FY2020 Army Nurse Corps

[ReconMedic]

Hello!

My name is Dustin and I thought it would be a good idea to create a topic for those who are applying for the FY2020 Army Nurse board! A little about me; I am prior service Army enlisted with four years on active duty as a 19D (Cavalry Scout) and four years in the reserve as a 68W (Combat Medic). Recently, in December of last year I graduated with my BSN from a highly reputable school in Texas. In January of this year I started my new job in a Cardiothoracic and Transplant ICU, but in the process of applying to the 66H (Med-Surge Nurse) position with the Army. Per my recruiter, this is essentially the standard for nurses who have less than two years of RN experience and who will attend the Army’s Nurse Residency Program.

I’m hoping that my year of ICU experience and my CCRN certification at the time right before leaving for training will be an advantage to changing over to the Critical Care Nurse AOC (66S) as soon as I can. ? If it wasn’t for my yearning to return to the Army and wear the uniform again, I would just wait until I have over two years of civilian experience and apply to the 66S position. My desire to continue to serve is stronger than my AOC, 200%!

Please, use this to connect with others and share your experience! I look forward in embarking on this journey and hearing from others.

[Nurse_Boo, ASN, BSN, RN]

24 minutes ago, vnj2004 said:

I signed up for June. I’m a school nurse at the moment, and have no long term sub. June was the only date that I could swing and not have to have a sub for a long period of time. It also helps because I will be paid by the army and the school during my absence. It works out for me this way. It only sucks, because it prolongs my time to get promoted. 

Ooooh OK, that makes sense. Are you active or reserve? I am active but was told I'll prob leave in March. I commissioned 12/22. 

[vnj2004, ADN, BSN]

2 hours ago, Nurse_Boo said:

Ooooh OK, that makes sense. Are you active or reserve? I am active but was told I'll prob leave in March. I commissioned 12/22. 

I’m a reservist. I’ve been to drill already for November and December 

[Nurse_Boo, ASN, BSN, RN]

5 minutes ago, vnj2004 said:

I’m a reservist. I’ve been to drill already for November and December 

Gotcha! Wow I didn't know you could drill without finishing all of that stuff first. I'm just so antsy to see my orders so I know what life is going to be like next year. LOL

[vnj2004, ADN, BSN]

11 hours ago, Nurse_Boo said:

Gotcha! Wow I didn't know you could drill without finishing all of that stuff first. I'm just so antsy to see my orders so I know what life is going to be like next year. LOL

Yeah we don’t do anything but classes online really LOL we had the range last month but I couldn’t do anything. But learned some stuff. I’m not prior enlisted either, but by the time I go to dcc I’ll hopefully be ahead of the game! 
And good luck!! My husband has been active for almost 17 years now, so we’ve been many places. Although he’s not medical. We are currently in Germany!

[CC Freakazoid, MSN]

6 hours ago, vnj2004 said:

Yeah we don’t do anything but classes online really LOL we had the range last month but I couldn’t do anything. But learned some stuff. I’m not prior enlisted either, but by the time I go to dcc I’ll hopefully be ahead of the game! 

I was in the same boat, drilling virtually before DCC.....can’t say any of it helped. DCC is like basic education of the Army.  Courtesies, drilling and ceremony, Army history, UCMJ, land navigation etc. It's a condensed version of the basic education that new soldiers receive. Just went in Nov....some things changed but we were told the didactic curriculum stays the same. Bring coffee for Army history?
To be ahead of the game learn:

1. Ranks

2. Read and know DAPsm 670-1

3. Read and know AR 600-25

4. Look up Matt Ward on Youtube and look at his land navigation video over and over

5. Learn basic drilling and ceremony commands (practice about face in the grass....you’ll appreciate that)....and yes there is a difference (and you’ll be expected to know the difference) between stand at ease and at ease.

6. Please learn how to lock your hands at parade rest 

7. Learn.....LEARN the soldiers creed and army song by heart. There is a 10hr continuous loop of the Army song on Youtube.

Yes you are taught plenty of this but it makes your life slightly easier when you already know it. Won’t be the death of you if you don’t know it though. You’ll get a lot of it and more in BOLC

[Nurse_Boo, ASN, BSN, RN]

2 hours ago, CC Freakazoid said:

I was in the same boat, drilling virtually before DCC.....can’t say any of it helped. DCC is like basic education of the Army.  Courtesies, drilling and ceremony, Army history, UCMJ, land navigation etc. It's a condensed version of the basic education that new soldiers receive. Just went in Nov....some things changed but we were told the didactic curriculum stays the same. Bring coffee for Army history?
To be ahead of the game learn:

1. Ranks

2. Read and know DAPsm 670-1

3. Read and know AR 600-25

4. Look up Matt Ward on Youtube and look at his land navigation video over and over

5. Learn basic drilling and ceremony commands (practice about face in the grass....you’ll appreciate that)....and yes there is a difference (and you’ll be expected to know the difference) between stand at ease and at ease.

6. Please learn how to lock your hands at parade rest 

7. Learn.....LEARN the soldiers creed and army song by heart. There is a 10hr continuous loop of the Army song on Youtube.

Yes you are taught plenty of this but it makes your life slightly easier when you already know it. Won’t be the death of you if you don’t know it though. You’ll get a lot of it and more in BOLC

Thank you so much for this! Luckily I spent 4 years in JROTC and 1 year in ROTC in college. Hopefully it will all come back to me. I usually mess up on the enlisted ranks after specialist LOL. But these are good tips! I will look up those regs too....Now to beef up my fitness ?

[ReconMedic, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Update: Got a call last week that I have to get another physical done... apparently my recruiter messed up on one page and forgot to add ONE word, which is causing me to go back and do another full physical. I was selected almost a year ago haha. This is rough.

[BrownBoiRN, BSN, MSN, DNP, APN]

Hello All, 

Prior service Army active duty nurse 66H. I left active duty in 2014 after doing right after completing my BSN. I completed four years on AD and then transferred to the Reserves to attend school. I switched from AD to Reserves without a break in service and have been in the reserves as an instructor for the last 7 years. Completed my MSN as a FNP and DNP along with Post-Master's certification in Acute Care as a AGACNP. I am currently a professor and decided it was time to return to AD. Boarded in February and selected. Currently a CPT and awaiting MAJ boards from Army Reserve side but either way should be going back in as a MAJ as my 6 year CPT will be approaching soon. Now, awaiting reactivation of my scroll and orders. In the meantime, I will be leaving in the next 2-3 weeks to go on AD as a Reservist to run a COVID clinic. A nice way to sit out the wait and await orders to return to AD by going on AD anyway through the Reserves. If you learn nothing else from my post your entire Army career will always be.....awaiting orders. Glad to be returning to AD. Not a fan of civilian life. 

If anyone has any questions about AD or the Reserves feel free to message me. 

[vnj2004, ADN, BSN]

43 minutes ago, BrownBoiRN said:

Hello All, 

Prior service Army active duty nurse 66H. I left active duty in 2014 after doing right after completing my BSN. I completed four years on AD and then transferred to the Reserves to attend school. I switched from AD to Reserves without a break in service and have been in the reserves as an instructor for the last 7 years. Completed my MSN as a FNP and DNP along with Post-Master's certification in Acute Care as a AGACNP. I am currently a professor and decided it was time to return to AD. Boarded in February and selected. Currently a CPT and awaiting MAJ boards from Army Reserve side but either way should be going back in as a MAJ as my 6 year CPT will be approaching soon. Now, awaiting reactivation of my scroll and orders. In the meantime, I will be leaving in the next 2-3 weeks to go on AD as a Reservist to run a COVID clinic. A nice way to sit out the wait and await orders to return to AD by going on AD anyway through the Reserves. If you learn nothing else from my post your entire Army career will always be.....awaiting orders. Glad to be returning to AD. Not a fan of civilian life. 

If anyone has any questions about AD or the Reserves feel free to message me. 

Are you going AD as an FNP? My goal is to do the STRAP program to get my FNP and go AD when I’m done. But I can’t find anyone that is an AD FNP and can tell me how that life is. 

[StudentRN94]

Hi everyone, 

I know this thread is a bit old, but I am currently in my BSN program with an expected graduation date of 5/22. I am also prior service however, I received an OTH for "substance abuse" which is listed on my DD214. I just recently found out about the Army Corps of Nurses and thought it's something I'd be interested in doing. So my question is, does anyone know if this is an option for me? Like is there anything that I can do for example write a letter or something? I already requested to get information from an Army recruiter so I'm just waiting on a response. Any help is greatly appreciated. 

[jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA]

My knowledge is Air Force, but I don't believe the Army accepts new grad nurses.  It changes all the time, but I believe you need 2 years of RN experience.  The Air Force and Navy do accept new grads I believe.

Even if you can apply, I think you might need a medical waiver for substance abuse as a medical condition; those alone are hard to come by.  As far as the discharge condition as a conduct issue, I really have no clue.

Unfortunately, I suspect many recruiters would ignore you even if there is a possibility.  Applying for waivers is extra work for them, and there are generally more applicants than spots (especially for new grads).

You might as well contact Navy and AF recruiters to try.  No one on this site is going to be able to tell you for sure.  My opinion is it's a long shot.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

On 8/14/2021 at 1:41 PM, StudentRN94 said:

Hi everyone, 

I know this thread is a bit old, but I am currently in my BSN program with an expected graduation date of 5/22. I am also prior service however, I received an OTH for "substance abuse" which is listed on my DD214. I just recently found out about the Army Corps of Nurses and thought it's something I'd be interested in doing. So my question is, does anyone know if this is an option for me? Like is there anything that I can do for example write a letter or something? I already requested to get information from an Army recruiter so I'm just waiting on a response. Any help is greatly appreciated. 

I agree with jfratian - very much a long shot. I believe the Army Nurse Corps is overstrength at present except for critical care, which would require you to have two years of high level ICU experience. Also consider the reentry code on your DD214 - that might tell you as well if you are even eligible. Good luck!!