To those of you with quick answer to my dilemma, I will ask my question first and provide details afterwards.
My question is:
If I receive a General Discharge (Less-Than-Honorable Discharge) from the National Guard due to not meeting the Height/Weight Requirements (being overweight) and nothing else, how negatively will that discharge hurt my chances of finding employment as an RN once I graduate in one month and pass my NCLEX?
The situation:
I am a member of my state's National Guard, assigned to a unit (which I will not disclose for security reasons), and am also a graduating Senior under my college's BSN program, and will have my BSN by May, and plan to take and pass the NCLEX within one month of my graduation. Unfortunately, due to my poor judgment and planning, I have failed to meet the Army's standards for Height and Weight, by being too overweight, for a period of time that has required punitive action against me, should I fail to meet standards again in the coming week's monthly Drill. At worst, I am facing a General Discharge (one step below Honorable Discharge), and owing a certain amount of money to the government, as my contract dictates. The latter punishment is inconsequential to the question at hand.
My contacts in the military state that under no circumstance do I want this. They behave as if this will render me completely incapable of finding a job, which, obviously, has me terrified.
My contacts in nursing state that they don't think it will hurt my chances very much, if at all, and this has me confused. Granted, these contacts have no say in hiring, and are generally from staff at my practicum and my instructors, so while I value their opinion, I doubt the legitimacy regarding this matter.
BACKGROUND:
I am male.
I have been in the National Guard for 11 years.
My rank is Sergeant, pay-grade E-5.
I have served one deployment to Iraq, and received an Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM) as a result of my service there.
I have no other disciplinary actions against me regarding my military service, and have otherwise had a successful and favorable career in the National Guard.
I expect to graduate my College's BSN program in May, with a GPA of 3.0.
I have been on the Dean's List 3 times, and I expect to make the Dean's List this semester.
As mentioned, I expect to take the NCLEX within a month of graduation and pass it on the first try.
POINTS I FEEL I SHOULD MAKE:
Above all else, the most beneficial course of action, which I am currently undertaking, is to meet, maintain, and hopefully surpass the Army's Standard. My question concerns the unfortunate possibility that I do not meet Standards by the end of this week.
I am, under no circumstances, questioning the legitimacy of the Army's Standards. My situation is a result of the actions, and inactions, I have taken over the course of the last 12 months, and I take full responsibility for the position I find myself in my military career.
Criticisms and derision of my failure to meet the Army standards, though I may deserve them, donot answer my question. Similarly, praise for my service and reassurance of my situation, though they are greatly appreciated, again do not answer my question. The most important thing to me, at this moment, is INFORMATION.
I am aware that my situation is HEAVILY dependent upon individual HR staff at hiring policies spread across thousands of hospitals across my state alone. With this in mind, I do not expect to find one answer that will satisfy my curiosity, instead, I wish to take the experiences, information, and advice from nurses and those who are in charge of hiring and training them, and consolidating them to a general understanding of the situation I may find myself in.
This question is asked under the assumption that, all things considered, upon a background check of my military history while reviewing my resume, the General Discharge is discovered.
If my resume awards an interview, the question also works under the assumption that the interviewer feels it noteworthy to ask why I received a General Discharge, and not an Honorable Discharge.
I realize that this is a lot of information to process, but regardless of your replies, I greatly thank and appreciate any and all information you are able to provide me.
