Military nurse

Specialties Government

Published

I'm 21 and graduating with my associates in nursing this May and I'm so committed to becoming a nurse in the military (of course after I get my BSN). I originally thought Air Force, however, through research I'm piecing together that it looks extremely competitive to become a nurse in any branch of the military. In fact, it looks near impossible to get any sort of job in nursing from some of the threads I've seen on AllNurses.

I'm smart and reliable and have a really good head on my shoulders, but it sounds like its just a 1 in a million shot of me getting the required ICU experience and then actually getting accepted into the Air Force (or Navy or Army). I'm basing major life decisions on this dream (e.g. where I get my BSN, if I work part time or full time in the process, staying at a hospital I hate just for the experience, attempting to be a student athlete at the same time) and it's almost to the point where I'm considering giving it all up to spare myself the disappointment sacrificing so much and not getting it.

Am I correct in thinking that it's like the hardest thing ever to get into the Air Force as a nurse? Is there anything I can do while I get my BSN to make my application look more attractive?

I'm a pretty good runner. I ran in college for a year before transferring to my community college that doesn't have track or XC for the ADN program. I'm now talking to some schools with RN to BSN that would even offer me an athletic scholarship. Would the military be impressed by a nurse who is physically fit or would it hurt me more for limiting work experience I could be getting? I'm paying for school myself so it would help me a ton. I feel like ROTC scholarships are impossible to get and also not available for RN to BSN.

Sorry if I didn't use the proper military lingo, I research this all the time and still have no idea.

Just wanted to thank everyone who commented on this thread with any feedback or with sharing that they too are pursuing a job in the military as a nurse. To update you all, I'm feeling very revitalized and have a lot of hope that I will someday achieve this goal of mine. For now I'm looking to pass the NCLEX in June, get my BSN, and continue getting hospital experience. So I guess that's enough for now.

For anyone who is in a similar position as I am, I talked to a helpful health care recruiter who encouraged me and nicely told me to keep doing me and just get back in touch with him once I'm closer to my BSN. Specific requirements for Army nurse (I know at first I said navy or AF but I'm exploring all options and looking into everything) change from year to year. Sometimes, it's 6 months experience, a while back in was 2 years experience- experience being 30+ hours a week in a hospital. In 2 years, maybe no experience will be required, or maybe 5 years will be required, it's impossible for him to know.

He also mentioned positions such as CRNA, NP, midwife, psychiatric nurse, etc. are always in high demand and can sometimes be payed for. I feel as a new nurse I should focus on getting that medsurg experience and learn basics before that, but it's an option for experienced nurses for sure. Good luck and thanks for all replies!

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Specializes in ICU, Military.

I am currently an Active Duty Navy Nurse. I was a direct commission in 2011. Let me know if you have any questions about the Navy's Nurse Corps.

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anchorRN I would love to ask you some questions! I can't private message right now because I haven't made 15 comments yet. :-(

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Specializes in ICU, Military.

What questions do u have?

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anchorRN,I think I can Pm now. I will try doing that.

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