Civilian RN to Army nurse

[TravelRN17]

Hello everyone,

I am an RN-BSN travel nurse with 4 yrs of experience and I am looking into becoming an Army Nurse. Is there anyone out there who has made the transition between civilian nursing and army? I have a lot of questions.

How is it different? What is army life like as an RN? What is it like in med/surg vs ICU? Do you usually get placed in a hospital or clinic? How often do nurses get deployed?

If anyone is willing to talk to me on the phone let me know!

[Kateboss, RN]

Wow I wasn’t trying to turn this thread into a pissing contest lol but here I am. I took the take home average of the mid month and beginning of the month LES and it was about 1/3 of what I used to take home in 2 weeks. 37% to be exact. No retention bonuses for me cuz I’m not prior service.

[Kateboss, RN]

@TravelRN17 There’s only 2 other army RNs on my floor, one being my OIC (my boss). The rest are civilians, or Army LPNs, which is also something unusual that you might have to get used to. LPNs were never allowed to work in hospitals in my civilian jobs so that was a surprise. So if you are the charge nurse, you have to push their iv meds and sign off all their assessments, among other things. There’s a lot of turn over with the civilians as well, as many are contractors or army wives who have to PCS at some point (change duty stations). But overall I don’t think any of the civilians treat me differently because I’m military. They will give you a stipend for housing based on where you’re stationed, how many dependents you have, and your rank. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sorry I commissioned or salty about the low pay. I was prepared for a big pay cut and a severe limitation of my international travel addiction lol. (It is a hard 30 days of leave, no room for creativity of getting 3 weeks off while only using 4 days of vacay time that we nurses are so good at). It is definitely a unique opportunity and very respectable, and if you don’t like it after 3 years you can return to your old job since legally they have to hold it for you.

[jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA]

Kateboss, I suspect that you may be leaving significant money on the table in a variety of areas. You should talk to your chief nurse about retention bonuses and the Active Duty Health Professions Loan Repayment Program. It has nothing to do with being prior enlisted. You should also talk to an older military member who can teach you about switching your state income tax away from California (no reason to keep it there) and military benefits in airline, loan, and credit cards.

Kateboss, I'm not trying to be antagonistic. I am trying to create realistic expectations for people considering the military. It's about 20-40% pay cut...not 1/3... depending on hours worked, state worked, and whether you can take bonuses or not You're missing the point I'm trying to make about effective income vs paycheck size. You can't just look at your take home pay in bank account to value your entire compensation package. If you truly read the points I wrote in the previous post, you'll see that. If not, at least it's out there for everyone else's benefit.

[jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA]

TravelRN17,

I believe you need 2 years of full time ICU RN experience for the Army to take you as an ICU nurse. Otherwise, you'll have to start in med-surg and apply for the ICU nurse training program after 2 years.

You get BAH, which is a tax-free housing allowance adjusted for the cost of the area you live in. Mine in Northern California is $2700 per month. It's about $1300 per month for my rank in parts of Alabama. You keep what you don't spend. You can also live on base...but then lose your entire BAH.

[Kateboss, RN]

@jfratian Like I said, depending on where you were a nurse, will depend on your paycut, maybe even comparable in some parts of the nation.

[texas_shaka]

I took a pay cut when I joined if you only look at your rank pay. However, I got Hawaii as my duty station and my BAH (housing allowance) is $3100 a month. So now I am making more (technically) but in a much more expensive location. Now, you could get a cheaper place and pocket that extra BAH and make up for some of the pay cut or use it all, it is up to you. If I were to take my cost of living/bills/insurance etc. as a RN in Texas and compare it to my living/bills/insurance etc. (not to mention milk is $6/gallon out here and the gas for a Tahoe each month is YIKES) then yeah, maybe I still have a bit of a pay cut comparatively.

However, where you REALLY see that paycut become negligible is when you need to use your health insurance. I had a bad hiking accident and needed knee surgery. Consults, MRIs, X-rays, meds, the surgery, follow-ups, and pretty extensive physical therapy program is all FREE. My wife had the same surgery before I joined and got a pretty hefty bill of 15k even after insurance covered some of it.

@jfratian made a lot of good points in regards to pay comparisons.

Additionally, the Army provides you with tons of experiences, training, and benefits that you can't get civilian side. If you join for the $$$, then there are a lot more lucrative ways to bolster your bank account. There is a lot of BS that goes on in the military. But for a lot of us, it is worth it.

[TravelRN17]

It is great hearing all the sides. I actually don't want to join for money. I don't even do travel nursing for the money. I want to join for the experience and to help the soldiers and their families. My brother is in the army so it is personal as well. In regards to the ICU, they just started a program this year where if you have 2yrs of current bedside nursing in MS you are eligible to commition as MS, but with guarantee that you will be going to a 2.5 month ICU program after BOLC. I'm getting tired of only dealing with patients with chronic illnesses that can be fixed or significantly improved by change in lifestyle. I want to feel like what I am doing is making a difference, even if it is just to put their minds at ease because they are getting the best treatment.