Male Army Nurse?

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Hey all!

This forum has been wealth of information for me researching a possible career in the Army as a nurse. I have my BSN, 7 years of critical care experience, and i also have my CCRN. I have been somewhat discouraged when reading about how there is not a big need for Army nurses at this time. I have read a few threads somewhere along the way (not sure if it was this site or not) which indicated that being a male nurse may give me somewhat of an advantage in the selection process. Does anyone know if this rings true? I'm sure being male isn't a true qualifying factor, but i know in the military (as well as civilian) world we are a minority. (not as much in the military from what i've read, but still definitely more females).

Also i'm 34y.o., healthy, single, and no kids. Before i contact a recruiter will my age be a factor in them not considering me for enlistment? I know the Army's upper age limit is 42, but does anyone know if they prefer younger recruits? Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

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Welcome to the forums.

Its not that the Army doesn't 'need' nurses its just that the supply demand has shifted from actively needing to recruit to sifting through and picking qualified applicants.

With CCRN and experience and healthy etc you sound like a good applicant. This is a good time to gradually inform yourself of requirements, options, etc and I'd recommend beginning the process around or no later then end of May in order to have packet ready by OCT board (selection now is 1 / year...).

Personally I'd recommend you look at dually applying to nurse corp and CRNA school via Army.. if you get accepted to both you essentially go to school at Army's CRNA program (#1 program rated) and upon graduation cont' service as a CRNA nurse...

Otherwise you can just apply and select to be a critical care nurse based on your experience.. I'd guess you enter as a 1LT and no being male really won't help... even if it did... it wouldn't change the approach to becoming an army nurse.

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Hello bigdaddyCCRN,

While it's true that there are still more female nurses than male nurses in the Army, it's also true that the ratio between males and females is a bit more equal. I've been pleasantly shocked at how many male nurses there are around here (I'm currently in Basic Officer Leader Course at Fort Sam). I'm going to Walter Reed for my first duty station and there are three female nurses (including myself) and three males going, which is a pretty good ratio for us nurses. You might find that you get a bit more respect in the Army as opposed to the civilian side because there are indeed more male nurses around and nurses are heavily utilized by the Army, making us a bit more visible. I'm just under two months old as an Army nurse, but I'm loving it and excited to begin my career. Feel free to PM me if you have questions. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do!

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Hello bigdaddyCCRN,

While it's true that there are still more female nurses than male nurses in the Army, it's also true that the ratio between males and females is a bit more equal. I've been pleasantly shocked at how many male nurses there are around here (I'm currently in Basic Officer Leader Course at Fort Sam). I'm going to Walter Reed for my first duty station and there are three female nurses (including myself) and three males going, which is a pretty good ratio for us nurses. You might find that you get a bit more respect in the Army as opposed to the civilian side because there are indeed more male nurses around and nurses are heavily utilized by the Army, making us a bit more visible. I'm just under two months old as an Army nurse, but I'm loving it and excited to begin my career. Feel free to PM me if you have questions. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do!

Hey i'm not exactly surehow to send a PM but i would love to ask you some questions regarding your experience so far!

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

bigdaddyCCRN, once you have 15 posts, you'll be able to use the PM system. It's just a minimum requirement to deter spammers. Welcome to allnurses and the Gov/Mil forum! (I almost wrote "Army forum," LOL ... no, I am not biased. Tee hee.)

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Thanks for clearing that up!

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Not a problem. By the way, I was just selected for active duty, and I'm 38. I'll turn 39 one day before I report to my first duty station (in June), so your age shouldn't be a factor at all. :)

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ahh so you are a new army nurse?

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Yep! Brand new. :) Military brat, did many years as a "family member." Haha.

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Excellent! congrats! what made you decide to do army nursing? do they factor in prior experience and certifications? (i.e. CCRN)? A recruiter is supposed to call me by monday, ive been putting together a list of questions for them. do you have any advice? also I own my home, would you recommend getting it on the market prior to starting this process? Also what kind of bonuses would i expect? I'm sure my recruiter will have answers to these questions but I'd like to get your insight since youve recently went through all this

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
Excellent! congrats! what made you decide to do army nursing? do they factor in prior experience and certifications? (i.e. CCRN)? A recruiter is supposed to call me by monday, ive been putting together a list of questions for them. do you have any advice? also I own my home, would you recommend getting it on the market prior to starting this process? Also what kind of bonuses would i expect? I'm sure my recruiter will have answers to these questions but I'd like to get your insight since youve recently went through all this

Quite honestly, I'm too tattooed for any other branch of service. LOL. The Army was the only one that would grant a waiver for my tattoos. But with that being said, at the end of the day, I think I would have opted for Army anyway. My stepfather is former Army, my husband is former Army. I grew up as a military brat, and I miss the environment. It became important to me to care for service members and their family members.

Your CCRN cert and experience will be your ticket to getting an ICU special identifier -- instead of the 66H designation (med-surg), you would probably come in as 66H8A -- the "8A" is the identifier for ICU. This doesn't always guarantee you'll only be in an ICU -- the needs of the Army come first. I'm 66HM5, ER nurse. I was given that special identifier (the M5) because I have my CEN cert and the required hours/experience in the ER.

Owning your home ... well, that's a problem if your market is anything like mine. Ugh. Our house sat on the market for about 9 months of the last year because we thought we'd go ahead and sell in preparation for the Army. Didn't happen -- too many foreclosures in our area. We're not as underwater as many people, but ... bleh. We're probably going to end up renting it out for a while. Definitely look into selling if you think you can do it!

There are various bonuses -- these change every so often, but I know that there was a $30K accession bonus for four years offered to new accessions this year, but you might also qualify for Incentive Specialty Pay (ISP), which pays a bonus annually and ends up being a larger amount than the one-time accession bonus in the long run.

I did the same thing -- prepared a list of questions for my recruiter for that first meeting. :) I actually just found it in my glove box the other day as I was cleaning out my car to get it ready for the road! Haha. I have learned that not all recruiters are created equal; apparently mine is pretty special, she rocked!

Let us know what happens!

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Great! thanks for the info! I was hoping to hear today from the recruiter but they told me no later than monday. i'm hoping i get a great recruiter!

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