Military ***

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 7, 2015

Hi, there. We have moved your thread to our Government / Military Nursing forum to facilitate the best response rate. We wish you the best of luck with your plans.

jeckrn, BSN, RN · Aug 7, 2015

Trying to figure out what you mean. Sounds like you are not a nurse now and do not want to go to college. If this is true you can not be a RN in the military. If you could enlist in the Army and become a LPN. If you have your RN you will need a couple years experience, if not look into ROTC.

prncaffinated · Aug 8, 2015

I'm not sure what you mean. You want to join for 3-5 years and within that time become a nurse?

Sounds like you don't want to be a civilian at all during this time?

If that's what you want try to get a medical MOS in the Army: you have to do well on your ASVAB and then it's all about availability.

You will have to work on school in your spare time while you're in the Army.

After you've got enough classes done apply to a nursing school; once you're accepted you can apply for the enlisted to nursing program (it's called AECP). Once accepted you will go to school while the Army pays you, once you're done you will be a nurse in the Army.

You would be looking at serving at least nine years this way. It'll be three years before you are allowed to apply for the AECP. If you're accepted you go off to school to get your BSN for two years, and then you will be required to serve in the Army for four years as a Nursing Officer.

This is the route I've looked into and other branches may or may not have something similar.

I see you said you ARE going to join the military: have you spoken to recruiters and what branch? If you seriously want to get your BSN (that's what you need to be a nurse in the military) try to get a medical job in the military. Army has more enlisted medical jobs. Study hard for the ASVAB though, if you don't get at least a 110 GT score you can't have a medical MOS or apply for the AECP.

If you don't want to do school while you're in you can always use your Post 911 Gi Bill after your 4-6 years to go to nursing school.

Camo-angel · Aug 8, 2015

You can enter the military in a medical field, get your GI bill then use it for school. Or you can apply for a scholarship/ROTC to go to school THEN commission as a nurse. Or you can just go to college now, get your BSN, apply for Air Force or Navy (Army does not take new grads), and possibly have loans paid for...not sure what path you are looking for, but applying to be a nurse in any branch is highly competitive. Not as simple as walk in and sign here. It is easy to enlist, possibly in the medical field, and that way you'll either get the GI bill for later or possibly apply for a program to get your BSN while in your branch. What are you looking for exactly? Military then school, or school then military, or both at same time?...

jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA · Aug 8, 2015

The military doesn't have it's own undergraduate nursing program that somehow allows you to bypass the traditional route. At some point you will have to take civilian college nursing classes to become an RN in any capacity (be it in a military or civilian setting). If you are an enlisted medic selected to become a nurse (via one of the programs described above), the military will simply pay for you to attend a civilian university full-time.

The military actually has more stringent college requirements than many civilian hospitals; you need a bachelor's in nursing vs just an associates.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Aug 10, 2015

It sounds to me like you want the military (navy? where?) to educate you to be a nurse....without having to go to college to be a nurse...? If I'm understanding you correctly (and it isn't easy, I have to be honest here)....I think you might have been misled about what the military would offer you.

It's been explained here rather well regarding what steps you would need to take, and the significant time commitment on your part. It would NOT be easy; they don't do "on the job training" to become a nurse. It's something you study in addition to your military job and should expect it to take several years to accomplish...OR....you put in several years of service and come out with a GI bill that would allow you to THEN go to college and study to become a nurse.

Regardless of how you go about it, the time/study/college component isn't a small one. You said in another post that you didn't want to go to college now to become a nurse because you didn't think you could dedicate yourself to it; your concern was that you would likely "slack off" in school. What makes you think joining the MILITARY is less of a dedicated commitment?

anchorRN, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN · Aug 17, 2015

In the Navy traditionally you would enlist as a Hospital Corpsman (HM), work hard on pre-reqs, then apply for the MECP (Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program). This program is NOT limited to HM's though, it is available to all enlisted. Once accepted into this program you will go to a civilian nursing program on the Navy's dime and graduate with your BSN. You will then commission as an Officer and start out as an Ensign (O1) likely at one of the "Big 3" hospitals in the Navy (Portsmouth, Bethesda, San Diego). I believe you can apply for the MECP as soon as you make E4, which doesn't take long, but you will need certain pre-req courses, mainly gen-ed's completed prior to applying for MECP.