Prior Service 11B to Reserve/Guard RN

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Specializes in Plastic Surgery / ENT / Head & Neck Surgery.

Hey all, looking for advice/info here. I am a prior service 11B (enlisted) who got out, got my RN (BSN) and have a few years of experience now. I am looking to join the Guard or Reserve (I don't discriminate) as an RN. I am reading some of these threads and they've got me a little worried. How does the process work for nurse? For active duty as an 11B I just signed some papers and went to basic, simple as pie. I read that people are being waitlisted and rejected? What would make someone get a slot as opposed to not get a slot? Is there anything I can do to be more competitive in this process? I would ask my recruiter but I seem to be having difficulty getting ahold of anyone. I asked if I could have the contact info for my local AMEDD recruiter and the GO-GUARD guy laughed at me, told me they don't give out that info until you fill out a complete application, which I now have. I have been waiting for 5 days for someone to call me back with no avail. Any info would be greatly appreciated so I can know what I am getting myself into with this venture.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, OR, FNP.

You need to simply look good on paper. As proud of your E time as you may be, the folks reviewing Nurse apps won't care about anything except nursing experience. Of course get ACLS, PALS, NRP, and ENCP. Get certified in your specialty. Tech something at work - BLS, ACLS, be a dedicated preceptor. Develop a preceptor system if you folks don't have one. Develop a peer review system. Etc, etc,etc. There are many ways to shine and help folks stratify you from the masses.

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Specializes in EMT, ER, Homehealth, OR.

For the Reserves did you try goarmy.com and then look under officer, nurse for a healthcare recruiter. Yes it does take time on the officer side to get in compared to the enlisted side. The Guard guy is not really a good source for finding a AMEDD (healthcare) Recruiter.

To get more competive try getting certified in your speciality, ie. CEN, CNOR, CCRN etc.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

There is a link to look up your local AMEDD point of contact:

http://www.goarmy.com/locate-a-recruiter.html

The selection board is in November, so realistically your packet wouldn't go anywhere until next year. Take this year to do the things mentioned above to make yourself stand out. I made sure I had a ton of alphabet soup (ACLS, PALS, BLS instructor, ABLS, NRP, TNCC, ENPC, as well as some EMS stuff like ITLS/ITLS instructor and AMLS), plus ED RN board certs for both adults and peds (CEN and CPEN). Even with all that and a 4.0 GPA in my BSN program, I still didn't know if I'd be selected! Luckily I was.

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Specializes in Plastic Surgery / ENT / Head & Neck Surgery.

Thanks for the advice. My next question would be about slots available. How do I find out how many there will be and how many applicants there are? I live in Rhode Island so I'm figuring we can't have too many slots. Anyone I know that is a nurse in the military here has been so for 10+ years so I can't imagine there is much turnover. Is this going to be one of those things where I pray a spot opens up for years? Or are they pretty good about shifting things and making room for new blood? I have read that they only took 50 (or 100) new people for 2011, but how many applied?

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Are you talking about active duty or National Guard/Reserve? If you are talking Reserves, I have heard that the selection board is in October so I doubt you could complete a packet before then. It is also MUCH easier to get into the Reserves right now than active duty. If you already have nursing experience, that will also help. You only need to find a unit in your area that has an open slot. A Reserve/Guard healthcare recruiter can give you more info. Either way, you are probably looking at applying next year. Good luck!

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Specializes in Plastic Surgery / ENT / Head & Neck Surgery.

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I am looking to join up this time next year, not this year. I understand the process will be slow and I am trying to account for that. Also, I am looking to join either the Reserves or Guard, both units are available in my area. I could probably be enticed into Active Duty but only if I could stay at a local unit, which I don't think there is one. Closest unit I know of is Fort Drum and 5hrs is a little long of a commute for me.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
I have read that they only took 50 (or 100) new people for 2011, but how many applied?

A person at HRC told me there were 300+ applicants for the selection board last year.

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A person at HRC told me there were 300+ applicants for the selection board last year.

I heard the same thing, but it was for active duty. Of those 300, 100 were selected. Again, this was for active duty, not Reserves. No idea what the numbers were on that side.

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Lunah - do you still have your contact at HRC? ;)

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
Lunah - do you still have your contact at HRC? ;)

Unfortunately not ... sorry!

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Unfortunately not ... sorry!

I have one, but he doesn't deal with active duty accessions. He has been an invaluable resource though!

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