Nursing in the military

Grace Oz · Feb 3, 2005

Just so we're clear on the last post, all officers regardless of entry method are commissioned. Non Commissioned Officers are those in enlisted ranks with a rank of Corporal or higher.

And the point of this post is???.......

If you read my post, it's crystal clear I would have thought! :rolleyes:

DrBlaze · Feb 3, 2005

And the point of this post is???.......
If you read my post, it's crystal clear I would have thought!

Apologies Grace. The way I read it, I thought you mean only ADFA graduates were commissioned officers and direct entry officers weren't.

Grace Oz · Feb 4, 2005

Apologies Grace. The way I read it, I thought you mean only ADFA graduates were commissioned officers and direct entry officers weren't.

Nope, that wasn't what I meant. Apology accepted. Glad you were able to have clarification. Have a good day.:)

pmchap · Feb 4, 2005

Heck I was gonna add my two bob - but you have all said a fair bit. I dare say that the forces wouldn't have medics if they could find and justify paying enough nurses to perform the task of initial contact and retrieval. (For that matter lets get rid of all EN's and hire only RN's in public hospitals)......

I don't know whether the sacrasm was obvious or not - but it is there....

There are roles for each type of nurse/medic/doc these are defined by roles/regs/legislation...

I would know more info - but my BMI has a habit of making sure that I dont apply for the services....(I am larger than the forces like for those who missed what BMI is :chuckle )

tedd · Feb 4, 2005

TEDD, NO DISRESPECT BUT; THIS IS NOT CORRECT. Army, Navy or Air force DO NOT use agency staff. Personnel are either commissioned officers, (RN's who have trained in civilian universities prior to joining the defence force). Or, military trained medics, who BTW, DO get civilian hospital based training as well as within the military environment. As for phasing out RN's...... NO way! They legally could NOT operate their health facilities without fully trained, fully accredited nursing personnel, aka, RN's.
Regards,
Grace

well, I don't know your sources but I can back up my statement in that I have worked in several army base hospitals as an agency nurse on many occassions (you must have training appropriate to the particular location obviously). I also trained with some girls who were doing their degree courtesy of the air force (in that they were employed as members, had their degree paid for then went on to work in the airforce to serve their time as qualified RN's after doing 2 years in a civilian hospital post graduation) and it is through them that I was informed that the role of an RN in the military was becoming obsolite, this I may have misunderstood? As for medics, who is to say that their training is not of a high enough quality to serve in the field? it is simply role specific, they are trained for a particular role and while they may not have the training of an RN they would most certainly be qualified and competant in their field. You may be suprised to learn that a medic may be able to perform procedures that an RN can not?? and visa versa? I do not claim to be an expert in the area but from talking to and working with medics myself, this is how I understand it to be.

Bolts · May 2, 2005

Hey Guy's,

reading the thread, Very interesting. I have been a Patrol/Combat Medic since 1996, I upgraded to a Basic Medical Assistant in 2003 and I am soon to go onto my Advanced Medical Assistants course.

Firstly a Combat First Aider is a role in the Army to bridge the gap between the Medical Assistants. They can proform some invasive proceedures,canulation and running fluids, but not many. They are ussually the first person on scene if a Medic is not available.

Medics are the real first responder that can provide two thing on the "battle field" Inital tx and dx before evacuation to a facility where difinitive care can be given(insert DR and Nurses)

At the end of the day a lot of hairs get split about medic's v nurses ect but when it comes down to it we all have our own job descriptions and titles and very little crosses over. And as for using agency staff, I am working at a Military Health Facility now and just like most of the others they do use agency staffing for some jobs.

Cheers:rolleyes:

bloviate · May 2, 2005

I have a collegue who is interested in going in to the military as a registered nurse. He doesn't have a computer and I have been unable to find much information that he wants, he just wants to know a bit about the basic training, how long, what sort of physical training is required that sort of thing. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

US or foreign?