Military Nurse After Graduation?

[MaleNurse2Be]

Hello guys, I am new to this forum and decided to join because many of you have given me a lot of insight. I am attending a university next year, with my major as nursing. Because of my financial situation and my parent's low income, many have warned me about the debt that comes with such educational pursuits . I have recently heard about people who were nurses and decided to join the army/navy/airforce nurse corps and and many people have been asking me if I ever considered. I've been thinking about the idea for a couple of weeks now and the thought of being a nurse while serving the country is becoming more and more appealing. I was wondering if any of you guys in here had experienced, or at least knowledgeable about joining the military as a nurse AFTER 4 years of nursing. Is the idea plausible? Will my loans (or at least part of my loans) be paid by the fed gov? (NO, that is not the reason for me considering on being a nurse in the military. I already know that my passion belongs to nursing as well as serving others, I am just worried about finances and DEBT) Is being recruited as a nurse difficult? Thank you so much for any responses!

[Camo-angel]

For the Air Force, commissioning as a nurse is very competitive at the current time. That could change in four years, we don't know. But right now, new nursing grads can apply in the Air Force with less than 6 months experience. Last year around 300 people applied for a total of 35 spots, so yes it is competitive. The GPA requirement is now 3.5. There may be some scholarship/ROTC programs to look into, I'm not knowledgeable about those. I do know the Air Force will pay off a certain amount of college loans, I don't recall the exact amount but it is fairly significant. Obviously you're required to serve a minimum number of years (I think 4?) to get your loans paid off, but yes that is an option.

For the other branches, I don't have much information. I do know the Army is not currently hiring new graduate nurses, they require 2 years experience for you to apply. Navy I think takes new grads but don't quote me. I'm sure others have more information than me, but this is all I know currently!!