New Grad RN Curious about Nurse Corps

jeckrn, BSN, RN · May 20, 2009

my situation:
-new grad rn with a bsn degree
-no medical/nurse experience
-27 years old male, not married (but in a relationship), no kids
-no military experience, background or knowledge
-wants to begin nursing career asap
questions:
-how well will i fit in the military(nurse corps)?
that depends on the person, unable to tell by an online post. if you know anyone in the military talk with them they should give you some idea if the military is for you.
-will i be accepted in the nurse corps? are there requirements like physical/written exams? is it common for a guy with my situation to join the nurse corps?
as long as you do not have too much of a criminal background or very poor credit history should be no problem being expected from what you have wrote.
-will i be stationed in locations/cities that i have no say in? will the military have me under contract for a certain amount of years? what is active vs reserve?
where you get stationed will depend on what service you go to. your first contract in the military either enlisted/officer it will be for 8 years. this can be all active, all reserve or a compantion. most nurses who go on active duty are required to do 3 years active then 5 years reserves. this reserves can be either 1 weekend a month 2 weeks a year or what is call irr which is you are in the reserves but do not drill but subject to recall to active duty.
-what are the professional benefits? financial benefits? personal benefits? long and short term benefits?
there are many benefits, one is that if you stay in you will experience many different areas and forced to become a leader. there will be many training oppurtines that you would not recieve in the civilian world. some of the personal benefits is the travel, experiencing people and things (humanitrian missions) that you normally would not in the civilian world. some of the short term benefits is going to be on your first assignment when you recieve your initial training at your 1sr duty station. it will be more then just the standard new grad orientation that most hospitals give. the time off you get will be 30 days of leave from the day you start, you will earn 2.5 days a month. there are not many facilities which give new employees 4+ weeks of vacation to start, employeer paid 20 year retirement along with tsp which is a retirement account like a 401k. short term you might make more as a civilian but in the long run your pay ends up being much more between tax advantages and housing allowance.
-what are the "cons" of joining the military? will i be in combat? what kind of preliminary training is involved?
no one can say if you will see combat or not in the military but most of the time nurses are kept in safe areas, but there are humantrian missions, forward medical teams which can put you closer to the action. as far as i know there as only been 2 nurses killed in combat in the 2 conflicts that we are involved with right now. one was killed while jogging and hit with a stray mortar round and the other was working as a civilian affairs officer.
-what can i expect 1 year into it? 2 years into it? 5 years into it? 10-20 years into it?
if you stay in the militiary you can look at increasing your positions of leadership. you will not stay as a floor nurse your whole career. after 20 you can retire with a decent check.
i know what you are probably asking yourself, "why won't this guy just talk to a recruiter?" a buddy of mine met with one before and decided that the military was not for him, but the recruiter continued to pursue him for a long time. the recruiter continually emailed him, called him and left a lot of messages. i'm not looking for that. i had another friend who actually followed through and joined the military because the recruiter told to pick three city's he would like to be stationed and my friend did not get stationed in any of them. basically the recruiter painted a very pretty picture for my friend and he bought it.
if you decided to look into the military further you will have to talk with a recruiter. if you decided not to join and a recruiter continues to call, speak with the station chief about it. the recruiters are under alot of pressures to make a sale, ie have someone join. recruiters are like used car salesman they tell you the best and only tell you the worse if you ask. about your friend and the 3 cities, it is call a dream sheet for a reasons, it is just to let the people making the assignments know where you would like to go. if you get there depend on several factors, is there a opening for that mos/aoc ie job for that rank or not.
i just want facts and no gimmicks. i feel a lot more comfortable getting information in here than speaking to a recruiter. i think there is a good blend of recruiters and individuals with personal experience in here. any information on what it is like would help a lot. thanks!!!
oh!!! try not to use a lot of military jargon. i noticed from the posts that you guys use a lot of acronyms. believe me, i'm not going to understand it, unless you explain in simple terms. thanks again.

good luck on figuring out what you want to do. do not go to fast so you make the right decision for you. if you choose the military know that it takes 6-8 months to go thru the process of joining as a nurse.

ChickenJoyRN,BSN · May 20, 2009

good luck on figuring out what you want to do. do not go to fast so you make the right decision for you. if you choose the military know that it takes 6-8 months to go thru the process of joining as a nurse.

thank you very much!!!!that was very informative. sounds like there are a lot of opportunities to build leadership skills. so if i wanted to become an officer it is required that i commit to 8 years of service (3 years active, 5 reserve) during my 3 years active, will i continually be moved to different locations based on their need? do they take care of my housing? during my 5 years of reserve, am i required to live in the same location?

jeckrn, BSN, RN · May 20, 2009

thank you very much!!!!that was very informative. sounds like there are a lot of opportunities to build leadership skills. so if i wanted to become an officer it is required that i commit to 8 years of service (3 years active, 5 reserve) during my 3 years active, will i continually be moved to different locations based on their need? do they take care of my housing? during my 5 years of reserve, am i required to live in the same location?

most assignments are from 3-4 years. if it is a large base you could end up being there for 8 or so years. depending on the base there maybe base housing available if not they pay your housing by an allowance called a bah based on zip code, pay grade, and dependence status. in my first post it has the link, go ahead an put your zip in there as an o1 and see what it comes up with. once you are done with your active commentent you are able to live where ever you want.

no matter what branch of the military you choose there are endless opportunities for you. even thou i am army, look at navy & air force to make sure that you join the one that is the best fit for you.

athena55, BSN, RN · May 22, 2009

ChickenJoy:

If I may add to the informative post by Jeckrn....And speaking from the Army side of the house:

If you choose the Reserves you will usually (and hopefully) drill in your "home community" or within 50 miles of your home of record. I knew a few Reservists that had lived in NYC, moved to South Carolina, Florida and Ohio respectfully, but would fly/drive back up to NYC for their BA (Battle Assemblies or Drills)

You should also factor in the AT (annual training) that your TPU (Troop Program Unit that you drill with) will do for 14 days, usually during the summer months. Your AT may not necessarily be in your home state. Many Reservists who live in the northeastern part of the U.S. go to Fort McCoy to do their AT (And one must have gone to and graduated from OBLC - Officers Basic Leadership Course, before one can go to AT or on a medical mission with their TPU, or be promoted)

As for the Active side of the house: As was stated above most assignments are from 2-3 years. Some lucky Officers/Soldiers were able to stay on for 4, 5, even 6 years. But if they are "light on the right" sooner or later their luck will run out and deployment will be a probability. Deployments will happen whether you are in the RC (Reserve Component) or AC (Active Component). For RC it is a matter of that particular TPU's dwell time. Usually 5 year cycle. For AC it is a matter if you are PROFIS (Professional Fill-in Service) or with a Company. PROFIS you will be deployed for 6-9 months, with a Co. you may go for 12 months.

No matter what, the Needs of the Army come first. No matter if your dream list has LRMC (Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, GE), WRAMC (Walter Reed Army MEDCEN) or BAMC (Brook Army Medical Center) you just may end up in....MAMC (Madigan Army MEDCEN)

If you are a brand spanking new graduate nurse you will spend anywhere from (usually) one full year on a med-surg floor before given the opportunity to transfer to the ED or ICU. Also there are opportunities to apply for the Generic Course Selection Program (critical care course, perioperative nursing course, maternal-child health nursing course and the psychiatric nursing course) but also be advised that if you are given the opportunity to attend one of the above named GCSP's you will incur a 1-year active duty service obligation (ADSO) upon completion. I have found that there are so many different learning and educational opportunities afforded Military service members, both active and reserves.

As you ascend in rank so do your responsibilities. As a 2LT or 1LT you may be the charge nurse. As a CPT you may be OIC and expected to precept other 68WM5's (LPN's) to your unit

Whether you go Reserves or Active Duty you will be expected to maintain your physical fitness. You will be expected to take the biannual physical fitness test (2 minutes of push-ups, 2 minutes of sit-ups, and a 2 mile run). The exact time you have or the exact number of push-ups/sit-ups you will be expected to complete are dependent upon your age and gender (this is the only time I am happy to be an "old fart" smile....) If you fail your APFT you will not be promotable, you will not receive any awards you might have been put in for, you will not be able to go to school - TDY or otherwise.

My advice to you: Make sure you speak with a Health Care Recruiter. {As it stands now the quota have been met, both for the AC, RC, and ANG}

Good luck in your decisions....when and which service to consider.

athena

daisy758, BSN, RN · Oct 4, 2010

I am also curious about the Nurse Corps and have heard that the recruiters like to paint a pretty picture.

I have some questions if anyone can answer them for me..

I am graduating this May with my BSN. I have done searching over the internet to find out specific details between the Navy Nurse Reserve and Active duty. But I can't seem to find the answers I'm looking for.

I contact a recruiter this last tuesday, but haven't heard back yet.

I'm curious what the chances of getting stationed overseas are as a nurse on active duty. And if I sign up for active duty, will I live somewhere else? What kind of training to they do for new graduates? Would it be more beneficial for me to sign up before I graduate or after I graduate? If I was to live on a base... what is that environment like... no one in my family has ever been in the military.

Just being female... I am curious if I am going to have to cut my hair or can I just tie it back?

Thank you!

Trin · Oct 4, 2010

I don't know about the Navy, but in the Army females just wear their hair in bun. Off the shoulders and out of the face.