Joining the military in pursuit of CRNA

danyoon1019 · Apr 13, 2016

Hi! Im a fellow student prepping for nursing as well and also am interested in the military as a future career as well. Ill be tagging along your post to get some info!

I havent yet spoken to a healthcare recruiter (theyre kinda hard to reach) but from what ive learned so from people on allnurses is that (correct me if im wrong) the air force and the navy are the only branches that take fresh bsn grads while the army requires 2(?) years of experience. Also, people say that the competition to get accepted as military nurses is more competitive than what people expect (no disrespect to the military but people - myself included- tend to think of military medical positions as being less competitive than they really are, thus making like of it) and programs like the navys NCP being even more so so itll be important to keep your GPA up as high as possible.

I also recall reading that you need prior experience to work in the ICU

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Apr 13, 2016

The civilian ICU is the better way to go. Apply to the military once you get accepted to a CRNA program.

The military almost never puts new grads in the ICU. It's going to delay you several years minimum going from med-surg nurse to ICU nurse to CRNA school.

troy14 · Apr 19, 2016

Your best bet is going to try and find a SICU or CVICU job right out of nursing school, get 1-3 years of experience, get into CRNA school.. and then worry about applying to the Navy/Air Force.

As a new grad with no experience (I can only speak for the Air Force) you will be placed OB or Med-Surg, not ICU. I'd say a good year or two as med surg and if you're lucky you can switch to ICU... then you have to worry about getting into CRNA school. You'll save a lot of time if you go directly ICU out of school.

elisabethm · Apr 21, 2016

Hi,

I am currently in the Navy Nurse Corps. If your goal is to become a CRNA as quickly as possible, the military is not the way to go. I entered the Navy as an inexperienced new grad through the NCP. The Navy does NOT place new grads in the ICU. You will do almost 2 years on a med/surg floor before transferring to the ICU.

I have been on the med/surg floor for 1.5 years now and am hoping to transfer to the ICU in the next few months. While a lot of us new nurses (myself included) get frustrated at the process of starting in med/surg and transferring over, I will admit that my experience on my current floor has been invaluable. I have learnt so much about time management and leadership that I simply wouldn't have experienced had I started in the ICU as a civilian. Working on a military med/surg unit is such a unique experience with challenges all its own.

If you are interested in military nursing and becoming a CRNA is more of a long term goal, joining as a new nurse is a great experience, even if you can't start exactly where you want to right away. If becoming a CRNA is your primary goal and the military is more secondary/an added bonus, then, as others have said, the civilian side will better suit your needs.

Also, the Army does accept new grads IF you go through ROTC while you're in college. Like the Navy, I believe that they also have a CRNA program for their more experienced ICU nurses.

deftonez188 · Apr 22, 2016

As the poster above me said, you'll 95% chance end up on Med Surg or Post Partum. You 'may' be allowed to transfer after a certain amount of time, or you may not.

I spent 3 years in Med Surg - but that's also where I gained the majority of my clinical skills, so it isn't all bad.