Military Nursing Questions Answered

[navyman7]

Hello. I have seen many questions posted about the recruiting, the military, and future military experiences, I wanted to start a Q & A forum where you can ask questions related to the military from someone who is in the military.

- I am NOT a recruiter. I am fellow nurse who wants to inform others so they will be more informed than I was when I joined.

- I have been in the U.S. Navy for almost 3 years now. I have worked in the ICU for the same amount of time. I have also deployed as a Navy Nurse overseas. I am currently pursuing a masters in anesthesia degree.

- I will do my best to answer all questions. I will not lie to you about the military. If the subject is sensitive and possible jeopordize my career I will not answer you publicly about the issue but in a private email response.

Thanks and good luck.

[BSNGrad'15CWRU]

navyman7,

I am 2 weeks from graduating with my BSN from a 4 year program. I'm not sure what it is exactly that I want to do, both Nursing unit wise, or city wise. I have lived in NE Ohio my whole life and went to university in Cleveland. I know I want to travel and experience new things, but I don't necessarily have my heart set on a speciality or geographic location.

The idea of joining one of the military branches has come and gone from my thought process over the past few years. I was hoping you'd be able to shed some light as to what doing so would entail? My main questions include the following:

1. As a New Grad BSN RN (after passing the boards), what would joining the military entail? i.e. rank, training, are there residency programs...

2. How many years would I be required to serve?

3. Which branch do you think would be the best? (I know you're NAVY, so if you could be unbiased :) although that's where I think I would like to go, I've been a competitive swimmer my whole life and grew up on the lake and love water. Or maybe the Air Force...)

4. Any other insights you wouldn't mind sharing?

Volunteering to serve our country is a great honor and opportunity we have here, but I want to know what I would be getting myself into by doing so.

Thank you so much!

[ashguarascio]

What would the difference be if i did NROTC in college while getting my nursing degree. I know i would come out as an officer in the Navy Nurse Corps but what would NROTC help with (besides knowing the military)

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

What would the difference be if i did NROTC in college while getting my nursing degree. I know i would come out as an officer in the Navy Nurse Corps but what would NROTC help with (besides knowing the military)

There is typically a scholarship associated with any branch of ROTC — that is why you owe time when you graduate. I am not sure if active duty is guaranteed, though — Reserves is the other option.

[airmedicRN]

Hey navyman7, I'm prior E with 6 yrs (got out at E-5.) I have a lot of ICU/critical care/flight experience and have just graduated as A/G acute care NP TODAY! Anyway, my "packet" has been audited 50 times (well, a lot anywya) with multiple waivers and is going up the chain as soon as my final transcript is conferred. I have a couple of questions if I could PM?

[lewy]

I am currently a sophomore in college, and I will (hopefully) be starting nursing school in the fall of 2017. Do you think if I currently have a 4.0 GPA in pre nursing classes I should be looking into the NCP? If the NCP application is so extensive and time consuming how am I going to start it if I don't receive my acceptance letter till next spring (about 6 months before nursing school would start? Also how much say do you have in your first placement? If my main interest are Pediatrics and Neonatal what are my chances of getting it right out of college? Thanks for your help in advance!

[oaktown2]

I was unable to start my application for NCP until I had an acceptance from a nursing school - I don't know if that is a requirement or up to the recruiter's discretion as it is a lot of work if you aren't eligible. That said, it can be a slow process, so I wouldn't for a moment count on being accepted prior to your start of nursing school. As for say in your first placement, it completely depends on your command and their needs at the time. There were people who started in peds and nicu from my group (though nicu is more rare), but I guess if that is your main interest I would sort of question why you wanted to join, unless it is just to help pay for school. Being a peds or nicu nurse can really limit your options in the military and therefore you may end up doing something different because that's where they need you. Though you probably do have more options as a peds nurse. If you are ok with that, great. If not, I would look at other ways to help fund your education.

[lewy]

I'm not like dead set on those. As of now they just seem of more interest to me, but I'm pretty open to anything. Do you think that the 5 months before I start nursing school would be enough time to do the application? Did you go through the NCP program?

[oaktown2]

Maybe? For me, no, the process took a full year and yes, I did go through NCP. The first thing to learn is the Navy (and the rest of the military) moves at it's own pace and that pace is not necessarily yours. Each year there are a certain number of slots for NCP and once they are filled for that fiscal year, they are done. However, that doesn't mean that they necessarily fill all the slots at once. And they want a range of candidate graduation dates so everyone doesn't come in at once. (And they will space you out anyway - you might get selected in January, but not enlist until May and then you may graduate in May but not go to ODS until August.) I believe that the board for NCP initially meets in Oct and then they will have supplementary boards as needed, so the earliest you might find out that you have been selected in Nov, but things change. There is always the fiscal situation which can slow things down. I'm not trying to discourage you from applying, but I am trying to give you a realistic picture of what you may encounter. It may work out for your timetable perfectly, but it very likely may not. If you want to join the military as a nurse and you are flexible about where you live and what you do, go for it, and if someone gives you a no, try another recruiter or another branch. Military nursing can provide some amazing experiences and opportunities.

[lewy]

Thank you for your input!