Army RN to Army PA?

allnurses Guide · Dec 3, 2011

I am currently in the process of getting my application in to the Army Reserves as an RN. I had every intention to continue my schooling and become an NP once I was established in the military. However, further research has guided me down the path of looking into the PA school the military offers. I am wondering if this transition is possible. Can you be a commissioned officer in the nursing corps and apply for the PA program?

I am not sure if the Army will allow nurses to apply for this program, but you can always ask. Here is the link for the PA program. http://www.usarec.army.mil/armypa/applicationusar.shtml

caliotter3 · Dec 3, 2011

I thought the PAs were warrant officers. While difficult, I do not believe it is forbidden to take a demotion, but I don't know of any who have gone that route on purpose. All the demoted people I met were rifted officers who accepted the demotion so they could serve out their time to retirement.

allnurses Guide · Dec 3, 2011

I thought the PAs were warrant officers. While difficult, I do not believe it is forbidden to take a demotion, but I don't know of any who have gone that route on purpose. All the demoted people I met were rifted officers who accepted the demotion so they could serve out their time to retirement.

PA are officers with Masters degrees. The USAF doesn't offer this option to AF nurses, but I am not sure about the Army. I would think they would encourage you to attend the FNP program at USUSH through their graduate training program.

caliotter3 · Dec 3, 2011

When I was in the Army the PAs I met were warrant officers. Perhaps that has changed.

allnurses Guide · Dec 3, 2011

When I was in the Army the PAs I met were warrant officers. Perhaps that has changed.

Qualifications:

To become a physician assistant in the Army, you must:

be a US citizen.

be at least 21 years of age and less than 48 years of age (age waivers may be considered for applicants with prior military service).

hold at least a bachelor's degree.

be a graduate of a training program accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA).

have current certification by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

be employed as a physician assistant if you completed your PA training more than one year ago.

successfully complete a security investigation.

be able to pass an English Comprehension Level Test (ECLT) if English is your second language.

meet the prescribed professional, physical and ethical standards for appointment as an Army commissioned officer.

Military PAs have been commissioned officers for 10+yrs as far as I know. They probably switched from being warrant officers when they went from being only required to have certificates to having to have Bachelor degrees, and now the military trained PAs graduate with their Masters.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Dec 3, 2011

When I was in the Army the PAs I met were warrant officers. Perhaps that has changed.

All the Army PAs I work with (and there are a lot, oh my!) are commissioned officers. My buddy at officer basic who was basically a new PA came in as a 1LT and should pin on CPT this spring. This must have changed since your time in the service, caliotter.

caliotter3 · Dec 3, 2011

Thanks for the update wtb. A lot happens in 20 years.

allnurses Guide · Dec 4, 2011

Thanks for the update wtb. A lot happens in 20 years.

Just in my short time in the AF the PAs have went from starting out as 2Lt to 1Lt. Things are always changing in the military. I have to watch what I tell nurses wanting to come in the military anymore, because so many things have changed just since I entered the military.

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2011

Army Nurses can apply for the PA program. If they are picked up for the program the Nurse Corps has to release them to allow them to attend the course. All PA's in the military are now officers, back in the day they were Warrant Officers in the Army & Navy.

studentnurserachel · Dec 10, 2011

Just to second, Army nurses can apply to IPAP, I know 2 who just graduated and my husband graduated from IPAP with a few former army nurses 4 years ago. You do have to consider the effect on your career though, I can't remember how exactly it works, but if you are higher ranking when you begin the program you lose a little rank and have to regain it. No problem if you enter as O1 or O2 though. Also, do consider the Nurse Practitioner program also at USUHS, it has been more competitive in the past, because nurse corps is so huge and the only people applying to it are nurse corps, but that was back when IPAP was kind of a best kept secret and not so many people were applying to IPAP. Now IPAP is hugely competitive also. Also, if you intend on staying in the Army for a career, there are many more advancement opportunities for nurses than PAs in the Army, at least as it stands currently. PAs are in the same corps as the OTs, PTs, Dieticians, and for some reason, PAs cannot seem to get any of the high-ranking positions in that corps, even though they outnumber the others significantly. My husband is getting out for many reasons, but one of the big ones is that promotion potential is so poor right now, they are just now beginning to promote O3s to O4s off the 2009 list, almost 3 years behind because of lack of slots, and that is projected to get worse, not better. Just something to consider, I have to say, as far as educational preparation, my husband's PA program was superior to my NP program hands down, although it is a different approach, more of a compressed medical school experience, where NP school is an extension of nursing theory into advanced practice.

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2011

SNRachel has it right, it is harder to make rank as a PA vs. NP in the Army. The promotion list for Major just came out last week and the promotion rate for PA's was around 50% and NP's around 90%. With the coming draw down promotion rates for both PA's & NP's will decrease, no one knows by how much or when, but it will. The NP program at USUHS is now a DNP program starting with this May's class. Also, PA's for the most part are assigned to line units etc. with some assigned to clinics and hospitals. NP's are opposite and assigned to clinics and hospitals. This means that PA's deploy more and more often then NP's which is one thing you need to consider depending on what you want and need for your family.