Military Nursing?

[AbbyLane]

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions about military nursing. Im a student working on prerequisites and I obviously haven't gotten into nursing school yet. To those in the military, should I go through school on my own first and get a bachelor's degree or should I join the military and then get my schooling from them. I know the sounds silly but I only want to do 4 years to serve because I want to just serve....I don't plan on staying for 20 years and retiring through the military. (In case that matters). If anyone could give me pointers I would love to know! I'm obese so I was thinking I should get my education first and join after? Since it would give me a few years to really get in shape? Thanks for all the advice.

[PMHNP Man, MSN, APRN, NP]

Get in with the university ROTC program and major in nursing. All of your problems will be solved. Also, anticipate an eight year service commitment. You could have any plausible combination of active/reserve/guard/inactive reserve.

[jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA]

I think you need to express what specifically you hope to gain from the military. Then I can be more helpful to you. It it getting your school paid for, is it deploying to a combat zone, is it that warm feeling of patriotism? You may be able to do 4 years active duty only, but you will have to do the other 4 years of your contract (8 total) in the reserves/guard.

In my personal opinion, I feel that ROTC is good in that it assures you a commission upon graduation. However, it's also annoying and a lot of work while you're doing it. Plus, in my experience, I haven't found any significant measurable difference in the long run between new nurses who did ROTC and and new nurses who direct commissioned. Many in both groups go on to be very successful.

I think both routes are very viable. You just need to be much stronger of a student (GPA 3.7+) if you choose to do school first and then commission later.

[Estateboy, RN, EMT-P]

I spent 22 years in the Army and 9 of those as a recruiter. I'm now an RN. The ROTC path is a great choice. If not, get your 4 yr degree then go in as an officer. You will get more experience and meet the best people as a military RN! Good luck!