Becoming a Navy Nurse

FutureNurseInfo · Jan 14, 2017

I have no answers to your questions. However, I have one for you: since you are finishing up your associates in nursing, why do you want to go for CNA training? To me it just does not make any sense.

hanabethh · Jan 14, 2017

I will be doing the CNA program and starting my bachelor's so that I can start working in the hospital while I am waiting to get into the RN program. The list is a 2-3 years wait at all the local schools here in California. I will most likely do the LVN program as well for the extra experience and knowledge.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 14, 2017

Your thread has been moved to our Govt/Military Nursing forum.

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Jan 14, 2017

You need the BSN. Depending on the branch, they may accept some new grads with really good grades (3.7+). You may have to get a year or two of RN experience after graduation if your grades are average.

Deployments are required and it's really not a question of it but when. You could be stationed apart from your spouse. In a 20 year career, it will probably happen at least once. Some contracts are 3 years active 5 IRR, others are 4/4, and some are 6 active and 2 IRR.

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Jan 14, 2017

Why are you not taking your NCLEX after you finish your ADN?

briski3 · Jan 16, 2017

There's two routes you can take to be a "Navy Nurse".

I am currently enlisted active duty military so I'll do my best to cover all the grounds.

Your first path is to enlist. when you enlist you receive a rating in the navy and the nursing rate is HM or corpsman, for this your'e actually not required any college. You will go through bootcamp and then go to a specialty school through the Navy that will teach you your rating. I would go see a local recruiter and they can answer all your questions about this process or if you have any questions directly about what it's like being enlisted I can help to the best of my ability. I will say if you're joining any branch of the military deployments are a requirement period. There's no way around that, and there's also no way of controlling when you go. you are on the Navy's schedule. and remember there are Hospitals on ships.

Your second option is to get your BSN and then go the commissioning route as an officer. this I can't speak much on because I only know about enlisted to officer programs, and not much about civilian to officer programs.

the way it works when both spouses are in the military is typically they will always collocate you, and one will always be on shore duty (non-deployable status) while the other is on sea duty, and you would rotate out back and forth to always meet this requirement!

The typical contract for enlisted is 4 years active 4 years inactive, however there's some contracts where you will have to sign for 6 active, again this can all be thoroughly explained to you by a recruiter in your area, this is what they're trained to do is counsel perspective sailors on their options!

Hope this helped and good luck :)

mnurse2016, BSN, RN · Jan 16, 2017

Being a dual-military couple can be extremely challenging. If you have your heart set on it just know that it is not promised that both spouses will be stationed at the same duty station. That depends on how many billets (aka job openings) there are for that specific duty station. They will try to, but I've personally know couples that haven't been. Also, you run the risk of being on different deployment schedules (deployments are not optional). It's tough but not impossible, just know that there may be long periods of time spent away from your spouse.

Corpsman or "HM's" are the equivalent to a CNA in the civilian world. This does not require a degree. You could always do that route and use the GI bill to pay for nursing school after. You can also sign a contract with the Navy while you are in nursing school to become commissioned upon graduation ( Undergraduate Opportunities in the Navy : Navy.com). If you choose to finish your bachelors degree first you can join and go to Officer Development School which is essentially boot camp for officers.

One option that I'd encourage you to think about is becoming a nurse and applying for a civilian job at a military hospital or veterans hospital in the area your spouse is stationed. Check out USAjobs.gov to see potential jobs in whatever area you are looking for. You will have a lot more freedom to relocate with your spouse wherever he may get stationed.

SallyA781 · Jan 16, 2017

You will definitely need your BSN, you cannot be an officer without it. It has become very competitive to get a commission as a Navy nurse, particularly if you don't have any experience. You can try the enlisted to officer route, as briski3 suggested, but do bear in mind it is no way a guarantee that you will be accepted to an officer program. The HM rating school is similar to a EMT-B/CNA, it is about 16 weeks long and does teach some nursing skills, but nowhere near what an LVN or ADN would cover. You would likely need to be enlisted for several years, have excellent evaluations, and get several promotions before being considered for an officer program.

As far as deployment goes, nurses don't deploy as much as other rates, but it will probably happen at some point. You likely wouldn't do long ship-based deployments unless you choose a specialty that is needed on ships, such as critical care or CRNA, and generally those positions are sought after. Nurses also don't do the sea-shore rotation that most other rates do, I have been in for 9 years and am on my 4th tour, I've never done sea duty but I have had one 6 month deployment to Afghanistan. Most nurses work in hospitals. The Navy does work with you and your spouse for co-location, the nice thing about nursing is that most bases need nurses, so you can really be stationed anywhere. I am dual military and my husband is in the Air Force, we've been able to co-locate so far.

When you do go and talk to a recruiter, try and find a healthcare officers recruiter specifically, not the generic recruiter in the mall.

Scotzman · Jan 16, 2017

Some already mentioned needing a BSN. The Navy currently requires experience as a nurse and some specialties are hiring more than others. You can be stationed at the same base or location is more likely ie socal or Virginia. Deployments will happen for both of you and that's part of military life.

You would attend ODS in Rhode Island (videos of it online) for 5 weeks.

TriChick · Jan 16, 2017

I just wanted to chime in that, although I was not an HM, I did 10 years active duty. Although they will make every effort to co-locate you, it's not always possible. A lot of it depends on your significant other's rate and their duty station availability. In my case, I was a linguist and had a very small amount of duty stations to chose from (two, to be exact). Neither one of mine were Navy bases, therefore we did not have members of the Nurse Corps on our base. Also, we had a few married couples who were on the same deployment rotations. It's not ideal, but situations such as those DO exist.

Trauma Columnist · Jan 16, 2017

And....if you are dual military, and you have dependents (children) you will need a family plan - in which you must have plans in place for your children to be taken care of immediately if you receive orders to a place your kids can't go.