Army Reserve Nursing

Specialties Government

Published

I received approval for my commissioning into the United States Army Reserve as a Critical Care Nurse. I have to sign my contract and take the oath. For current army reserve nurse officers, Is there anything you wish you would have put in your contract but didn't realize until it was too late? Special pay and loan repayment are in there but are their specifics that need to be made clear within those? Thanks a lot everyone!

Specializes in CCRN.

I joined as an 02 but all of my 3.5 years of nursing has been BSN.

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O1 with 5.5 years experience & BSN acquired May 2017. The rest of the time with ADN.

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Just commissioned as well and received O-2 with 3.5 years of military experience given. I've been a nurse for 11 years. 3 years ER (Level 1 Trauma Center), 1.5 years Trauma/Neuro/Medical ICU's (Level 1 Trauma Center), and 6.5 years Rotor Wing Flight nurse/medic for a trauma center. I only got my BSN in December of 2016 but my packet was submitted and came back with 3.5 years of military experience given with O-2 rank. What I have learned so far it is very dependent on your CV and what years they want to take into account. Good Luck everyone on your board reviews and commissioning.

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I've been a nurse for 8 years. ADN for 3 years. 5 years with a BSN. I think I got three and a half years constructive credit. I've been working on a cardiac step down unit almost four years. I commissed as an O-2.

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Specializes in CCRN.

Do you know about how long it takes to start drilling after you take the oath?

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It all depends on your orders, your unit's drill schedule. For me I took the oath in may, signed my contract in June and my first drill is November.

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Hello all! Hopefully this message will reach a few people in here! I am debating on joining the Nursing Corps, but I wanted to hear from those who have been through the process before I talked with a recruiter. I wanted to know the pros and cons as well as why I would want to choose reserves over active duty. Thanks for your input ?

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Specializes in Cardiology.
On 5/15/2019 at 12:17 PM, skylara19 said:

Hello all! Hopefully this message will reach a few people in here! I am debating on joining the Nursing Corps, but I wanted to hear from those who have been through the process before I talked with a recruiter. I wanted to know the pros and cons as well as why I would want to choose reserves over active duty. Thanks for your input ?

I was prior enlisted so I can help with alittle. Active duty means your full time job is the military. Reserves is the one weekend a month/2 weeks a year while holding a civilian job. You dont have to move if you dont want to with the reserves.

The biggest thing you need to be aware of is that you need to speak with a healthcare recruiter, not your typical enlisted recruiter. Nurses are officers in the military and therefore they do not go through the same process as enlisted personnel. There are some shady recruiters out there that only care about numbers.

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On 10/20/2018 at 5:30 PM, jfratian said:

The main thing to look for is your experience credit. Your DOR (date of rank) should be back-dated to reflect constructive credit (i.e. 50% of your full time RN experience).

Hi. I was in the Army Reserves and resigned my commission as a 1Lt 14 years ago (2005 to be exact). Now, i am in the process of going back in with 16 years nursing experience in OR & ER. Got selected as Capt. Usually takes a minimum of 4 years from Capt to major (correct me if I'm wrong). Should they be giving me some constructive credit (years of experience) towards Major? Whats your take?

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
On 5/20/2019 at 4:30 PM, RobdRN said:

Hi. I was in the Army Reserves and resigned my commission as a 1Lt 14 years ago (2005 to be exact). Now, i am in the process of going back in with 16 years nursing experience in OR & ER. Got selected as Capt. Usually takes a minimum of 4 years from Capt to major (correct me if I'm wrong). Should they be giving me some constructive credit (years of experience) towards Major? Whats your take?

I haven't actually been in the army, but everything I've read (not for AMEDD) is that it's generally six years from 0-3 to O-4 "in-the-zone." Of course you could be below or above as well. Keep me abreast of your experience!

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