Civilian life AFTER Corpsman life

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I am currently a USN FMF Hospital Corpsman and I have a little over a year left on my active duty contract. After that I will continue to serve under SELRES. I am wanting to make the transition into civilian life as easy as possible. Any advice out there? I have found that with the state of NC I can come out automatically as a NA II, but can not challenge the NCLEX. My plans are to become a PA. I would appreciate any guidance, knowledge, or advice. Thanks in advance.

Go to college using the reserve deal, do the science prereqs, get a bs in something (a hard science is always beneficial), then apply to pa school....if you know you want to become a p.a., don't waste your time becoming a nurse; since you already have healthcare experience, focus on rockin' your prereqs, which will be different than those needed for nursing school

Well you need a bachelor science degree for PA to begin with plus the pre reqs...I mean you could go nursing then PA (something still in the back of my mind) Specifically, PA and NP have vastly different roles in the army one being more combat related and the other family care...Their roles in a civilian hospital differ as well...A PA practicing in a medical model with experience in the nursing model seems like a well rounded health care provider. Your experience as corpsman is an even greater benefit.

Cursed-I looked into the army's PA program and a lot of the pre reqs are the same (A and P I/II, chem, psych, gen ed requirements...maybe one more upper math and chem but that was it)

Specializes in Psych/Travel.

While you are still in the Navy why don't you take a look at Excelsior College. They are very military friendly and offer a Medic to RN program, and with your RN it would give you a good start to your PA, you might also look into some NP programs

Steve

Specializes in Psych/Travel.
https://www.excelsior.edu/

Thank you for the advice. stevefl, I will check that site out ASAP! Appreciate it man!

Cursed-I looked into the army's PA program and a lot of the pre reqs are the same (A and P I/II, chem, psych, gen ed requirements...maybe one more upper math and chem but that was it)

Requirements for nursing programs vary widely. OP did not indicate which pa program they were interested in; if he already knowshe wants to be a pa, given his background, nursing would not expedite him meeting his goals.

cursed's advice x1000000. with that exp and a goal of being PA .. go directly to pa pre-reqs and pa schools.. you can't apply to the army's PA program (interservice PA program) w/o being affiliated with military, IRR does count, you can contact their program manager.. PA school requirements around the country vary by region... if geographically tied down look at schools in your area.. align up a wide spectrum of pre-reqs that make you eligible for a wide range of schools.. in doing this you take pre-reqs and apply them to an applicable bachelors degree (bs biology or similar), while in school volunteer or cont' work as some sort of health care experience and go directly to PA masters program....

nursing pre-reqs and schooling can totally be avoided and this could be an awesome way in.. once you get PA letter of acceptance you can think about military application as their demand is much higher.. focus on PA school IMHO.... go to paforums.com for some advice... look at programs in you area.. look at pre-reqs and schools of preference.. align goals, backwards plan.. cont' health care exp and you could be a solid applicant.. oh yeah and if you do this route you might look at trying to save x months of GI bill when you compare cost of undergrad loans vs the power of the gi bill spent on your PA program.. risk / cost depends on your certainty of getting to PA program and state tuition cost by state/school.

best of luck

Thanks so much for all the info. it is really appreciated and will help me out!

True, the fastest way to being a PA would be going straight and to the point. However, I thought since he posted this on a nursing forum (when there are plenty of PA/medical forums out there) he would at least like to hear how nursing would fit in. Obviously we are here to help regardless.

jgcadet, you are right, I did post this on a nursing forum to see how nursing would fit in. My intentions are to becomea PA in the future, but I am exploring ALL options available to me and trying to gather feedback from everywhere that I can. I was told about this site and advised to put myself out there to see if I could do just that, gather feedback. I appreciate all that was and can be given to me. Thanks again.

True, the fastest way to being a PA would be going straight and to the point.

With prior military medical experience OP is in a unique position to have health care experience that with additional pre-reqs applied to a 4 year degree can get him to some top notch PA programs. I've met those who went the nursing route in order to head towards PA or MD and didn't realize the pre-reqs were not always in alignment, nor the theory and simply extended the amount of time spent in school and delayed 'their' goal. Either route is fine but only if you are aware of the considerations and choose that route rather then taking it by default.

However, I thought since he posted this on a nursing forum (when there are plenty of PA/medical forums out there) he would at least like to hear how nursing would fit in.

Right, that is why my post mentioned the PA forum, perhaps the OP hasn't used this resource or wasn't aware of it. Perhaps the OP has posted there as well and wants perspective on nurses who have been on a similar route and have advice from their experiences.

Obviously we are here to help regardless.

Yes my post was provided as new perspective in addition to previous comments.

JG you can evaluate the usefulness in response to your own post but you aren't in the position to judge the usefulness to the OP unless you are a jr. moderator, but thanks :yeah:

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