LtLilRed

At my second BA, earlier this month, a couple people told me you can not get it set up until you finish OBLC! I also am hearing that they only cover loans that you acquire prior to commissioning. This is unfortunate as I had been told when I signed up that you could add loans throughout your schooling up until the settled amount (50K for reserves.) Anyone have any input?

Can other people tell me what their experience was? I am attending my first drill this weekend (Army Reserve), but only on Saturday, as Sunday is a family picnic and I am not required to attend. I have no uniforms and am unsure what to wear or do. I am a bit clueless, as I was told last minute that I would need to attend this weekend as opposed to next month's drill. Also still hoping that I can switch from bonus to STRAP, I do not want to miss that opportunity. That and the earlier post by someone about being too late to get your LRP made me a bit nervous! Have a great weekend!

Thank you so much for this information. It is quite helpful! It seems to me it wouldn't hurt to continue as planned and perhaps down the line, I can obtain FNP education if I think I need to broaden my horizons are far as patient population is concerned. ~LtLilRed

Are CNS's in Ohio now able to get authority to prescribe? The information is conflicting! I am currently getting my BSN and then go directly back to the same college to get dual Master's in Nursing Education and possibly CNS in adult health. However, if CNS's here can't prescribe, I will not pursure either degree at this college and will go somewhere else. Thanks!

I honestly am not completely sure.I would love to work my way up the ranks and possibly even go active if it means that I can secure a position in an education capacity, because that is my passion! I love to teach and am a great administrator/manager. When I retire, I believe I would love to work with veterans or managing some kind of veteran type program. (Partly because my fiance' is currently in Baghdad and we together have a dream of doing some great for vets. )

I also meant to add that staffing agencies are currently paying RN's a minimum of 33 an hour. I make 35. Sometimes they go higher when they are truly desperate. They tend to let people work without experience as well I'm more concerned that without experience you do not want to be thrown into working at a prison with one day or less of orientation.

I will just add that in Columbus,OH at the county jail(there are two jails and one holds 650, the other 2200), RN's are currently making about $28 plus 0.65 shift differential. LPN's about $22. The strange thing is all RNs or all LPNs all make the same wage. I've been there a year and make the same that the other RN makes that has been there for ten years. Something is strange about that. Also, sheriff deputies make even more than RN's when they top out and get a bigger shift dif! Strange but true.

Get the packet from your recruiter that includes the application. It wouldn't hurt because the application itself doesn't bind you to anything. So get it, check it out. It's a lot of background stuff and I had to have three letters of recommendation, etc etc. It's not too terrible, but it seems like you write some of the same stuff over and over. For example: they want all of your past residences in the past 7 or so years and THEN they want a contact person with their address and phone number that knew you at each residence. So if you move a lot, you have to have a new person for each place! yikes! Also, part of what took so long for my app to get completed is the bureacracy at my job at the county jail. Everyone was arguing who was and wasn't supposed to fill out the recommendations. What kind of nursing are you thinking about trying in civilian life?

I won't get both simultaneously either. I will have to forfeit my bonus as soon as I start receiving STRAP money. I do believe I am in a TPU that drills once a month and two weeks each summer. I'm pretty sure IMA get together for two weeks out of the year sometime(and may deploy somewhere for those two weeks) and probably do their two weeks of AT in the summer as well(annual training). Once I got all of my paperwork in(the application took me forever, plus I had a lot of doubts, as my fiance' just got to baghdad and I would hate to deploy soon as he returns next year. Yikes! So anyway, depending when you get your packet in, they have a board review every month (in Ohio anyways, not sure if it's different anywhere else.) So find out when Board review is and get you packet in before the next one I would say(after you get your NCLEX squared away.) Hopefully your recruiter is an actual medical recruiter and not enlisted? I'll let you know anything I learn once I get my orders. I'm a Corrections charge nurse fulltime and it will be scary/strange getting back into the MedSurg swing of things. Btw, I don't recall if we addressed this: are you considering Active duty or Reserves? I joined Reserves mainly because I love my current job and the benefits yet need a taste again of the side of nursing that I have been away from. Thanks and good luck!

I took commission with the loan repayment and 15000 bonus. the plan is to apply for the STRAP as soon as I get my orders, which is hopefully soon because I start my BSN program in May. (I got my ADN going on two years ago, when I was 20.) anyway, when I start getting STRAP money, it will cancel my bonus which is okay because the strap can end up being a lot more than the bonus. So is your plan to use your STRAP for bills and use student loans and what not and then apply for loan repayment later? And yes I was assigned to a unit all ready, about 20 minutes from my home. Also I am glad you are looking at your options now. I have worked mostly in management and corrections(mostly corrections) most of my short career and lost most of my medsurg type of skills. That is part of why I joined the service. I am nervous regardless considering I haven't touched an IV or anything of the sort in sooo long!

Wow. I have a lot of the same questions as I took commission over a month ago and am still awaiting orders. I was also curious if you can use STRAP money for what you choose,since it is given to you and not school. They had told me I could get STRAP plus use the loan repayment....

I recently took my oath and am now awaiting orders. I know where I will be "stationed" so to say for drill, etc. (15 minutes from my home)They told me it would be about 9-12 months before I would go to OBLC. My main issues, however, are what do I expect? I have no ICU/critical care experience. This is not to say that I couldn't learn. I work in the civilian world in a large county jail working with adults. However, I switch roles multiple times during every shift. I go from human resources, to manager, to pill pusher, to social worker, to psych nurse, to emergent care nurse(such as fights, hangings, etc.) and mix that with minor to moderate acute and chronic care patients. I would therefore say that I do have the ability to do it all. But what might I expect on drill weekends,AT, etc? Working at a hospital when I have NEVER worked at a hospital? Help! I'm feeling a bit worried! One of the main reasons I joined was to possibly renew some of the clinical hands-on type skills that I feel have become rusty but I'm worried I will be thrown into things. Anyone have any idea?