Navy Nurse

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Hi, my name is Jenna and im in my first year of nursing school.. I have started looking into becoming a nurse in the Navy, but I wanted to ask a few questions, so I am hoping that there is someone out there who is currently a nurse in the Navy!!

1) Would I have to go through boot camp? If yes about how long is it, and is it really intense/ what is involved?

2) Can I pick my speciality? I want to do Maternity.

3) Will I be deployed to an active war zone? (If im unable to get maternity)

4) And I am currently in an associate's degree program at my local community college, but they have an agreement with a local university that I can continue right on and get my BSN, would I be able to sign up for the Navy now, or do I need to wait until I am offically in the BSN program?

Thank you for any help!!

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I to am heavily considering this option here is ALOT of info (My aunts a active duty navy nurse and husband is active duty officer as well btw )

-You HAVE to have a BSN to get commissioned no if and or buts and it MUST be

CCNE accredited!

-If your not in the NCP (Nurse candidacy program ) they want some RN experience depending on your back round and education they may be willing to work with you.

-NCP is a program were the navy gives you a grant to pay for school and a monthly stipend (1k a month) It's very competitive and you MUST be enrolled in a BSN (CCNE accredited program) with a maximum of 24 months before graduation

- You don't go to the common enlisted boot camp. You go to OCS (officer candidate school) its a less mentally alarming environment with a emphasis on teaching you officers mannerisms and mentality, with that being said its not vacation, its still rigorous and there's a focus on physical fitness and conditioning. It's 6/8 weeks in Rhode Island

-You don't get a specialty, they rotate you around a hospital for the first 3 yrs (so you get a little bit of everything)

- Although its always a possibility going to a war zone isn't as common for nurses in the navy (from what my aunt says a lot of the ones that do go are volunteering to go for further advancement as after you hit o3 you stop advancing automatically after 2yrs )

What I'd strongly suggest is to talk to a recruiter! Take what they say with a grain of salt and if it sounds nto good to be true IT PROBABLY IS! lol

Amanda :)

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Your post has been moved to the Military Nursing forum for more responses. Good luck to you!

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3) You will deploy to a warzone even if you are an L&D nurse - a good friend of mine will be heading out soon, and he works postpartum.

Keep in mind, according to the CNO: Navy hospitals only exist to train/prepare for deployments

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Specializes in Critical Care Emergency Military Nursing.

JCECERE: Please, PLEASE take a look at the questions and many answers under military nursing questions answered. I answer so many of these types of questions and I am actually a nurse in the Navy. A lot of the "answers" already posted under your post are wrong. Sorry folks but it's true. I am more than happy to answer questions once you read the stuff there first. It will answer a lot without having to type the same things over again. Good luck in your search.

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1) You will have to go to ODS. It's about 5 weeks and according to the nurses I've spoken to, it's a piece of cake.

2) When it comes to which department you work in, the Navy will TRY to accommodate your request. They can't give everyone their first choice, so don't be surprised if you end up on med-surg for your first rotation.

3) It's the military. We fight wars. We deploy to warzones. If you have an aversion to being deployed then you should not join the military...it's part of our job description.

4) You will need to wait until you get an acceptance letter into an accredited BSN program. At that point you can contact your recruiter and start putting together your package. You will not be able to just pop into a recruiting station, say "I want to join," sign a piece of paper, and then walk out of the office as Navy Nurse Corps Officer. You have to apply and be selected for a spot in the program.

Good luck!

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