Is military nursing honestly better or worse than civilian?

Published

As I anticipate being accepted into a 2nd degree BSN program, my goal was to go into the military and work as a nurse then onto a specialty, preferably anesthesia, if not then NP. I currently work in pharm. sales, and unfortunately most of the nurses I come in contact with in my job tell me not to go into nursing, that it is depressing, and you get overworked. It is a shame because I hear this alot, many of my co-workers were nurses before and said they would never do it again. AM I making a mistake of going into nursing? Again, I am looking to go military, not civilian. Is there much of a difference in work environment, is there back-stabbing, cut throat attitudes as I here are in civilain, and what are the major differences pros, cons?? And for anyone in military as a nurse now, would you be a civilian nurse if you had to??

Up Vote Up Vote ×

DINO:

I hope that you get a lot of replies to your question. Have you searched the pages here at allnurses?? I'm not in the military.. but from what I have read over and over again most military nurses love what they do.. I have heard that they are much more clinically advanced than their civilian counterparts. That the equipment is much more advanced.

That your relationships with fellow soilders etc.. is second to none. I don't know first hand, but this is what I have found from research here and other places. Good luck to you... GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!!!!!!!:w00t::caduceus::nurse::[anb]:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Dino,

I appreciate your post, as I am not only new to this site, but in a similar career situation, about to make my switch to finish a BSN. (from a med sales background) I, too, am interested in anesthesia or NP. I am also interested in any other responses you get on this, as I am unsure of which direction to take, myself. Glad to know there are others like me out there!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in L&D, mother/baby, antepartum.
As I anticipate being accepted into a 2nd degree BSN program, my goal was to go into the military and work as a nurse then onto a specialty, preferably anesthesia, if not then NP. I currently work in pharm. sales, and unfortunately most of the nurses I come in contact with in my job tell me not to go into nursing, that it is depressing, and you get overworked. It is a shame because I hear this alot, many of my co-workers were nurses before and said they would never do it again. AM I making a mistake of going into nursing? Again, I am looking to go military, not civilian. Is there much of a difference in work environment, is there back-stabbing, cut throat attitudes as I here are in civilain, and what are the major differences pros, cons?? And for anyone in military as a nurse now, would you be a civilian nurse if you had to??

Hi Dino,

I'm an AF hopeful so I can't speak to the work environment in the military....yet. Something you said struck me though and I just wanted to address it. You said that many current and previous nurses that you know have discouraged you from entering the field. I too am a second career nurse (and there are lots of us out there) and I have to say, it's the best move I could have made. I love what I do. It's hard work but very gratifying. I think the fact that it's a second career for some of us works to our advantage. Going from a job I disliked to one that I love makes me really appreciate what I do. Don't let people discourage you!

There are plenty of AD nurses who frequent this site so I hope that one of them can help you re: military nursing. I will tell you that not all civilian nursing environments are hostile. I really love where I work and we have a great team of nurses. There are some things I wish I could change: impossible pt loads, constant nurse call-ins, not having the resources I need to do my job. I hope these are things I will encounter less frequently in the AF.

Good luck with your return to school. Nursing school isn't fun, but it was well worth in my opinion!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Medical-oncology.

Dino...

I'm a new army nurse and I've been working at Tripler Army medical center in Hawaii for almost 4 months now...I'm on a 24bed medical-oncology unit and I am liking it a lot so far, since I've been here our nurse/pt ration is 4:1 or better...which is something that is hard to find in the civilian side of things...the educational opportunities are not hard to find, and generally speaking the teamwork is top notch... there are of course units with issues here and there and there will always be moments when co-workers get grumpy and hard to work with but you'll find that in any job anywhere....I don't think that you are making a mistake by going into nursing as long as you have the passion for taking care of people...As for Military nursing, taking care of our soldiers, their families, and this nations veterans is very rewarding. Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, Trauma, US Navy.

I'm going to use your post to answer the questions you asked one at a time. The answers I give are based off of 10+ years as a Navy Nurse, some answers you may not like, some you will, but I answer truthfully. Do a search for specific questions and you'll fins some more depth regarding you questions, here goes....

As I anticipate being accepted into a 2nd degree BSN program, my goal was to go into the military and work as a nurse then onto a specialty, preferably anesthesia, if not then NP. Anesthesia is a good gig in the Navy only about 150 or so at any given time, so you will be busy. The CRNAs tend to get deployed more often because there are so few of them, so be careful what you wish for. The Navy is till behind the power curve regarding NPs, we use them, but not as much as we should. Opportunities for NPs are getting better. The Navy has a great education program called DUINS, I just finished do a search for it on here and you'll find a bunch of posts. I currently work in pharm. sales, and unfortunately most of the nurses I come in contact with in my job tell me not to go into nursing, that it is depressing, and you get overworked. You need to consider the age of the nurse you're talking to and how long they have been at a facility when you hear comments like this. Nursing is not for the faint of heart and you should truly decide in your head why you want to make the switch. Get that straight first and you'll never be disappointed. It is a shame because I hear this alot, many of my co-workers were nurses before and said they would never do it again. AM I making a mistake of going into nursing? See above. Again, I am looking to go military, not civilian. Is there much of a difference in work environment, is there back-stabbing genberally no, but there will always be one bad apple somewhere that you come across, cut throat attitudes as I here are in civilain it's not really possible to be cut throat, the rank structure normally keeps any of this in check, and what are the major differences pros, cons?? I could go on and on about this one. Here's an example per se: I got out of the Navy in 2002 because we (wife and I) thought we were done with the Navy and the moving around (we were young and stupid). I was out 82 days and decided to come back in, spent the next 9 months doing it. When I came back to active duty my wife joined too, best decision of our lives. And for anyone in military as a nurse now, would you be a civilian nurse if you had to??
I couldn't do what I do in the civilian sector and they couldn't pay me enough to work the hours I work and get paid what I do. If you want more specifics, give me a call: 304-433-1580 (0830-1530), happy to talk about it and no I'm not a recruiter, just your run of the mill happy Navy nurse.

LCDR Dan

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi Dino,

I just graduated from a 2nd degree BSN program in September, and I will be leaving for COT for the AF in May. While nursing school was extremely tough, and nursing itself is stressful, it was definitely the right decision, b/c you can do so much with your degree. While I can see how nurses get burned out, if it ever comes to the point where you're so tired of standing on your feet for 12 hours (which by the way, you do get used to and not realize it :) ), there are always other avenues. Pharmaceutical companies hire nurses all of the time. I've been around nurse anesthetists, and while they probably busted their ass in school, it's a more cushy job than med-surge. I've seen anesthetists doing cross word puzzles and setting up doctor's appt.'s, while in the OR. I just look at them and think "Wow, and you make $150,000/yr".

I chose the military for probably the same reason you are. To simply help soldiers. They need our help. And I fully expect it to be more like family than where I work now....the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Anesthesia.

I've been around nurse anesthetists, and while they probably busted their ass in school, it's a more cushy job than med-surge. I've seen anesthetists doing cross word puzzles and setting up doctor's appt.'s, while in the OR. I just look at them and think "Wow, and you make $150,000/yr".

Just a comment on nurse anesthetists: It has one of the highest burn out rates, drug addiction rates, and suicide rates of all the nursing professions (definitively more than med-surg) so although a lot of the job is routine the stress is still there.

Nurse anesthesia school is a B.... and the military puts its own sadistic touch on it. I have taken 18+ graduate credit hrs (full time is 9hrs for graduate school) for the last two semesters plus working on my research project.

By the way I haven't been stationed at Travis AFB. The only thing I have heard about it is the ICU nurse manager there is something else, and quite a few nurses have decided to get out rather than do a full tour there.

Good Luck! I think you will enjoy AF nursing.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion