Joining army or air force

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hi. i am a pre nursing student and will be starting the nursing program in spring 2010. i am trying to get help with paying for my education. i was considering joining army rotc or air force and becoming a nurse...then going to grad school to become a neonatal nurse practitioner or neonatal clinical nurse specialist but i still want to stay in school but the school i am at does not have an air force rotc program. i went to a recruiting office but they started talking about enlisting now which i am not trying to do since i want to complete school first. they also said that i would basically be getting over $1000 a month..???... does anyone know what would be the best route for me to take or best thing to do? how long would i have to serve if i tried to get the scholarship? if i did sign up to join would i have to leave school or could i wait to go active or reserve after graduation? basically i dont know how anything works out in the military and any advice or help would be appreciated because i am seriously confused about everything.

Specializes in ICU,CCU, trauma, oc med.
I'm curious about the statement about being dedicated; can you expand on what you mean by this? Dedicated to the army? Dedicated to becoming advanced practice? All the above? Thanks.

You have to complete a package with letters of referral from your chain of command as well as those in charge of nursing, etc. They need to be glowing. You have to have a good GPA (minimum 3.0, above 3.5 better) as well as minimum 900-1000 on the graduate record exam (GRE). For the average person like me, this requires hard work and dedication to studying and military requirements in order to be competitive. As well as this, you also have to get accepted in whatever school you are applying for. For me, I had to get accpeted by Northeastern University out of Boston for their CRNA program since they accredit the Army's, get accepted for an active duty commission, and get accepted by the LTHET (see my prior post) board with the Army. If you want to go to MSN, NP school, then you can apply for the school of your choice as long as you understand the army has a cap on cost and you will have to cover the difference. Also the school has to be NLN or CCNE approved. These slots are very competitive, so you have to do things to put yourself in the upper brackets to ensure a slot. This means also, staying within weight standards and passing the biannual fitness test.

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Specializes in Neuro, Surgical, Trauma and ICU..

are you talking to a healthcare recruiter. It sounds like you are talking to a enlisted recruiter. I did ROTC in high school and college. ROTC students don't go to basic and AIT. They do 2 years then go to officer camp during the summer then finish school. Now you can go into the reserves and go to basic and AIT but I don't think there is a one year internship at an army hospital. I know some of the active army nurses will reply and tell you the "CORRECT" process to get in to the Armynurse corps.

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Specializes in ICU,CCU, trauma, oc med.
are you talking to a healthcare recruiter. It sounds like you are talking to a enlisted recruiter. I did ROTC in high school and college. ROTC students don't go to basic and AIT. They do 2 years then go to officer camp during the summer then finish school. Now you can go into the reserves and go to basic and AIT but I don't think there is a one year internship at an army hospital. I know some of the active army nurses will reply and tell you the "CORRECT" process to get in to the Armynurse corps.

See my post above as I tried to help her too understand the difference between ROTC, OBLC and enlisting in the Army. She has been talking to enlisted recruiters. In order to get into the Army Nurse Corps one needs a BSN for active duty and a minimum of an ASN for reserves. One can go through ROTC for the BSN, go enlisted and get money for the ASN or BSN then get a direct commission into the nurse corps after, or pay for school without military help then go straight for a direct commission into nurse corps after getting BSN. One does not have to enlist first. There are programs for graduate study post BSN in the reserves and active duty and all depend on if you owe the army money or time before hand.

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HELP!!!!!

1st, I posted this in the wrong thread and I'm sorry. 2nd, as you see below, I have some pretty focused questions. Can I get some help from several active duty Air Force Nurses, new active duty Air Force Nurses who just got selected or just graduated from COT????? I need to be armed to help my recruiter give all the help he can.

Do you have a checklist, or know someone who has a checklist that the Air Force Recruiter uses to recruit and then build a nurse application package?

Trying as hard as I can to not seem as though I only care about me, here is what I want from the Air Force (and I am really flexible):

To get commissioned in August and go to COT soon there after (I grad from Uinv of Del in July.)

To optimize the signing bonus.

To optimize the Tuition reimbursement.

To go to Germany, Italy or Guam for my 1st duty station.

If not Germany, Italy, or Guam, where (advice needed)?

To have my mother put into DEERs as my dependant.

To come in as a fully qualified Med-Surg nurse

Please mentor me a little

I am 47, married, no kids, 5 years prior service as Army Medic/LPN, RN, NCLEX certified, senior year BSN @Univ of Delaware, 3.98 cumulative GPA, I have everything in writing/origionals. The only waiver I might need is relative to my age but my recruiter told me 42 is the cutoff and each year of active duty trims a year of age. I am entering as a qualified Clinical Nurse. I need specific guidance from an Air Force Nurse/gonna be an Air Force Nurse/Air Force Recruiter/you know what.

How do I optimize my Sign on bonus and tuition pay back money? Either repeat the info here or refer me to the pertinant info. I need help getting ahead of my recruiter so I can get the very best from him.

My mother is my dependant, any probs there?

What about 1st duty stations? I am qualified/prior service/full time Med/Surg Nurse. I am fluent (speak, read, write) German and conversational in Italian. I don't want to waste my dream sheet selections.

I need the good old mentorship here.

Thanks for the help, Ladyviola :nurse:

Hello. I am a nursing student in Montgomery Al. My wife is an instructor at Maxwell AFB and was an instructor for COT. Are you talking to a recruiter that recruits officers? You can also chat with one on the Air Forces website. If you have any questions about COT I can try to get you answers. I am in the middle of finals right now so it might be a while before I can get any answers.

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