I have been lurking around this forums for a few weeks right now trying to gather up information about becoming a military nurse. This is something I've wanted to do for awhile now, but I have been unsure on how to go about it, so I just have a few questions that I would like clarified.
1. Nursing corps: For everything I've been reading, it seems like I need to be in my junior year of the program to even consider beginning the application for this? I apply for the nursing program in the fall, and I am a direct admit into the program. Could someone enlighten me on how this works for a new grad?
2. I met with a Army ROTC person at my school today and was told that the Direct commission does not exist anymore due to budget cuts, and I was thinking about graduating, and then applying but was told that it wouldn't really be a good idea.
3. Following my first question, he also told me that the nursing corps is not accepting any applicants for the next few years which basically throws my whole plan out of whack if this is true because I am not sure how I would go about joining the military and becoming a military nurse.
4. Is there anything else like the nursing corps, or another route that I could take that is similar? I tried looking up information about the Air Force, but there was little to none about their program, so if anyone could shed some light that would be great. My only issue is the fact that my schedule is so jammed packed i'm not sure if I could afford to miss a semester for basic and AIT.
If you guys have any other information to add for me that would be awesome!
A little information about me
19
3.8 GPA
Finishing up my freshman year of college
Would love to join the Navy, but have had an impossible time trying to talk to a medical recruiter.
I am a current Air Force ROTC cadet at Kansas State. I am currently a senior and will graduate with my BSN in December. With the Air Force ROTC program, when you graduate and commission you go on Active Duty. The Air Force ROTC program is different from the Army ROTC program in that you are guaranteed to go Active Duty. I joined the Air Force ROTC program during my freshman year, but you have up until your sophomore year to join. At the end of your sophomore year, you go to field training for 4 weeks during the summer. And the summer field training is considered your training. Once you graduate you then do to a 10-11 week NTP training. This is the program that the recruiters are telling people that they are not excepting anyone. But ROTC guarantees you a slot. After your NTP (Air Force clinical) you are then sent to your first duty station.
Air Force ROTC does offer nursing scholarships, but you have to go to a nursing school that offers the ROTC program. Kansas State University has an Air Force ROTC detachment, but does not offer nursing. But their detachment is affiliated with Washburn University, which has the nursing program. I took my pre-nursing classes at K-State, and am currently taking my nursing classes at Washburn. Juggling the two is time consuming, but it is not impossible to handle. Washburn is an hour away from where I live and I commute everyday. I still have to take my ROTC classes at K-State, but I do the physical training on my own time. I am juggling both, and am still maintaining a 4.0 GPA and will graduate in December, this shows that it is doable, as long as you can manage your time. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
I am a current Air Force ROTC cadet at Kansas State. I am currently a senior and will graduate with my BSN in December. With the Air Force ROTC program, when you graduate and commission you go on Active Duty. The Air Force ROTC program is different from the Army ROTC program in that you are guaranteed to go Active Duty. I joined the Air Force ROTC program during my freshman year, but you have up until your sophomore year to join. At the end of your sophomore year, you go to field training for 4 weeks during the summer. And the summer field training is considered your training. Once you graduate you then do to a 10-11 week NTP training. This is the program that the recruiters are telling people that they are not excepting anyone. But ROTC guarantees you a slot. After your NTP (Air Force clinical) you are then sent to your first duty station.
Air Force ROTC does offer nursing scholarships, but you have to go to a nursing school that offers the ROTC program. Kansas State University has an Air Force ROTC detachment, but does not offer nursing. But their detachment is affiliated with Washburn University, which has the nursing program. I took my pre-nursing classes at K-State, and am currently taking my nursing classes at Washburn. Juggling the two is time consuming, but it is not impossible to handle. Washburn is an hour away from where I live and I commute everyday. I still have to take my ROTC classes at K-State, but I do the physical training on my own time. I am juggling both, and am still maintaining a 4.0 GPA and will graduate in December, this shows that it is doable, as long as you can manage your time. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
So if I were to do the Air Force ROTC program NTP would still be available? Do you mine explaining a little bit more what NTP is? My school does offer an Air Force ROTC program through Mizzou, but both of the schools offer nursing so that shouldn't be an issue for me. How is the program set up? Is it like the Army and Navy where you receive a monthly stipend and a bonus sign on or? I never considered the Air Force because information is literally zero to none for undergrads :S
Another question: Do they allow you usually get your first duty station that you pick, or is it also the needs of the air force kind of thing?
The NTP is a Nursing Transitional Program, it is pretty much clinical that are done at a military hospital to get you familiar with the policies of the military hospitals.
The Air Force ROTC program consists of lecture classes, labs, and physical training. Every school is different with their schedules, but for me as a freshman I started out as a GMC (General Military Course). As a GMC I attended one lecture class a week, 2 physical training sessions, and one weekly lab (the lab is time that is set aside to go over marching practices, uniform wear, presentations, etc). After my sophomore year I attended field training at Maxwell Air Force Base, which is a 4 week summer training program. Upon completion of the training program I transitioned from a GMC to a POC (Professional Officer Course). As a POC the schedule is the same as a GMC, except the lecture class is 3 credit hours instead of 1 credit hour.
As an Air Force ROTC cadet you can qualify for an in college scholarship, which you will get the scholarship and a monthly stipend. If you except the scholarship, you will then become contracted. Being contracted pretty much means that you have signed the contract with the Air Force to join after you complete school. Some cadets receive scholarship and some do not. If you do not receive a scholarship, you can still receive the monthly stipend upon your completion of the summer field training program at Maxwell.
After you are classified for the job that you will go into the Air Force with, the will give you a selection of Bases in which you are able to choose from. You are allowed to choose I believe your top 5 choices. These choices are submitted and the Air Force will do their best to place you based on your selections in the ranking order. If none of the locations are available for you then the Air Force will send you where you are more needed.
I regards to the Accession Bonus, I am still working on finding out that information with my Detachment. I am the only nursing cadet at my detachment, and it has been a while since they have had a nursing cadet. They are unable to tell me whether I qualify for the nursing accession bonus. But if you accept the scholarship, then you are not eligible for the sign on bonus. I did not receive a scholarship because I had to submit an age waiver, so it is still possible that I may be able to receive the bonus.
I hope I have answered your questions, please let me know if you have any additional questions
Another question I have would be, if I'm starting my Sophomore year, am I still able to start and make up all the classes I've missed? Also, what does this summer program entail?
If recruiters are telling people they are not taking people for the NTP program, will this still be available after I graduate? And do you have to send in an application and everything like you have to do for the NCP program?
I'm sorry for all the questions, I just never got the opportunity to ask anyone.
If you start as a Sophomore you will have to compress, which means taking your freshman and sophomore classes at the same time during your sophomore semester. The summer field training program is when you to Maxwell AFB to do additional leadership training. You will do different scenarios and get to meet other cadets from around the country. It teaches you how to work together as a team, and also teaches you how to march and call commands. It is for only 4 weeks, and it was an amazing experience. Once you join the ROTC, they automatically take care of you NTP application for you and your slot is guaranteed when you graduate and commission. As a nursing cadet, your packet will get reviewed by the board and they are the ones to accept your application and classify you as a nurse. But you must graduate from nursing school and pass your NCLEX first. Once those two things are you will be given your date to report to your assigned NTP station. There are currently three ways to become a nurse in the Air Force. The ROTC, Air Force Academy, and COT. The COT portion is when you have already completed your nursing degree and are already an RN. But they are not accepting many applicants through this method (I looked into this method, because I was not sure that I would get a slot into the summer training program), and the recruiter told me that the slots were limited. Well anyway, I go and Enrollment Allocation to go to Field Training last summer, which means that I am guaranteed an NTP slot through ROTC. I forgot to tell you, it is a competition to get a slot for Field Training, since every cadet wants to go up to the next level. GPA, physical training score, and cadet ranking plays a big role on your acceptance. The good thing is nursing cadets have a 99% pick rate, so it is pretty much a given that you will get a slot, but you still need to have good scores.
Feel free to ask me as many questions as you can. I am here to help out.
I am nervous about being deployed, but at the same time, comfortable with the training that I will receive from the Air Force. As an Army wife, I see first hand how our service members are sometimes being treated. As a nurse, I would like to provide them with quality care, and if I have to sacrifice my life to do that, then I will do it with no hesitations. Why? because, they are sacrificing their lives for us. Just paying it forward!!!
Is it just one or two classes? I wouldn't mind compressing, since my sophmore year I do have a lot more room in schedule. I emailed the ROTC person for my school yesterday, and hopefully someone gets back to me, but I wouldn't be surprised since it is the summer. Could you explain more on Enrollment Allocation? Is that just where they tell you your job for the Air Force or? What is the physical training score? Is that just a pt test or is it a whole different beast? For the scholarship, is that an automatic thing or something you apply for? I ask this because when I went to go speak with the Army ROTC guy, he told me that they almost never offer the scholarship due to budget cuts awhile back, and even if they do, they only have one semi small one to give out.
Normally a ROTC cadet will take one lecture class, one lab, and their weekly physical training every semester. As a compressor you will take two lecture classes (freshman, and sophomore), one lab and your weekly PT just for your sophomore semester. You are pretty much making up your freshman semester that you missed. The ROTC people work through the summer and still continue to do recruiting for the upcoming semesters, so someone should be there.
In order to go to commission into the Air Force through ROTC you must attend and pass the summer Field Training at Maxwell. In order to attend Field Training, your ROTC commander will submit your packet to headquarters for you to enroll in the field training (Enrollment Allocation). Once you get an EA slot, this means that you qualify and you have been selected to attend field training. You will know if you have an EA slot by the middle of your Spring Sophomore semester, and your detachment will help prepare you mentally and physically for your summer training. You will then go to Field Training during that summer, upon completion of Field Training you will become a POC, which is a step closer to commissioning.
An EA slot is just for Field Training. As a nurse, you will commission as a nurse. I have not been told what type of nurse I will commission as of yet, I believe that I will get this information next semester when I return to school. I believe that I will be placed under general nursing, and work under that until I can request for other opportunities, and receive additional training.
Field Training is not the PT test part even though you do have to take a PT test there during your first week. Field Training is a training environment where you will be placed in different scenarios to be able to think on your feet. You receive weapons training, you learn combatives, you learn to work within a flight setting, you learn the chain of command, and you learn how to work in different leadership positions.
In regards to the PT test, you will have to take a PT test every semester.
The scholarship is not automatic. I did not get a scholarship because I was disqualified because I needed an age waiver. Once you are in nursing school your commander will put you up for the nursing scholarship which has a pretty much 100% pick rate. I am not sure if the budget cuts have changed this, but I do not think that it has. There are cadets in my detachment that are still being awarded scholarships.
Direct commissioning, believe it or not, is actually the Air Force's largest source of RNs. In four years I've met two ROTC RNs. I've also recently met one who went to the USAFA, if you can believe that - apparently there's a program where you get (I believe she said) a health care management degree (someone please correct me if I'm screwing this up) and then they send you for a direct entry MSN. I was in awe.
OTS slots have tightened up because of the budget dance, but they still get more RNs from there than anywhere else. I think it's because most people consider the military as a last thought, so to speak, and sort of after the fact - or they get into school and decide that's what they want to do, and then of course it's a bit late to play catchup with ROTC.
I'm only sticking this in because I don't want people to think there's nothing going on at Maxwell. :)
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RayJordan
40 Posts
I would have gladly used ROTC as a backup plan, but maybe next year it'll open back up? Not sure, just being hopeful. :s