Enlisted Navy to Nurse Corps with RN and BSN (Help!)

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Hello everyone,

I am a new graduate BSN RN and have always wanted to serve in the United States Navy. During nursing school, I was working with a Nurse Corps officer recruiter in San Diego and went through the very lengthy process of building my kit for selection for Direct Accession into the Nurse Corps for fiscal year 2014. Long story short, I had a very strong application but when the numbers came out for Direct Accession, it was zero nationwide (which I know many of you looking into this path know very well).

With all of the budget cuts and downsizing, it doesn't seem to be likely that the next fiscal year will be any different which brings me to a crossroad that I hope some of you can help with.

I really have a strong desire to serve in the Navy during this time in my life and bringing this up to my recruiter he asked if I would be willing to enlist and commission later down the line as an officer through an enlisted-to-officer program the Navy has. I told him I would be but I want to make the most informed decision as this is a huge one. He was very understanding which makes me think that he's genuinely not trying to screw me over.

So my questions....

1. How likely is it that an enlisted sailor (hopefully get hospital corpsman rating) to commission into the Nurse Corps with a BSN and RN in hand?

2. Has anybody gone this route before?

3. How likely is it that I get into the Hospital Corpsman rating when enlisting?

4. To any current Hospital Corpsman, what are the pros and cons of your job?

5. Will it be more difficult for me down the line to work as an RN as a civilian if I don't get a nurse position during my time with the Navy?

I understand the specificity of these questions and the small chance that any one person can answer all of these questions, but ANY input will be appreciated.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
5. Will it be more difficult for me down the line to work as an RN as a civilian if I don't get a nurse position during my time with the Navy?

I can't speak to any of your other questions. Hopefully somebody who knows about the navy will respond. I can give insight to your question I quoted above.

Hospitals will not view you as having nursing experience if you were not functioning as an RN in the navy. Coprman experience is highly valued to worthless depending on the faciliety and state, however even those who value corpsman experience will NOT consider in equilevent to RN experience. Rightly or wrongly. Unless you have managed to get work experience as an RN somehow (working in a civilian faciliety after duty hours for example) you will be viewed as a very stale new grad and competing for jobs with bright new grads and experienced RNs.

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Please do not do this! They can't guarantee that you will even enlist as a corpsman (it's super saturated at the moment) and then there is no guarantee that you will be accepted to an officer program. Your degree will go to waste while you sit around and wait. Officer programs are highly competitive and most people have a few years under their belt before they get accepted. Also the nursing corp is very competitive and there are a lot of applicants every year with only a handful being picked up. I admire your desire to join, but please don't go the enlisted route!

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Specializes in Adult Critical Care.

Yeah, I have to agree. You'd be throwing your degree away. If you were an enlisted medical person, you will likely be practicing below the RN skill level. Sure, you may do a lot of the same skills, but you're not running the patient's care plan like a nurse is. No civilian hospital will take you into even a new grad position if you're years out of school without RN experience.

Get a civilian job and work for a year and apply then. Look at other branches too. Honestly, nursing is very similar from branch to branch. You serve alongside people from the other branches at the same hospital in some places.

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Thanks for the responses everyone. I had a feeling most would answer with the "get experience first as an RN and then apply later" route. This answer is frustrating on so many levels, mostly because I know it is sound advice. I have just always wanted to serve for as long as I can remember but I do understand that enlisting with a BSN is a bit foolish..

Anybody else with input? I'm meeting with my nurse recruiter in a few days. He was going to explain to me in detail how I could commission after enlisting... It's so difficult to not be paranoid of recruiters and their intentions knowing the nature of their jobs and all of the stories on this forum, but I always hope for the best in people and take them for their word.

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Anyone else with advice thoughts?

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I honestly think most people are going to tell you to get the experience vice going corpsman. It's a waste of your degree to hold out hope that you might get picked up. I'm active duty Navy and have seen so many kids get told the same thing and then get really bitter when it doesn't happen. As a young Sailor you will be required to do a lot of things that have nothing to do with your job, it can be frustrating and it's not until you make rank that life gets better. Just my two cents worth....

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lakmom12: thanks for the input I appreciate it, especially from someone who is active duty. Are you enlisted or officer? My desire to serve is really heavy on my heart... In regards to the "bitter kids," were they trying to get into the nurse corps specifically or another officer program?

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I'm enlisted, a Chief. Most of the kids that come in with degrees get told that they can submit an officer package within the year. While this is true many don't get picked up because they don't have a history with the Navy. The Navy is not trying to make a good workforce, they are trying to ensure they have leaders and this takes a few years to establish with evals and other recommendations. They may ask you to come in as something different and then ask you to put in a nursing package because you have your degree. Again this takes time. As I said earlier, it is highly competitive. I have known several people with finished nursing degrees that it took them four to five years to get picked up. Nursing is as hot in the Navy as it is in the real world and there are fewer spots. Just some points to consider.

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lakmon12 Thanks again. Definitely will be considering your points.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

If you want to be a nurse in any branch, do not enlist. It's really that simple. I understand the desire, but I suspect your plan to commission later from the enlisted side will never come to fruition. Get experience, bring something to the table later to show the service that they should offer you a coveted direct commission spot.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

This discussion makes me sad. When I was first a nurse the military was begging for nurses. The army and air reserve and NG both commissioned ADN RNs. The navy was also recruiting ADN RNs and making them warrant officers. For those with BSNs and experience all sorts of waivers and bonuses were being offered.

Their current pickiness and nurse corps officer slots being so competitive, along with the falling wages and declining working conditions for nurses depresses me. It also makes me mad since we are in this situation as a result of the deliberate creation of a huge glut of nurses for the benefit of nurse employers. The false "nursing shortage" propaganda was the tool they used.

Sorry for off topic rant.

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