Navy Hospital Corpsman to RN?

Nurses General Nursing

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I am a Hospital Corpsman who has served in the military for about 2.5 years. Because of my location and 10 hour days, i cant quite make it to classes on any basis.

I have almost no idea where to start to aqcuire an RN license. The RN world alone is new to me but i have seen the responsibilities an RN can carry.

Questions:

Is there an online program that caters to acquiring a ADN? I have looked through several posts and cannot find a solid answer.

As a Hospital Corpsman we can obtain a Medical Assistant or challenge the LVN board to become that. Are any of these worthwhile to getting closer to becoming an RN.

Right now my plan is to just take online courses to try and knock out the bulk of the prerequisites to become an RN so when i am a civilian i wont be at square one. I googled nursing degrees and could not find the core classes required to become an RN. Where is this information readily available?

I go to the university of phoenix and my counselor is no help to me.

I appreciate any help

Thank you.

Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

oops! didn't see that part you posted about california. i just happen to have a boatload of stuff about nursing schools in california since i happen to live here. lucky you! the community college tuition is only $20 a credit hour at the moment and a typical class is about 3 or 4 credit hours a semester ($60-$80 a class) which is a real bargain! many of the community colleges have lvn to rn bridge program and i'm hearing that a lot of them are going to a lottery system rather than sticking with a waiting list for entrance into their nursing programs.

here's some websites you need to check out that are specific for people who want to be nurses in california:

http://www.nurse.ca.gov/ - california nurse outreach. the governors nurse education initiative home page. information here on how to become a nurse.

http://www.choosenursing.com/paying/calfinaid.html - financial aid available for nursing students in california

http://www.rn.ca.gov/schools/rnprgms.htm - list of rn programs in california from the california board of nursing

http://www.bvnpt.ca.gov/vnschl.htm - list of lvn programs in california from the california board of vocational nursing and psychiatric technicians

lucky you! california board of vocational nursing and psychiatric technicians has a special protocol for military corpsmen who seek lvn licensing (that's the equivalent of an lpn license). here is a link to the information: http://www.bvnpt.ca.gov/pdf/method4.pdf. check out page #3 and #6 of this document where it tells you specifically what to do if you are a military applicant (that would be you). good luck! california has many fine schools of nursing. i've worked in other states and got my bsn in another state although i did my basic rn nursing course here in california. california is often on the cutting edge of what is going on in healthcare.

Excelsior is an option, and taking the tests is a lot simpler than going to classes, but the CPNE exam is very stressfull and costs around 1700$. Even some LVN/LPN's have failed it. Good luck.

Denise

Specializes in SICU.

Funny about California and Excelsior. I'm from back in the old days when it was still Regents College, and I did my CPNE IN California!! (Yes, SUPER stressful, too... I was one of four that passed, out of the fifteen that were there. PHEW!)

California certainly didn't mind my Regents College credentials when I traveled out there either... hypocrites.

Each school has different pre-requisite requirements - which makes it hard to know what to take. You almost have to know what school you're going to, to know what pre-reqs you need. And even then, you may not get in - many nursing schools now have long waiting lists, and are very competitive to get in. Make sure you get the highest grades possible to increase your chances.

Anyway, I don't know about the pre-reqs for an ADN - I only know the pre-reqs for a BSN - these include classes like Biology, Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology, Psychology, Sociology, Lifespan Development, and sometimes Chemisty, Nutrition, Statistics, and Algebra. Again, each school is different and wants different classes. I would start looking at schools online and read what their requirements are. Maybe even meet with an academic counselor to help you map out your classes.

Becoming a medical assistant is nice to be introduced into a clinical setting, but it doesn't help you with getting into nursing school or becoming a nurse. To become a nurse you have to graduate from an accredited program and then pass the NCLEX exam (state board).

One option might be to become an LPN (usually a year in school), start working, and then take the remaining classes to get your ADN or BSN. With your ADN or BSN, then you can take the NCLEX exam and become an RN.

Good luck.

By the way - what's a Hospital Corpsman?

You know those young men and women who are out there in Afghanistan and Iraq that are fighting in combat situations everyday? They have on their teams and in their units these folks they call "Doc" known as 68W for the Army, Med Techs For the Air Force, and Corpsman for the Navy and Marine Corps. They are depended upon by our soldiers the save their lives in extremely harsh conditions; ie firefights, road side bombings etc. The also work along side doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners in the field environment, the hospital setting, as well as outer laying clinics. Some are even trained to head up a patient hold area in the forward hospital unit in combat zones when lpns aren't available. Their training stems from basic anatomy to minor field surgery. I myself am what the army call a health care specialist or combat medic. We even get training such as EMT, ACLS, and PALS. SOme of us perform jobs such as Flight medic also. We are a versitlie job skill and we never get credit for what we do in the civilian world. I hope to become a nurse practitioner one day and in the mean time would like to know why these skills haven't been re-evaluated. Take a look on line or the next time you go to a military instillation ask speak to an enlisted medical person. I am stationed in Texas and in the clinic wear I work, I am holding the administrative position an RN would normally hold. We do have a nursing shortage, I bet some of Military Corpsmen/Medics could help!!:redbeathe:nurse::heartbeat:nurse::yeah:

i am a prior naval corpsman and now a ma instructor can i challenge the lpn exam here in virginia im trying advance my educational level and resume

For all those corpsman that want to be RN's check this out. The Govenor of Ga. Sonny Perdue has signed a bill to allow Excelsior students to challenge the Georgia RN board exam. The stipulation is that after you pass your boards you have to do 700 hours of preceptorship at a Georgia hospital under an RN. 40 hours a week will take you 17.5 weeks or 4 months to complete. This is the ticket if you are a corpsman that really wants to be a nurse. I've spoken with Excelsior and the program is very do-able. I'm looking to get a group of corpsman that want to tackle this task together. I live in Atlanta and have contacts at Grady and Emory where we can go practice for the weekend clinical if you're in the ATL.

Once you are an RN in Ga. you can petition any other state for a license.

Campbuccadoc, can you share the details of this?? I'm from GA originally and still have family there and will move back in a hearbeat if this is good to go . . . I was also enrolled at Excelsior last year (unbelievable the amount of crap some people give us for not going through "clinicals").

Thanks!

-Finger

Specializes in ED, Flight.

To all you corpsmen/medics - THANK YOU for your service to a civil society! :yeah:

I'm a former army medic (Israel) and a pretty happy nurse. I just want to suggest a consideration of 'mentality'. If you are an Independent Duty practitioner, you are used to a lot of autonomy and responsibility. Nursing is a great profession; but most nursing jobs won't require/allow anywhere near as much autonomy and application of advanced skills as what you do now. Flight nursing/Critical Care Transport is an exception.

Nurse Practitioner seems an eventually good goal for many of us. It does take time to get there, especially if you are starting out as an LPN. What about a PA program? The pay is pretty good, and there is a lot of autonomy, the programs aren't very long, and they prefer or require previous clinical experience. Some PA programs used to be available at the BSc level. I don't know about now. I don't know what other options may be available, but I thought I'd stir the pot a little. Military medics think outside the box. :smokin:

By the way, it is worth asking around to find out which online programs are military friendly. When I did a degree through Touro, many of my classmates were active duty military personnel. It was evident that the school had a policy to give them consideration for some of the extra difficulties they had to meet deadlines, participate in the required online forums, etc. I think it is worthwhile for you all to try and work with people that appreciate what you do, where you are, and give you a break when they can. My online degree is what made it possible to go to university as a 'second degree' student and do an accelerated BSN/RN in 16 months.

God bless you all and keep you safe! :up:

HM2fingers,

If you want to become a nurse Excelsior College is the way to go especially if you live in Georgia. The state nursing license board will accept EC credits and their nursing curriculum. Once you pass the state boards in Ga. you will be given a temporary Rn license to practice. Once you complete 700 hrs of additional clinical training called preceptorship you are then given a permanent RN license. This is a good deal and I have verified all the information with EC and Ga. nursing board. I've got two corpsman and and an Air Force medic doing the program with me. I hope this helps.

it might be a little off topic but i wonder....

if an army medic (68w) can challenge LVN board and become a LVN, why do some people do army health care specialist/LVN/LPV (68wm6) which takes a year longer in training?

by the way, if i'm only a reserve medic, not active duty medic, can i still challenge the board?

I don't know the real answer, but I think it would depend on the state in which you reside; if some of the professionals on this site could lend I would appreciate it.

Kellita, the main reason is that when you graduate from WM6 school you ARE an LPN. (and when did it change from 91 to 68?? Hmm. I used to precept 91C's before they became WM6s. Fun times!)

Anyway, the idea there is that as a Bravo, you are an EMT (essentially) and after a year of experience you can challenge an LPN (state dependent). But again, as a Whiskey Mike, you're already in an accredited LPN program and can then get your license. Both choices, of course, are far faster than the traditional 2 yrs for an LPN.

By the way, if anyone thinks that is a good idea (2 years of school for an LPN) . . .you're insane.

Two years in an ADN program gets you an RN, folks! Real Nurse instead of Let's Pretend Nurse! :yeah:

At any rate, good luck to all out there. I never followed through with the GA/Excelsior thing since I moved to CA, and NO ONE in this state will hire an Excelsior nurse. Call ahead if you don't believe me. In the meantime, if anyone wants to get a quick license in Phlebotomy, EKG, MA . . .go talk to the fine folks at the National Healthcareer Association.

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