How Do I Become a Military Nurse?

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I am currently in nursing school and I have about 3-4 semesters left. Once I graduate I will have my RN BSN. I have always had an interest in being a travel nurse and/or a nurse in the military. I have done my research, but I have no talked to anyone with experience. I'm also not sure who to talk to or how to go about this. I'm not in this for the money, so that isn't really what I'm asking. I guess you could say that I'm trying to find my place! I would love anyones advice or input.

I also have a few questions:

1. Is there an age requirement? I am currently 23.

2. Are the physical requirements doable for an ex-athlete?

3. Are there grade (GPA) requirements? Is it still possible if my GPA isn't what it needs to be?

Please help! Thank you all for your input!

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1. Your age is fine. You're nowhere near the upper limit.

2. The physical requirements are doable, period. If you're in any way athletic, you should be fine. The standards for each service are all online.

3. As you're almost through your program, you will likely need to come in after obtaining a few years of experience on the civilian side as most branches of the military are taking either very limited numbers of new grads or none at all. As far as GPA, I honestly have no idea if that is even considered in the direct accession process. It wasn't back when I came in, but times have changed.

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The age is between 18 and 34 I believe.

If you are an ex athlete you should be good. You will take a physical to determine if you're eligible are not.

I believe the GPA is 3.0

The air force and navy have RNs not sure about the army.

What I said might be wrong so contact a recruiter to be sure. It is a process so it's best to contact them ahead of time to see the steps you need to take.

Good luck. I'm trying to do the same. I'm calling a recruiter tomorrow I will let you know what he says.

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The air force and navy have RNs not sure about the army.

Well, my username should be a strong hint...

OP, the only branch that doesn't have a medical corps is the Marines. They use Navy personnel (corpsmen, nurses, etc) for all of their medical needs.

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Specializes in Adult Critical Care.

The baseline physical requirements are fairly easy, even for a 23 year old. If you can run 2 miles in under 16 min, mid-30s pushups in a min, and mid 40s sit-ups in a minute...you would pass any basic military PT test. Each branch is a little different, but that's pretty close.

The Air Force and Navy still take small numbers of direct commission new grads. You have to start applying at least a year from graduation though. If you miss that cut, you'll have to get a couple years of experience first.

There is a minimum GPA requirement, but it's constantly changing. When I was applying there was a minimum of 3.0; you had to have a 3.5 to be competitive. Find a healthcare recruiter and ask the question.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

An article with links to recruiter info, etc.: https://allnurses.com/government-military-nursing/military-nursing-885815.html

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Well, my username should be a strong hint...

OP, the only branch that doesn't have a medical corps is the Marines. They use Navy personnel (corpsmen, nurses, etc) for all of their medical needs.

Didn't see it until after my post. Thanks for clarifying wasn't sure.

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