New to Navy, ODS, Portsmouth-need any help?

Specialties Government

Published

Hi there,

I've been a nurse since 2010 and graduated from University of Portland, Oregon. I worked in mental health and with the red cross for a year before applying for the Navy. 13 mos later I found myself at Officer Development School and graduated this February. I'm stationed at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth now and living in Norfolk. I wanted to offer myself as a resource to any of these topics since I felt like I was at a loss for information prior to coming in. Feel free to ask anything about the nursing, the Navy, the application process, duty stations, ODS, Norfolk, etc. Good luck to you and thank you for considering service in the US military.

New nurses go anywhere. Okinawa, Pensacola, 69 palms you name it. There are nursing deployments to those two, dijibuti and if your assigned to ship 02to04 wherever they go.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
If you are new grad, they will most likely send you to the big three. They may start considering where you are moving from to place you d/t budget constraints. All three big bases deploy to Cuba or Afghanistan. Those are the only nursing deployments I have heard of. There are also the humanitarian deployments on the USNS Mercy or USNS Comfort but those were cancelled this year d/t budget cuts.

I do not have personal experience with deployments but I have friends that do. Feel free to private message me more questions about it.

Not all nurses have to go to med/surg. If you know you want pediatrics or mother/baby/labor and delivery, those places are often in need of nurses and new grads can go there. The idea that all new nurses 'must have med-surg experience' is not necessarily the case anymore. It depends on where you want to go and what you want to do. If you want OR for example then a surgical ward would be a good start. If you really want ICU, try for a critical care ward. Worse they can do is say no.

Thanks for your response, Sweetpea! I'm in Peds and OB now, and, even though they're both fascinating, I don't think they're right for me. I'm actually looking forward to working med/surg for at least a couple years. I'm open to pretty much anything - any unit, any place. It all sounds exciting!

And thank you so much for making this thread. I love hearing about your guys' experiences as Navy nurses. I can't wait to join you guys in the Navy Nurse Corps! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi everyone...I have two questions (and I apologize if it's something that has already been addressed but I just found this forum and haven't had time to read the 26 pages...yet). I am currently an RN and looking into joining the Navy. Here's my first question: due to the fact that my husband is active duty Air Force (enlisted), how feasible is it to be stationed near each other? I know they would try their best, but off the top of my head I can't think of any Naval/Marine Corps bases that are also close to an Air Force base.

Now to my second question...and this is probably the strangest one yet. Back in 2006, I had a car accident and broke my right fibula which was corrected with a titanium rod and six screws (thankfully this doesn't effect my running but I'm sure I'll need a waiver for it). Among the other injuries, is a wide scar covering my left tibia (right over my shin), the scar is about 2.5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide-and just about paper thin and is still EXTREMELY sensitive to this day. Hitting it on accident (like from crossing my legs under a table and accidently hitting a small ledge underneath the table) is enough to bring me to tears and make me want to pass out :/ Nothing from the PRT would hurt it but I was wondering if there was anything else that might possibly hit it...the more I look at what I'm writing, the dumber it looks. I guess it's hard to explain. I'm just worried about something hitting it, it splitting open, then I get osteomyelitis (wow that escalated quickly!). I'll just be the person there wearing one shin guard haha :) Thanks for any insight!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

A girl in my class missed the cut off for the NCP and went through my recruiter to look into a commission after getting her license. He told her that for this fiscal year there are no spots for current nurses. So she won't be able to do anything until next October when they find out what fiscal year 2015 looks like for spots. So before you worry to much about anything I would call a recruiter and see if this information is true. If it is true it might actually be a year or two before you could put in an application. Like I said though, this is like 3rd hand information so you might want to check it :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I briefly spoke to a recruiter just so I could find out if they needed nurses right now before I put any thought into anything and he told me that the Navy was actually in need of nurses right now (this was 2 days ago). So hopefully that's accurate...guess we'll see :/

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Lol yeah I figured it may have not been correct. Good luck with everything :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you! The person I spoke with may be the incorrect one. Guess I'll find out soon!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Lolly, waivers are going to be very difficult to obtain with the current recruiting climate, but if you don't ask, the answer will always be no. :) Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psych, Critical Care, ER, Military.

Hi Lolly 1985,

If I were you I would open up two maps on your computer and google airforce bases on one and navy bases on the other and see what there is. If you're stationed at Portsmouth can he be stationed at Langley? If you're in Bethesda can he be stationed at Andrews? I know it will also depend on what he does and he should be able to talk to someone about what is needed where. It would be a challenge and there would be times when you would be apart. I know that if both members are Navy the detailers have a year to co-locate them.

As far as your old injury goes-we don't do any type of obstacle course, body-on-body exercises. You would be in control of your own motion. I wouldn't bring it up unless you're asked.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi!

I've been furiously reading through all the pages regarding the navy nurse corps. Since I graduated nursing school in 2009, I've thought about joining the military but was unsure of the exact branch to pursue. I've looked into air force and navy particularly and have realized that my personal mission as a nurse matches most closely with the navy nurse corps.

I've been contacted on more than one occasion from a recruiter in regards to joining but I've always been hesitant but now I think I'm ready!

The only thing holding me back is I'm afraid about my tattoos. I'm heavily covered - one sleeve, one 1/2 sleeve, my thighs/shins are done. All of my tattoos are covered with long sleeves and none are offensive/violent; I had originally placed my tattoos in all areas covered by "dress blues" because I had someone tell me that as long as they could be covered in your dress blues than they're accepted. However, I'm beginning to learn that this isn't the case and I'm beginning to worry about my chances. I had someone else tell me that I could easily get a waiver and basically be okay as long as I promised not to get any new tattoos while being active duty. Any idea on the rules?

This is literally the only thing holding me back at this point; I have 4 years emergency/level 1 trauma nursing experience, have plans to get my CEN this summer, and I have all my certifications of ACLS, PALS, TNCC, BLS, etc. I graduate from my RN-BSN program in December 2014 (would be graduating in May 2014 but the one class I need is only offered in the fall! doh!) with a current 3.4 GPA.

Any information regarding the tattoo situation would be fantastic - thank you so much!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Your tattoo coverage is too heavy for any branch except the Army, and that will be changing soon as well. I was in the same situation: tattooed arms from shoulder to wrist, legs, back, chest - I was married to a tattoo artist for many years. :) When I started looking at active duty in 2010, I found I was too tattooed for anyone but the Army. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

Edited to add: I was told by the AF and Navy that my tattoos were not waiverable, that only those already in could be grandfathered. The Army granted me a waiver.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psych, Critical Care, ER, Military.

Thanks for the input, I myself do not know much about it. But I've never seen a sailor with a full sleeve. I've seen folks do their upper arms and then finish the sleeve when they get out. Our khaki uniforms are short sleeved.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment