In Need of Clarification and Guidance Please!!!

[HopefullApp]

Hello, I'm currently an ADN nursing student and I have been thinking about possibly joining the Air Force as a nurse. I'm aware I will need a bachelor's degree in order to enter as an officer, but I'm very unclear about the steps needed to enter. I have a few questions about the process.

1. Is the NTP something you apply for or is it something that all nurses entering the military automatically do?

2. If I want to join as a med/surg nurse, do I have to have a years experience or can I join right after obtaining my bachelors?

3. Do you have to have a high GPA in order to join the Air Force as a nurse and if so, are all grades counted towards the GPA or only the ones related towards your nursing degree?

4. Once you're in the Air Force, is it easy to further your education such as obtaining a MBA/MSN degree?

5. I currently work at a VA hospital (not as an rn), so will my time there have any determination as far as rank goes in the Air Force?

Any answers to these questions or other information you can provide will be greatly appreciated. TIA!

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

I can only speak for the Army, but my entire BSN GPA was looked at, and yes, it had to be 3.5 or above. Your non-RN time at the VA (or anywhere, for that matter) does not count toward rank at all.

Hopefully @jfratian can answer some of these.

[jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA]

Go to the Air Force website. Use the 'find a recruiter' tool. Make sure you choose 'healthcare student or professional.' They probably won't be interested in you until you are in the last 6 months of your BSN program.

Because you're not doing ROTC, you should be looking into 'direct accession' commissioning options. For the Air Force, NTP (nurse transition program) is a 3 month training program for new grad nurses. You won't be doing that because you will presumably have at least 1 year of experience (which is the minimum for non-new grads_ by the time you earn the BSN and are eligible to apply.

Instead, you'll be looking for fully-qualified (FQ) slots. Experience in a high need specialty would be a plus. The current highest needs for the Air Force in order are ICU, ER, and then OR.

I earned my MSN (nursing leadership/administration) while on active duty using tuition assistance (essentially $250/credit hour of free money). It can certainly be done. There are also competitive programs (called AFIT: Air Force Institute of Technology) that will send you back to school full time after you have been in a few years.

Your VA time won't count towards your rank. It might count towards years of federal service but I'm not really sure about that. I've never heard of someone going from VA to active duty. Usually it's the other way around.