I'm considering the Army Reserves, entering as a Psych NP. It's been a dream of mine for a long time (very long...I'm 53!...they're waiving my age and the board told my recruiter to sign me up at all cost - they'll let me do my one weekend a month in my hometown and base me locally, even let me use the time at my job in a Vets Home as time served on weekends, if need be). I'm a little concerned as I hear some recruiters glaze over the hard facts. I was told there's no basic training but now I'm reading here that you go to an Officer's Training? Is that for Nurse Practitioners/Clinical Nurse Specialists as well? There's NO way I'll make it through any physical training at this point.
I'm also concerned about finances. My recruiter told me that my sign up would be 50,000 towards my student loans and 30,000 sign on bonus, then $1,589 a month for one weekend a month. OK, that's wonderful, but I'm confused as to what I'll get if/when I'm deployed (also, do you get paid for the two weeks per Summer?). I can't go below the 83,000 I make now as a civilian.
Lots of newbie questions, I know, but I'm not sure where to go to get all the answers and would really appreciate some guidance.
Any Psych NPs out there serving in the Reserves? What kind of experiences are you having? Did anyone enter as new graduate NPs? Were you thrown right into writing scripts or did someone take you under their wing?
so if you are in the reserves as a RN, you only make 340/month. Doesn't seem to make much sense if you are allready happen with health insurance with you f/t job and if you are done with school.
Everyone has different reasons for serving, not all of them financial (although $350-400 for a weekend, and a change of pace is not a bad thing either). Many people simply feel pride in knowing they are serving their country, and helping the soldiers that have sacrificed so much fighting for our freedom and way of life. Others see the reserves as a way to maintain their civilian jobs and still serve their country, as well as an opportunity to gain some assistance with their education (be it their last, current, or future degree). There is also a leadership aspect to being a Nurse Officer that you will not experience as a civilian nurse, and you will gain a position of responsibility much sooner than you might outside the military.
Again, the decision to serve your country in any capacity is a personal choice, and there are no right or wrong reasons, only different. The thing to keep in mind is that if you are seeking the Army reserves strictly from a financial point of view, you may be disappointed, especially if you do not have use for some of their bonus/education programs. However, personal satisfaction can be gained in more than just monetary terms...as any nurse knows.
If the military is not the way for you, that is fine and there is no shame in it. I would much rather see someone ask these questions of them self before joining rather than being disgruntled with their decision later. As anyone who has held a job for any length of time knows, there are both good and bad aspects of any form of employment (well, maybe not the guy who tests all the flavors for Ben and Jerry's Ice cream..but that's different...lol). The point is... if you know why you, as an individual, are serving in the military, you will be more apt to reap the benefits that you are seeking, and you will be more likely to have a long and satisfying career.
Good luck in your decisions, and know that what ever you decide, there will always be another decision after that
Like LA40 stated the military is not for everyone and there is nothing wrong with that. As far as pay goes the following is from DFAS (the money people) website for a 1LT (O2)
1 drill- $101.96
4 drills(the whole weekend)- $407.84
1 months pay- $3058.80
Your 2 weeks active duty pay would be base pay divided by 30 then multiplied by the number of active duty days. 3058.80/30= 101.96 x 14= 1427.44 + housing= $1762.04
Plus your BAH (housing allowance) which is $717 for the month which again is divided by 30 x number of active duty days. You only get BAH based on zip code if you are on active duty for > 30days. If you deploy the BAH is your home of record not where you are deployed to.
just located website. I have taken steps to join the military as a PNP in the Air Force. My recruiter has lost several papers and does not have much experience processing my application. Anyway I was told with my years of nursing experience I would have 12 years equivalent to military. Is this true ? I have been an RN for 22 years an NP 16 years. I would also like to know about salary. Presently my salary is 78,000 in my locale. Will my military salary be comparable or significantly less? This is a major question for me. My recruiter said the tax break from the BAH I would need a civilian salary of 90,000 to be comparable to my active duty pay. Is this true?
Specializes in neurosurg,med/surg,trauma,flight,case mg.
To get absolute honest ans. I would seek the information from flight nurses in the real world, not recruters,, who have been known to slant information --- sorry, but it is true. There are so many issues to add and subtract from numbers, including: flying status (adds money), temp duty (adds money), no active duty (sheds money).
Keep in mind, this duty is not your FULL TIME job. It could be a "part time" one, with lots of responsibility, if you just want some extra money on your days off.
Also keep in mind that if you are attached to anything but an aeroevacuation unit, you likely will not fly or even be sent to flight school. The best thing about reserves and ANG is that your whole reason for being is to FLY and take care of patients inroute to their next sourch of medical care. the reg. USAF nurse corps limits flight to 3 years, and one never knows if they will actually a)be sent to flight school and b)ever be placed on flying status.
That's the advantage for going reserve/ANG AND keeping your day job. Almost no one can make a full time living on reserve pay---unless they are on active duty and even then, expenses add up on temp duty plus keeping up your home (and family, if you are married) and you can expect a delay getting your gov't ck. from the service --sometimes weeks and weeks. Been there/done that. (I was single, so I could handle eating p-nut butter when I ran out of funds).
I will tell you it is the most satisfying and exciting nursing I've ever done. I am so glad I took the leap as a 22 year old and joined -- it was worth everything to me.(back during Nam, they wern't so choosy about years of experience, plus I worked ED) The travel was beyond comprehension. The leadership was astounding and my learning curve was thrilling. I literally grew up professionally and it flowed into my full time job, and made a huge difference in my own leadership skills, as well as working with various personalities. I laugh now, but for a short time I was the only 2nd LT. flight nurse in the Pacific. Not at all popular with regular AF flight nurses who had waited years for flt. school and then longer for flying status.
bayside
7 Posts
so if you are in the reserves as a RN, you only make 340/month. Doesn't seem to make much sense if you are allready happen with health insurance with you f/t job and if you are done with school.