*New 2018* Things I Wish I Knew Before BOLC

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This is in response to some confusion about AMEDD BOLC and Pixie RN's article written in 2011. I hope to carry the torch and help some future Army Nurses. I'm not going to repeat the great information she provided. See her article here. Please keep in mind, even though I went to BOLC in January 2018, things change.

1. Please see the AMEDD BOLC website U.S. Army Medical Department Center & School Portal .

2. You should have a welcome letter. If you were previously a cadet and no longer have CAC access because of an expired card or can't access your military email account please contact Major Lindsay @ [email protected].

3. Take your PT score seriously. We needed a 90 in EACH APFT category to request a pass. There will possibly be three day weekends. Consider doing well. Only the highest scorers will be allowed into the Level I Combatives certification course.

3. We wore berets at graduation, not service caps, start fixing your beret now. They have pre-shaped/shaven ones at Kim's near Ft. Sam. Don't wait until the last minute because the uniform inspection is taken seriously.

4. Some frowned on wearing ACUs in garrison, they were more acceptable in the field. If you are short on money, don't go broke buying OCPs.

7. Day and night land navigation is done in pairs and it's a self-correcting course however, great people still failed. It can still be challenging. Those who failed were told there would be negative consequences if they didn't pass the second time.

8. You won't have a roommate in garrison so it's important to make sure you wake yourself up, don't just rely on your phone.

9. If you have access, try to get the mandatory online training done before BOLC. List of online trainings are on the AMEDD BOLC link and in the welcome letter.

10. BLS is retaken during BOLC for free. If you are near expiration after graduating college, don't worry about it, we do it during nurse track.

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Specializes in ICU.

How did you feel about the 2 week nurse track after? I am at BOLC now. So far, it is a lot better than DCC at Ft. Sill!

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The two week track phase was when we did BLS. We learned about TeamSTEPPS, the Patient Caring Touch System, and other important Army Nurse Corps specific information. It's pretty much death by powerpoint :( sorry. There isn't any PT during this time unless you're doing Combatives so keep up your workouts. We also had a brief from the Army Nurse Corps Association and got to talk to LPNs about what they expect from us when we work with them. There was also a panel of other nurses in specialties to answer questions for those who haven't chosen a specialty yet, which it looks like you're already in ICU. These seem like very long days because the material is very dry however, you're getting certificates for some of the mandatory topics that need to be covered.

Hope this helps

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What happened after you got your official scroll and how long did it take for you to get your official orders (dcc, bolc, first duty station) after you heard back from the recruiter?

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I hope Texasbronco1210 can see your message. My commissioning source was ROTC so the process was a little different.

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Specializes in ICU.

I was officially scrolled in February but did not commission until 12 March, which delayed my official orders being cut a little bit. I received my unofficial orders 27 April and that was through HRC and I basically verified all the information on it and "accepted" the orders in a sense. I received official orders from my recruiter the following week. Hope this helps!

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If you don't mind answering, why were you not able to commission till March? Personal reason or is it because of the Army? Did you get to choose your duty station or at least did someone ask you what your top preferences were? Thanks and congratulations.

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Specializes in ICU.

It was personal. I could have commissioned the next day after I received my official scroll if I had wanted to. But I had some family things come up that made me hesitant. I made the right decision by commissioning, though. At least I think so thus far.

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I'm glad that you feel that way and I hope you enjoy your time in the military. Have fun being in Hawaii! I hope TAMC is a good experience for you. I'm about to leave Hawaii after I get my commissioning orders in. Hopefully it goes faster than waiting for my scroll and that I make it to the September class.

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Can anyone speak to BOLC for reservists? Duration, where in your service obligation this occurs, and whether there is follow on training specific to RN/APRNS afterwards. Looks like DCC has to come first now?

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Ok so as I've discovered all direct commissions have to go to DCC including prior enlisted. I've read USMA grads going as well as HPSP kiddos.

For the nurse, DCC will be four weeks before BOLC. At the moment, reservists do BOLC phase 2 for four weeks with a week in class and three of field training with weekends off. Both must be completed within two years of commissioning. I hope if selected I go to neither Sill not Sam in the summer!! ;)

Active duty studs have a longer BOLC and attend very soon after commissioning. There's some reasonably recent material on YouTube including some phase 2 specific stuff regarding BOLC. There's a lot of online stuff for reservists to do prior to phase 2 much of which seems to be included on the DCC curriculum.

Some of the best DCC info is on student doctor network.

No idea if reservists do any nurse specific training at any point.

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