Enlisting Active Duty after CRNA school?

SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 2014

1. You will not "enlist" as a CRNA. You have a degree. You will get a commission if anything. DO NOT go the enlisted route and try to switch over to officer just because it's easier to get in! There is NO GUARANTEE that you'll be able to switch and there are many, many enlistees who have bachelors' and masters' degrees, but are unable to get a commission. That means they have degrees in something like medicine, but are stuck working as enlistees in whatever MOS (job) the military gives them. I know a doc once who was a SFC. Crazy.

2. The "pretty awesome loan repayment" is going to change drastically if it hasn't already. In case you haven't heard, the government is broke and the military is often the first to pay for it. Budget cuts are drastically reducing our numbers and will continue to over the next several years. Getting incentives of any kind--including loan repayment--is going to greatly diminish. If this is your main reason for entering, I'd strongly suggest you get your loan repayment elsewhere.

3. In the US, you're likely to work at a MEDDAC (smaller hospital) or MEDCEN (bigger hospital) in the military system.

Medical Centers

This is a list of medical treatment facilities in the US. (please note, not all of them are MEDCENs. MEDCENs are systems like Madigan in Fort Lewis and Walter Reed in Maryland).

4. That you'll have to ask an actual military CRNA about. You might check out the government/military nursing page on this site.

Government / Military Nursing

5. Reserves are going to be your best shot at getting in right now. Slotting for AD is slim. That isn't to say you can't try, but be prepared to fight long and hard to get slotted for active duty. I don't know about CNRAs, but I know that they are requiring a minimum of 2 years experience to come in as your basic RN nowadays.

allnurses Guide · Feb 1, 2014

Each branch of the military is going to offer differing options for loan repayments, but as a CRNA you can qualify for a 50K/yr bonus for signing a 4 year commitment. I doubt that CRNA bonuses will go away anytime soon in the military.

The facilities will depend on the branch of the military.

Deployment cycles and deployment lengths will vary by the branch of the military, but 6-9months seems to be the average deployment time for military CRNAs.

goodgrief · Mar 14, 2014

Completely agree with both comments above from wtbcrna and SoldierNurse22!

I'm in the Army so my comments will be based upon Army experiences. I'm currently deployed and my orders are for 260 days. You're not really guaranteed to deploy with the wars winding down now, in fact, the likelihood of you actually deploying is very very low, if you want to deploy you almost have to volunteer for it at this point, and then there are enough people volunteering (as CRNA's) that you may still not get it.

I signed up for the HPSP scholarship (health profession scholarship program) as soon as I was accepted to my CRNA program. It paid up-front for 100% tuition/books and a monthly stipend while in school. It guaranteed that I commissioned after graduation and was placed on active duty. Repayment is 1 year for every year of scholarship, so my payback time is 3 years. HPSP is a good way to go if you want to go active duty after graduation, however, if you're already a year into your program, they won't back-pay any tuition that you've already paid for, you also won't be able to get loan repayment if you take HPSP. HPSP also reimbursed me for things like a precordial stethoscope/ear piece and my board exam, which were fairly significant expenses, especially while living poor as a student.

If you want to go reserves, there is a program called STRAP (specialized training assistance program) which gives you a monthly stipend while in school (around $2,000/month) and guarantees that you're commissioned after graduation, but you go into reserves instead of active duty, it does not pay for tuition/books. I believe payback is 2 years for every year of stipend??

The loan repayment program when I signed up was a total of $120,000 over 3 or 4 years, so essentially they gave you $30-40K per year. One thing they normally don't tell you is that you have to pay taxes on that money they give you to pay off your loans, so depending on your tax bracket you'll likely only get ~85,000 to pay back your loans, which is the main reason I didn't do that program. For my HPSP scholarship they made tuition payments directly to my university; I never even saw that money so it was never taxed. Plus, if I got kicked out or failed out of my CRNA program then I wouldn't have had any monetary debt, only debt owed as time to the military.

One thing you should definitely consider is that joining the military isn't like going to a normal civilian hospital where you can begin working fairly quickly after they decide they want to hire you. It actually takes quite some time to get signed up. You really need to go speak with a MEDICAL recruiter (not just anyone that recruits Joe's for infantry). You'll have to provide information about yourself, your wife & kids if you're married and have kids, your parents, background stuff like schools/transcripts, prior jobs, addresses, criminal history, etc for the past 15ish years. To be a commissioned officer you need a secret clearance, if you have any blemishes in your record (even credit problems) then it may be difficult to get into the military. You have to pass a medical exam, so even medical conditions like well-controlled asthma may keep you from getting in; they also make you walk like a duck in your underwear LOL

Being in the military is no joke, especially as a commissioned officer! They'll send you to officer basic training for 9 weeks to learn more or less everything you'll need to know to get started. You have to maintain certain standards that most civilians may not be used to (tight haircut, clean shaven everyday, they don't like tattoos, etc), you also have to maintain height/weight standards and pass a physical fitness test every 6 months and depending on the unit you're with you may have to wake up everyday at 5am to do PT before you go into work. When you join (or right before basic training) you'll have to purchase all your uniforms (ACU, PT, tailored ASU, patches, pins, ribbons, name tapes, etc) which can cost around $1500, of which you only get a one time uniform stipend of ~$600, something to keep in mind.

Like stated above, promotions now are becoming more difficult with budget cuts. So, something like failing to pass a PT test just one time or not having an updated DA photo and you may get passed over for promotion. You get passed over twice (or three time depending on rank) and you're out of the Army.

You'll be paid salary, not hourly. You'll be expected to stay until the work is done and take overnight call, OB call, weekend call, holiday call, and/or backup call from home and not be compensated additionally for it beyond what you make in your normal salary. In addition to call, you'll also have other duties that will be assigned to you. I won't even begin to tell you about all the training you'll have to be current on and threats from troop command to deny you leave if you're not current.

I'm not trying to make this sound negative, I'm just trying to be open about how life in the military is. I honestly love being in the army, it is very different than being in the civilian world, I enjoy serving my country and providing care for soldiers, there's just BS you have to go through at times. I can honestly say that the day I put on the uniform was one of the proudest days of my life and the day I have to take it off will be one of the saddest.

There are many positive things too: full medical coverage for your whole family, not having to pay co-pays for doctor visits or prescriptions. Many places offer military discounts (movie theaters). Legal services with JAG. You don't have to pay taxes on a good portion of your pay (housing allowance, BAS, etc). There is a great support system for families, wife, children, etc. There are always activities & events that are put on, especially if you live on-post. Free use of military gyms & pools (both indoor & outdoor). Gas on post is usually around 15-20 cents cheaper than off post. Shopping tax free at the commissary & exchange.

One thing about the bonus is that you have to pay back your contract time (ADSO - active duty service obligation) before you get the 50K/yr, most CRNA's still in their contract get a 15K/yr bonus until their time is paid back.

You'll commission as a first lieutenant if you graduate with a master's degree (maybe captain if you have a doctorate), which is the 2nd lowest rank on the officer side. So, often you'll have surgeons look solely at your rank and ask you, "who's your preceptor today?" Then they begin to wonder why you're not a captain or major like most other CRNA's and you almost always have to prove yourself with every new surgeon you work with. You'll also work with many RN's (pre-op, circulator, & PACU) who outrank you for the 5-6 years you're a CRNA until you make major.

I could go on and on but the first step to joining is talking to a medical recruiter, who will definitely be able to provide you with more information about available benefits.

If you have any additional questions feel free to PM me on here.

Dranger · Mar 14, 2014

Soldier always takes my answers ((( jonny on the spot!

SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN · Mar 14, 2014

I'll try to lay off for a bit, Dranger. I tend to enjoy reading your posts as they frequently contain the double-shot of reality that is so sadly lacking in this day and age!