of education and other opportunities are generally open to jr grade captains... so make a good impression, keep your eyes open, look to the future for opportunities that may interest you and seek to move towards these goals...

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Specializes in ICU and CRNA.

I commissioned 19 March 2010 Army Reserve CRNA. I came in as 1 LT with 5.5 yrs constructive credit. Experience 15 years RN 7 yrs CRNA. Hope that helps. I spoke with HR in St. Louis (these are the ones who do a CV review) and assign credit. The nurse corps only gives new accessions 1LT unless you have prior officer experience.

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Thank you for the feedback. I was a little confused as to why they mentioned Cpt. to begin with. So it helps a lot to know that they were probably just mistaken when they brought it up.

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Specializes in MedOnc, Telemetry, OR, CNOR.

Cpez

I'm not sure how the Reservist do their promotions, but in the Active 1LTs get promoted to CPT in around 1.5 years... I'm sure it takes longer in the reserves. Our recruiters are not the best, so you have to do a lot of research on your own. Have you looked into the Uniformed Public Health Service (google it)? With your education and work experience, I'm sure you can come in at a better pay grade

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