AD Navy nurse here, and I want to tell it to you all straight. Keep in mind these are my opinions, not the Navy's.
Overall, I see many people asking about benefits, minor details, can I go here, do this, yadda yadda bla bla, and I have to give you all a word of warning. Do not join any branch or part of the military for the benefits, pay, lifestyle, etc.
-The pay and all that is not worth it. You are expected to literally be on call 24/7, and I am not joking. This is not my hospital's policy, this is NAVY POLICY. That means when you are asleep because you are on night shift and they call you in the middle of the day, you must answer and come into to do whatever stupid thing they make you do, or else you'll get a good chewing-out.
-30 days of leave? HA! Good luck getting the leave when you want it, and when you do get it, it may very well be arbitrarily rescheduled and you'll lose your airline tickets (seen it happen twice already).
-You better check your earning statement extremely well, because if the government overpays you (happens all the time), they will underpay you accordingly on the next pay check, regardless if you have bills to pay (this is happening to two of my corpsman, they got paid only $400 one month).
-You will come in on many of your off days. We work Wed-Thur one week, then Mon Tue Fri Sat Sun the next week. For example this week I had to come in on Monday and Tuesday for collaterals, work wednesday and thursday night, then stay until 11AM for training on Friday, and I may get called in to work this weekend if one of our civilians calls in sick (bug is going around). Next week I will literally be at the hospital every day, Monday through Sunday. On my two off days I have numerous items to attend to. And you know what? I just suck it up. Everyone here does. Many fellow navy nurses are miserable, simply because they joined because they thought this or that and didn't consider that you will sacrifice an immense degree of personal freedom to serve our nation.
The point I am making is that one must join simply out of the desire to serve. I love the Navy, but it kinda sucks sometimes. It's supposed to suck - it's the military. Know what I mean?
If you want to proudly serve your nation by putting on the uniform, working hard everyday for your sailors marines dependents and retirees, at other times risking life or limb, or even dying for your country (see: 2 nurses killed in Iraq), then go for it. Otherwise go work for Christus St. John's.
Like i said in my original post; it was MY experience as a active duty nurse in the army. I'm not asking anyone for their opinion on whether or not nursing is for me. It's funny because it's like some type of cult, whenever a army nurse states he/she is unhappy then we are always told then maybe nursing isn't what we want to do. If I was in it for anything other than providing quality patient care, I certainly wouldn't have joined the army. I had no problem finding a civilian job, so I can't relate to joining the army simple because I couldn't find a job. I've already secured a job in the field that I want in the civilian sector, when I get out, so again for me the army hasn't done anything to further my career.
And for the record, I've never had a negative counseling or OER's and I've passed my PT test so again it's all about people using their higher-ranks to be spiteful. That's just MY reality and I'm happy your experience has been different. But lets not be naive and think just because you are providing great patient care and you do all the army stuff then that automatically means your higher-ups will help you further your career. I know too many great nurses and soldiers that are being held back just because the section chief doesn't like him/her.
I understand some of you all breathe and live the army but it doesn't mean you have to try and attack someone who doesn't or MY personal experience. As someone who has done both civilian and military nursing, civilian wins hand down for ME. How do one have control over their career in the army, when all it takes is a no signature from a higher-up to hold you back? You can keep trying to counteract all of my experiences by telling me about what you think happen in civilian nursing but at the end of the day, when your being discriminated against for whatever reason or managers are holding your career back, you can simply quit...trying doing that in the military!!!
Yikes folks, give us newbies a break! It's too late to "unsign" the contract for people like me, and what are we left to do but make the best out of what we got ourselves into? If I had read this stuff before I signed, I might have seriously reconsidered what I was about to put on paper. I knew going in that being an Army nurse wasn't going to be easy, but it's what I wanted to do, not for benefits or for money, but for the sheer purpose of serving my country and answering what I considered to be the highest calling for me as a nurse. Is the military really that unfullfilling, unenjoyable and depressing?
Hi!
Everyone experience will be different. I know a few people who love it and I know a lot who hate it. One thing about this forum is there are die hard military fans here, who they don't like anyone saying anything negative about the military. I started looking into joining the military in around 2008 and I used to come to this forum to read about others experiences in the military; most of the experiences I read were all good. But that's not the reality of the situation, just like being in the military you can't voice your opinion, so many who did not like their experiences in the military would simple just send me private messages. Although it was good to hear both side; joining the military should be based on your own personal decision so I went through with it because I thought I was following my heart. I simply just wanted to share my experience with others to give people an idea of what can happen. Your experience might be different from mines, I hope it will be...good luck!
With 20+ years in the military both Navy & Army, active & reserves, enlisted & officer for the most part when someone has a problem it is theirs in the making in some form or another; which is no different then the civilian world. Yes, on occasions it is not the service members fault they are having issues but that is not the norm. How someone takes control of their career when it appears that they are being blocked by their superiors is by talking with them finding out what they need to do, keeping abreast of regulations, knowing the answers before asking questions etc. If you do not like your job in the civilian world quiting it is always not a option either, ie sign on bonus contract, limited facilities in your area, resume looking bad due too job hoping etc.
As TraumaRUs has stated military nursing is a lifestyle.
Sorry but your wrong. So keep your sarcasm, I see after all these years your still patrolling the board with that nonsense. Just stating facts!!!
Has it really been years?......In your absence, I've attempted to cut back on the sarcasm quite a bit and instead contribute meaningful information; previous posting excepted.
Your own posting illustrated a very precise issue that would only be presented as evidence if you encountered the situation personally. I do not believe the recruiter told you "passing the PT test doesn't matter". The rest of the issues illustrated in your posting would/could be a direct result of a failed or marginal pt test. If you are having problems with your leadership, have you approached them about ways to improve? If they have issues with your performance, they should be able to tell you how to improve; the whole "teach, coach, mentor" philosophy.
For those people yet to join, who might marginalize the pt test: people's careers are ended by failing a pt test. And the greatest lie in the army is the "diagnostic pt test". If you fail a pt test, you've failed a pt test and the repercussions are the same, even if it is a "diagnostic".
Again, PT is not an issue. You can keep overlooking the issue if you choose to but that's to be expected with military people. The last time I checked, you can't be promoted if you haven't passed the PT test and since I've already gotten that, you might want to dissect my post more and try finding something else. And my recruiter did lie, I could care less what you think or believe what was said to me. Keep living under your rock but you and I know that the military pay these people to lie if need be to get people to sign. You either pass your PT test or don't in the nursing world, so others reading this, please don't let this person make you think that by not maxing your PT test you won't get to advance, if they want you to. You all keep talking about go talk to your leaders and confront , I don't know what army or military you all are apart of but doors aren't open to speaking to anyone high-up the chain of command about anything negative without possibly repercussions in the army that I'm in. And you all can stay in denial about that but it's the truth.
It's people like you who patrol this board that are apart of the flawed system, and when people like myself speak about our experiences you all can't accept it and want to judge and tell me nonsense about it's me. Again, performance? Isn't that evaluated with OER's, AGAIN I have no negative OER's so what are you talking about? I'm a great nurse and I owe all of that to civilian nursing. I'm fighting hard to not reverse that and become like the rest of the 66H's the army is producing. Which are incompetent and have no critical thinking skill, it's quiet sad to be apart of this system. I'm embarrassed to tell people I'm a army nurse.
For those you haven't taken the plunge yet, read these post and you will see the common theme with these responses. If you dare to think outside the box or don't agree with what you've seen with patient care or mismanagement and you try to speak out against it. You will be branded as a bad seed and they will do whatever it takes to make your life hell, I see it everyday. Unfortunately these people represent most of the so-called leaders in the army if you don't like what's going on you better not talk about it or else!!!
Took you hours to do that shows how pathetic you really are, you must not have a life and that's why you go around patrolling the board? So what I quit a civilian job to join the military? Did I not talk about being a civilian nurse first? Glad you posted those because the high morale and structure I talked about looking for, I definitely didn't find in the army. So can appreciate what I had now. Did you even read the posts? Was there anything about managers blocking my advancement? Your just proving my point that God forbid anyone doesn't agree with what goes on in the army and dares to talk about their experiences then you have people like yourself trying to justify all the wrong-doing that is apart of the army. If the military gets rid of people like you, then maybe it would be alright for some. Glad I didn't bring up the racism and sexism that overtly still goes on in your beloved military, but I will next time. I posted in the NCLEX forum too, go see what you can find!!!
Wow guys! I haven't been on for a few months, but I feel the need to add my 2 cents...
Now, I can't talk for the Army or Navy, because I'm in the Air Force, but lets get back to why this thread was started in the first place! There's alot to think about before making the decision to serve this wonderful nation of ours, and I'm not saying that to be sarcastic.
The down side...you're on call 24/7, whether you like it or not. You get 30 days leave, but you have to get approval to take more than a week or 2 at a time. I've had to use up leave days just to guarantee having more than 3 days in a row off in order to spend time with family from out of town or even just to guarantee a certain day off for graduations, birthdays, or whatnot. Yeah, the Air Force is more "family friendly" but that means they offer alot of stuff for your family, but you won't be able to take part in it, because you have to work. I've only been in for 9 months and I've already missed my son's birthday and my sisters' and brother's college graduations. I have a somewhat typical nursing schedule, but then add commanders call, unit meetings, extra duties, certification classes, getting called in because a civilian nurse called in sick, etc., etc.... There's alot of politics, especially when it comes to the upper level leadership. Alot of times, we have to do things that don't make sense because "Colonel so and so" said so. You just have to bite your tongue and do it! They probably have a good reason for asking you to do it, but it may never make sense to you! You may have to leave your life and your family for 6 months or more to go overseas and put yourself in harms way. Before that, instead of spending the time before you leave with your family, you have to go TDY for weeks at a time for deployment training. And you have 20 CBTs to complete and paperwork to fill out and you have to go 10 different places to get it signed. One person says one thing, another says something totally different! And make copies of everything, because if you don't, something will get lost and you'll spend hours of your free time making up for it. I could probably go on, but I'll move on...
The good side...of course, the medical, dental, life insurance, education benefits, housing, paycheck,...are nice, but like others have said, they're not everything! Training courses in the military are like nothing I've ever done in the civilian side. I've spent a total of 3 weeks over the last 9 months camping and getting paid for it! I get paid to exercise! I've gotten to work with teams of people I've never met before to get an impossible job accomplished. Sorry, don't want to get too detailed for security reasons. The camaraderie that you feel when you work with other service members is indescribable! Most people that have been in for years and years have such great attitudes! They do what they need to do because it's the mission and it needs to get done (I'm not saying the newer people aren't like that too...it's just the trend I've seen)! Yeah, you're always going to have that one person that complains about everything (not talking about anyone in particular), but you just have to ignore that! The biggest plus for nurses...we get to take care of those men/women that do ANYTHING to protect our freedom! They get shot at, have limbs blown off,...die for our freedom (fellow nurses included)!! We get to take part in their lives, hopefully to bring them back to good health and get them back to their families.
I'm not saying any of this to offend anyone, but I feel the need to clarify for those who are waiting to apply, commission, and awaiting COT or whatever. Being in the military is definitely not for everyone. There are plenty of people that hate it, plenty that love it, and plenty that are in between. It's a lifestyle that I'm still getting used to! For those that choose to make the commitment or who are already serving, thank you for your service! For those that don't, that's ok too! There are plenty of pros and cons to the civilian world too (I lived that lifestyle for 4 years)! I have a hubby and 2 kids...the thing I worry about most is how they'll do when I deploy. I will get tasked eventually. When I do, we'll part ways for 6+ months and I'll miss them like crazy, but I know I'll be with my other "family" and we'll be taking care of the most awesome people in the world!
iToniai
200 Posts
Like i said in my original post; it was MY experience as a active duty nurse in the army. I'm not asking anyone for their opinion on whether or not nursing is for me. It's funny because it's like some type of cult, whenever a army nurse states he/she is unhappy then we are always told then maybe nursing isn't what we want to do. If I was in it for anything other than providing quality patient care, I certainly wouldn't have joined the army. I had no problem finding a civilian job, so I can't relate to joining the army simple because I couldn't find a job. I've already secured a job in the field that I want in the civilian sector, when I get out, so again for me the army hasn't done anything to further my career.
And for the record, I've never had a negative counseling or OER's and I've passed my PT test so again it's all about people using their higher-ranks to be spiteful. That's just MY reality and I'm happy your experience has been different. But lets not be naive and think just because you are providing great patient care and you do all the army stuff then that automatically means your higher-ups will help you further your career. I know too many great nurses and soldiers that are being held back just because the section chief doesn't like him/her.
I understand some of you all breathe and live the army but it doesn't mean you have to try and attack someone who doesn't or MY personal experience. As someone who has done both civilian and military nursing, civilian wins hand down for ME. How do one have control over their career in the army, when all it takes is a no signature from a higher-up to hold you back? You can keep trying to counteract all of my experiences by telling me about what you think happen in civilian nursing but at the end of the day, when your being discriminated against for whatever reason or managers are holding your career back, you can simply quit...trying doing that in the military!!!