Joining the military with BSN

Specialties Government

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Hi I was wondering if all military nurses that go in with a BSN as an officer are required to deploy. Any information on any branch of the military would be helpful. I have children and a husband and am considering the best option for us. Thank you!

It is VERY competitive.

Your chances of getting in right now are close to 0 unless you are super specialized with a ton of experience.

If you are a new nurse and didn't do ROTC I wouldn't even bother doing the packet. I was a military recruiter and I won't even bother typing all of the steps because it is so unlikely you will get in. The Army took 5, yes 5, new nurses that were not ROTC last year after boards....

That should tell you something.

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It is VERY competitive.

Your chances of getting in right now are close to 0 unless you are super specialized with a ton of experience.

If you are a new nurse and didn't do ROTC I wouldn't even bother doing the packet. I was a military recruiter and I won't even bother typing all of the steps because it is so unlikely you will get in. The Army took 5, yes 5, new nurses that were not ROTC last year after boards....

That should tell you something.

@Dranger, what if you have prior military experience?

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Specializes in EMT, ER, Homehealth, OR.
@Dranger, what if you have prior military experience?

It would help if 2 nurse have equal experience and there is only 1 slot, otherwise not really since they want the best nurse.

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@Dranger, what if you have prior military experience?

It doesn't make a difference for the nursing mission.

Anyone can call up an AMEDD recruiter and ask what the reality of the recruiting situation is. They will start a packet for you but in general until these cut-backs stop it's a waste of time especially if you are not specialized (i.e. CRNA, OR etc). Even ICU and ER are full.

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Interesting. Thanks for the info!

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Specializes in Adult Critical Care.

The Air Force was still taking new grad direct commissions as of last year (I have about half a dozen coworkers who fit this bill). I think the AF is going to be a better shot.

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The Air Force is definitely still taking new grad nurses this year. The current info is 35 med-surg spots, 5 OB spots (same as last year) but this is across the entire country and last year over 300 people applied for those 40 spots...It is extremely competitive, minimum GPA to apply is 3.5, you must have your BSN and license before you actually start training but you can enter a packet if you're in your last year of school. It must be a BSN, you can't be an LPN or have an associates. If you are truly interested, find a healthcare recruiter for one of the branches and ask your questions. It is a very long process, but the core requirements that will take time to finish include a background check, mountains of paperwork about you/family, where you've lived, your past jobs, your education, everything, then 3-5 letters of recommendation, a CV (resume), questionnaire (9 short-answer questions to give the board insight), Chief Nurse interview, more paperwork, MEPS (physical exam that takes around 4 hours), then hurry up and wait for results. The board meets once a year currently for new grads. They meet in July this year and will likely release results in August. So gear up for a long process with no guarantees if you decide to commit. Hope this helps

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

This is why my one daughter is in ROTC as a nursing student. They told her that spots in any branch are hard to come by if you go in after graduation. It is hard work for her, but she is doing great. My other daughter started out ROTC, but it overloaded her schedule and she dropped out, she is not a nursing student but a wildlife conservation person who wants to work in the park system. She will join after graduation and most likely be a dog handler in securities. Both know they can be deployed at anytime once they are done with training.

Good luck, make sure to not sign anything until you read all the fine print and get everything in writing. The one daughter had a horrible recruited and ended up going to her Major, who had to straighten out a lot of things for her.

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Specializes in ninja nursing.

If you really want it, you'll work for it. I'm switching to the OR and losing weight and getting into military standards so I can get in. If you are joining for the pension or benefits, you can always get a civil service GS job and work on base as a civilian. You can find those jobs at usajobs.gov This will give you more control over where you want to live, etc.

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