Military/VA RN's - Please post experiences for Students

saminde · Apr 22, 2005

I am a Virginia nursing student (about an hour from Walter Reed) and have considered the military. The Army claims to have a 29,000 education repayment program now (when they have visited our school, recruiting). I also love the prospect of having my future education payed for. I love the OR and aspire to someday complete a CRNA program. HOWEVER, my spouse if former Marine Corps and is very upset that I'm considering the military (he says that I would be tricked into joining and then not get to go where I want-department and location; and that going to school would be nearly impossible because of the scheduling). Do you think this is true with nursing (I'm getting my BSN this year and wonder if the difference is officer vs. enlisted???)???

Also, have you ever been deployed? I have two young children and worry about leaving them behind.

If anyone has any questions, I was active duty enlisted and am currently am and active duty CRNA.

military girl · May 23, 2005

I worked for the VA for the past 3 years before I joined the military in January of this year.

The VA is great. I started working there and only had a ADN, they paid for my BSN and I have a year payback time. The pay is great, and as a RN you start out earning 2 vacation days a month, and everyone is paid for all the federal holidays.

It took me three interviews to get in, and it being the government there is alot of paperwork and forms to fill out, but it is worth it.

As for the military, for the army nurse corps, you do need your BSN. And you can get commissioned up until age 46, complete 20 years if that is what you want to do, and retire.

A good site to go to for the va is http://www.va.gov and they will tell you if there are any open positions and how to apply.

Good luck to any one who is trying to apply to the VA and the Army Nurse Corps as well.

"ARMY NURSE CORPS, BEST AND ONLY CORPS!!!!!!!"

All branches of the military require a BSN (I believe - Military people help me out please). I am not sure what the age cut off is, but perhaps others reading tyhe thread can answer.

va nurse · May 23, 2005

I would like to help our student nurses recognize the value of entering into military service or working for the VA system. To do this, I would ask all of our members that are military or VA employed to lend your experience here. Please take a moment to post information for our students that you might think is helpful for them.
Would love to see information about dealing with recruiters (military ... that is) and how to effectively negotiate with them. Would like to see information posted about experiences that you have and any recommendations you have about entering military nursing or the VA system. THe VA can be a difficult place to navigate and any information on how to get into the VA would be helpful also.
We have many students that monitor this thread and I think this information would be very helpful to them.
Also, for the students reading this thread, please feel free to add your questions. We have many experienced military and VA nurses that view this thread and I am sure they are willing to help answer your questions.
I will make the thread a sticky in the hopes that it does become popular. Thanks for your help.

V.A. Nursing can be very rewarding. As with anything, it is what you make of it. As a vet myself I find it very enjoyable working with vets and being able to help them. The V.A. has some very good benefits for nurses. For example: 200 hours of annual leave per year. You start accumulating leave from the first day. You will also accumulate 4-hours of sick leave per pay period. In my opinion the pay is very competitive. The V.A. is very education oriented and has programs for nurses to continue their education. One factor that is very important to me and I would guess to many nurses concerns maltreatment of nurses by physicians. This is not tolerated at the V.A. and you do have the backing of your managers if this occurs. Physicians and nurses are valued equally and this is likely due to the fact that it is not a corportation predominantly focused on profits in which Physicians are allowed to mistreat others because they bring in patients. Most Physicians are not like this anyway but when you do encounter one it can make ones life miserable for the staff and deadly for patients. The V.A. is adamant that Vets. be treated with the dignity that they deserve and anyone that doesn't comply will be shown the door. As many would probably agree, there always seems to be one or two people in every unit that try to make others life hell. This is especially true of nursing. It is the same at the V.A. When I first started in the ICU there were two nurses that hounded me constantly.

As a career choice the V.A. has alot to offer. If you apply yourself you can advance rapidly in the system. The V.A. has 5 grades for RN's from 1-5 with 13 steps in each grade. The salary range that I am quoting is for the area that I live in. Each area pay scale differs somewhat do to locality pay. Grade 01 step 01 in this area has a base pay rate of $39,110. The top is nurse 5, step 13 which has a base pay of $131,400. When you are hired you are boarded and this is when your pay rate is determined base on your education, experience and qualifications. Generally, to start in the grade 2 level you would need to have a BSN and for the grade 3 level most have an MSN. Nurse 4's are usually executives and nurse 5's are Chief Nurses. If you work evenings or nights you will receive a 10% differential. If you work the weekend you will receive a 25% differential. If it is weekend nights or evenings you will receive both. I would guess that if you have a BSN and several years experience you would probably start somewhere around the middle of the grade 2 level. Nurse 2, step 5 base pay is $61,761 at the institution I work for.

Soon we will be receiving vets returning from Iraq. To me it will be quite an honor to take care of them. The first place you should take a look at is...

http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/ You will see a multitude of nursing jobs available all over the country and the world. But another suggestion that I have would be to find the institution that you are interested in and contact the nursing recruiter at that institution. If you have further questions please e-mail me and I will do my best to answer it for you.

ArmyKitten · May 27, 2005

The Army Nurse Corps offers Junior and Senior BSN students $$$ while they are in school-$5000 once selected for the program, $1000 per month while a full-time student, and another $5000 (either at the start of the Senior year, if accepted as juniors, or at the end of the senior year if accepted as seniors).
That could be in excess of $30,000 dollars while completing the BSN degree!
I am currently an Army Nurse Corps officer (critical care/trauma nurse) in the NY City area and can provide further information to anyone interested in applying.

Well, looks like I am getting (insert phrase of choice). I am a Senior BSN student and I never received a bonus when I contracted, and while I do have full tuition and benefits, I only get 400$ a month pay. Oh well...I'll be on the 01 pay scale soon enough. Too bad they didnt start that better pay system sooner to allow me to partake :-D

rpbear · Jun 18, 2005

You know by having 4 yrs prior service you'd come in as O-1E, that's almost equal to O-3 pay! Also, the Nursing Bonus is up from $10k to $15k! Go to Navy.com and look up the programs. It still says $10k but someone forwarded me the new instruction.
I'm seriously considering going that route too. You using GI Bill too right?
OT: You know the uniforms are going to be revamped right?

The fact of the matter is that you MUST have 4 years AND 1 day of prior military experience to get the O-1E pay. So check your DD214 to see if is says 4 years and over one day. Very sneaky here by Uncle Sam. Look at a military paychart and read the fine print (deceptive). It says Commissioned Officer With Over 4 Years of Active Service as an Enlisted Member or Warrant Officer (See note 3)

note 3. Applicable to O-1 to O-3 with at least 4 years & 1 day of active duty or more than 1460 points as a warrant and/or enlisted member. See DoDFMR for more detailed explanation on who is eligible for this special basic pay rate.

http://www.military.com/Resources/ResourcesContent/0,13964,49020,00.html

kaizenro · Jun 19, 2005

The fact of the matter is that you MUST have 4 years AND 1 day of prior military experience to get the O-1E pay. So check your DD214 to see if is says 4 years and over one day. Very sneaky here by Uncle Sam.

Fortunately I don't have to worry about that w/ 9 yrs of enlisted service but here's hoping those looking to go back in did a one month extension before their EAOS.

Know anyone who got messed over on getting O-1E? That just sucks. Thanks for the info.

blueheaven · Jun 20, 2005

I have been in the VA system for 4 years. There are many advantages (read some of the other posts) and perks. Besides the benefits, you can also relocate throughout the US if positions are available in the area you are going to. Many staff, middle management are getting close to retirement age now and opportunities for upper mobility are very good. If I can be of any help, please e-mail me.

Susan,

Nurse at the VA Spa :rotfl:

saminde · Jun 21, 2005

Thank you to everyone who responded! My husband is a federal employee and it would be great if we could both work for the same facility! I appreciate hearing about your experiences. As a new grad, it's difficult to sort through all of the options!

Thank you, again!

AFnurse3 · Jun 26, 2005

All branches of the military require a BSN (I believe - Military people help me out please). I am not sure what the age cut off is, but perhaps others reading tyhe thread can answer.

I believe of the AF, the cut off is 46 1/2.

blueheaven · Jun 28, 2005

I am very happy with my full time SICU position at WHC but I have always wanted to volunteer a shift a week or so at the VA because my father was a Vietnam vet. I think I tried calling just last Friday here in D.C. and the guy told me that they were overwhelmed with volunteers and that they didn't use nurses as volunteers. Do you know if there's any way around that? I don't think they'd hire me for just a shift a week or less, would they?

Bluesky,

Check with the nursing office at the DC VA and find out what agencies they use for staffing shortages. You can specify with the agency that you are only interested in picking up an extra shift or two at the VA. Once you get accustomed to the computer system they use, you should have no problem.

Blueheaven

Baltimore VA nurse

bluecandi · Jul 1, 2005

Thanks for all the responses and info. I did have some bits of my own research to offer. The reserves....not all but AirNG and ArmyNG will take ADN's but they must earn the BSN within 5 years. I am not aware of any active duty branch taking less than a BSN though.

I have one year left on a ADN program, then I am enrolling in the RN to BSN program so in 2 years if all goes well I will have a BSN. I am considering the AF reserves or AirNG in the meantime as I am on a scholarship and committed to work as an RN at my local hospital for 2 years after graduation. Plus hubby will be here for 3 more years in engineering school. He is currently AFreserve and prior AD AF so that is why I am considering the AF as well.

The ultimate goal is for both of us to go back to active duty with a commission. :)

I jsut hope they will accept me. As a kid my records had Chronic Otitis Media stamped all over them. I'm fine now but here's to hoping for a wavier but not holding my breath.

allnurses Guide · Jul 3, 2005

Thanks for all the responses and info. I did have some bits of my own research to offer. The reserves....not all but AirNG and ArmyNG will take ADN's but they must earn the BSN within 5 years. I am not aware of any active duty branch taking less than a BSN though.
I have one year left on a ADN program, then I am enrolling in the RN to BSN program so in 2 years if all goes well I will have a BSN. I am considering the AF reserves or AirNG in the meantime as I am on a scholarship and committed to work as an RN at my local hospital for 2 years after graduation. Plus hubby will be here for 3 more years in engineering school. He is currently AFreserve and prior AD AF so that is why I am considering the AF as well.
The ultimate goal is for both of us to go back to active duty with a commission. :)
I jsut hope they will accept me. As a kid my records had Chronic Otitis Media stamped all over them. I'm fine now but here's to hoping for a wavier but not holding my breath.

I don't think you will have any problem getting into the AF nurse corps as long as you can pass a hearing test. I would go ahead and start checking into getting into the AF reserves/ng now. It is kinda of slow process to get in.

Good Luck!