Navy Nurse as a Career

[ksander1086]

I haven't completely discounted joining the Navy as a nurse. I have by BSN and school debt. I wanted to ask if anyone has taken this route? What your experience has been through the application process, working, traveling, and finding work as a civilian after your service is complete. Also, I wanted confirmation on whether or not you are given loan forgiveness. I am 27 years old, single, and with no responsibilities. The military has been the last thing on my mind, but as a new grad I am finding it really difficult to lock down any job with the RN title.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Government / Military Nursing

Please wander to the link above and read. I'll repeat a few pieces of advice that I frequently give on this forum to people who are considering entering any branch of the service:

1. The service is a lifestyle, not a means to end your debt. If you're not up for the lifestyle, DO NOT JOIN.

2. What do I mean by lifestyle? There's a great deal of responsibility involved in being a military nurse as you are both a nurse and an officer. This isn't a job you leave at the office. They can call you in at any time of the day or night. On leave and they need you? Pick up your phone or face the consequences. Want to take leave? You'll have to route your request through at least 2 other people to get approval...if it's even granted, and that includes if you want to travel outside a certain radius on your days off. Also, your requests come second to all the civilians you'll work with, so if Sally Smith wants 2 weeks off over your annual family vacation in July every year and the floor can't spare another nurse, guess who's working while Sally basks in the Caribbean sun?

3. It's highly competitive to even join right now. As a new grad, you're not going to get selected, especially as Navy is not accepting new grads (as I've recently come to understand). You're going to need to apply with experience to even be considered, and you'll need some serious resume items to make yourself stand out over the other applicants.

4. Budget cuts are not only knocking out loan reimbursement and sign-on bonuses, but they're absolutely taking it out of the hides of active duty and reserve nurses. Whoever sacrifices the most will be retained and promote. The others will involuntarily separate.

5. If the military has been "the last thing on your mind", don't do it. Seriously. You're not ready for the level of intensity with which the reality of a life of service would hit you if you haven't even given it the consideration of some serious thought. You're signing away some of your most personal freedoms when you join. Don't fool yourself into thinking the money will make it worth it.

6. If you think you're going to "get something" from the military (ex: money for loan repayment), think again. Even if you do get reimbursed, if you join for the wrong reasons, it's going to be the longest 4-8 years of your life. If you aren't willing to submit yourself to the fact that someone else controls some very important details of your life and you have very little say in the fact, you're going to be miserable.