Navy Nurse Questions

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I'm sure this question has been asked more than once, so please bear with me. I've been sifting through all the information I can find, but I still don't quite understand...

I've just started toying with the idea of Navy Nursing. I graduate from a BSN program in December. But have very little knowledge about the military in general, less about the Navy specifically, and even less about Navy Nursing.

Specifically, I'm wondering about the following:

1.What are the requirements for being accepted?

2.What is the minimum length for which you can sign up?

3.After being accepted, what happens as far as training? (What kind, where do you go, how long etc)

4.After training, then what? What kind of setting do you start off in, how long will you be there, and do you get any real choice at this point in where you'll be?

5.What about deployments? How often and how long? Do deployments differ for nurses and if they do, how so?

6.What other things do I need to know but I don't know enough to know that I need to know them? :bugeyes:

Thank you so much for any insight. I'm planning on speaking with a recruiter soon, but I want to be a little more informed first. You know... wouldn't want to have “sucker” written on my forehead.

Specializes in L& D, High Risk Antepartum.

Thank you for your answers. I go to OIS on July 9. I check into the command the end of August. I would like to work in L& D or peds but I know we go where they put us.

I heard that about the platforms. One of my good friends is stationed at Navhosp Brem and she has never deployed with her platform. I don't have a sponsor yet. I filled out the form and just haven't heard back yet. My husband and I are both going to be stationed there. We are looking at housing. We need a larger house we have three children. I have deployed since having children and it was difficult but manageable. I won't be volunteering for deployments but will go if I need too.

I really will not be jumping on the ship bandwagon. That was hard duty after having a child. We were in and out a bunch and it was hard on my son he was a year old.

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The nurse intern sounds pretty exciting!

Navynurse06: If I were to join the navy, I would come in with at least a year of experience. Is the nurse intern program for all new navy nurses? Right now I am working on a critical care floor but, I have always been interested in the NICU! I noticed you said that you get to experience days in ER and PACU in addition to your assigned unit.

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Specializes in ER,ICU and Progressive Care Unit,Peds.

Allison: I work in peds and we have a lot of LTJG's leaving this summer, plus we have 3 nurses transfering to PICU. (and hopefully I'll be going to the ER after I get back). That being said maybe you will have a chance to come to peds since everyone is leaving. The L/D thing won't happen when you 1st come to the command. You have to get floor experience before you can go to L/D. They won't send new nurses to L/D, NICU, PICU, ICU, ER, PACU, or OR. You have to get floor experience before you can get sent to critical care areas. Peds is one avenue to those areas. As far as going out on the ship, nurses don't got out that much unless its for missions like mine. But you are only out for the max of 6 months on the ship. But land deployments may last longer for nurses. What does your husband do in the Navy? Are you guys planning on applying for military housing? They have some really nice housing around here; with fenced in back yards and garages...etc.

Sweetpotato:

If you were to join the navy and come to one the big 3, you still would go through the intern program. (Regardless of your yrs of experience) Your time in the intern program will just be shorter. We had a man come in as LTJG b/c he had been an ICU nurse for like 5 or 10 yrs but he still had to do the intern program. He was just in there for a shorter time than what I was. I was in there for like 4 months but he was only in for like 2 months. We don't start out new nurses in NICU, like I said above. You would have to do time on the peds floor or something like that. And its really hard for military nurses to get into our NICU. They hire a lot of civilans there and put less miliary there.

Keep the question coming!

ENS PM

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Specializes in L& D, High Risk Antepartum.

Navynurse06

My husband is a nurse too. We are not planning on applying for military housing because we both get BAH and it is quite a bit. We have lived in military housing before and there are benefits to not living in housing. We like to live away from work and when I supervised a bunch of junior enlisted my house was too close to deal with all of the problems constantly.

I would love to come work in peds.

Allison

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Specializes in ER,ICU and Progressive Care Unit,Peds.

So your husband is a nurse in the navy? What area does he want to work in?

I agree about the military housing thing. We didn't get it either. But since its just me and my husband I figured my chances of getting it were going to be slim any how.

There are some nice larger houses in the Clairmont-Kerny Mesa area, which isn't too far from NMCSD. Also east Chula Vista has improved and there are nicer larger houses in that area too. I live in Pacific Beach, but its a more expensive area to live in and doesnt have many large house in that area. The larger houses in that area are really, really expensive. We just wanted to live near the beach so we chose to pay more in rent so we can live in a "beachy" area.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma, US Navy.

We actually bought a house back in 1999, it was literally a dump. We bought it as an investment property and put about $10,000 into it to make it liveable. When we left we sold it for a $95,000 profit. So if your handy and deal with something like that, San Diego is a place to make money on a house. The house was in Dictionary Hill, which is out in Spring Valley at the end of the 94. I think they put a ton of condos in there now so values probably sored there too.

LCDR(s) Dan

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Specializes in Oncology.

Hi, it's me again - it seems that I started a rather interesting thread... but I haven't been back to say thanks. Thanks!

Many of my questions have been answered (again, thanks!), but I do still have a couple.

I have pretty much made up my mind to join and have read from previous posts that it is important to talk specifically to a medical recruiter. Any advice on where to find a medical recruiter?

I know that I would be signing up for 3 years of active duty and 5 inactive. Could someone explain to me what is involved in inactive duty? If not called to serve during that time, what part does the Navy play in you life?

Thanks so much!

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Specializes in Oncology.

Oh - and one more thing. Someone said that you have to remember that a Navy Nurse is an Officer first and a Nurse second. Could someone explain to me what the officer part of the Nurse's role entails?

Thanks Again!

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Specializes in L& D, High Risk Antepartum.

My husband spent 4 years in the IRR. He was never called up. It was nothing at all. The reality is though you could be called up. It just depends on what is going on in the world.

Allison

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Specializes in ER, Trauma, US Navy.

Bela-

The whole "officer first, nurse second" thing is something that you hear from the "higherups." The notion is that you are to conduct yourself in an "officerly" (not a word) manner and that nursing is secondary to that. In actuality the two go hand in hand. Your job in the Navy is to oversee and supervise enlisted personnel that are caring for your patients. You are to mentor and educate them on how to care for patients, this would be the leadership/ officer part. However, you really can't do that without doing your nursing part, so the two are intertwined. Is is just a way that "some" leaders try to get you to remember that you are in the military. It's not a big deal. You do have some extra duties that are separate from nursing that you sometimes have to attend to in your off time, that's another officer part. All depends on where you are that dictates what you do. I have been a manpower officer, education and traiing officer, and Assistant DivO in my days in the Navy. Thoses were all extra duties aside from nursing.

LCDR(s) Dan

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Alright so I finished my paperwork for the NCP and now my recruiter is taking me to San Diego to do the interview process of the application on May 30th. Im excited about it but also really nervous and I have already started stressing! What should I expect? Anything particular that I need to pack? Any advice?

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Specializes in ER, Trauma, US Navy.

Dress in a neutral/ professional manner and be yourself. Answer any questions honestly and be confident. The interview is no sweat, good luck.

LCDR(s) Dan

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