Lindzh

I know there are other threads on here about asthma, but nothing too recent. I have been gathering medical records to make an appointment for a physical through my recruiter, and my allergist does indeed include a diagnosis of mild intermittent asthma as late as 2007. I have heard of people getting waivers for this, but as my diagnosis is so recent I am very nervous. I do plan on disclosing this information to my recruiter. Is there anyone out there who recently got in with a waiver for asthma? I only had trouble around cats, never with exercise or pollen or any other environmental factor. I'm just really concerned since they have been filling nursing slots so quickly, I figure the army can afford to be a little more picky on who they let in. I will be calling my recruiter by the end of the week, as soon as I get done working this row of night shifts, just hoping for some insight, and maybe some encouragement in the meantime. By the way, I do know that according to the military medical standards, asthma is NOT waiverable, but I also know that there have been exceptions to the rule in the past. I am just testing the current waters. Thanks for any help!

I don't know about officer's, as I am just starting the application process, but my husband is enlisted, and when we PCS'ed, we were allowed 10 days REIMBURSED temporary housing until we had to pay out of pocket. I don't know about Ft Hood, but at Ft Bragg, the temporary housing isn't exactly where you would want to stay any longer than you have to. Just my experience. Hopefully someone can reply from the officer perspective. But most likely yes, it is too good to be true.

I believe it is not specific to critical care nursing, but nurses for the entire army needs. I was told by my recruiter that there will be no more boards until October (the start of the 2011 fiscal year) because the need for nurses for the 2010 fiscal year was filled as of December boards. This seems to be across all branches too, going by some of the other posts in this section. I have already gotten the application packet, it takes a while, and will really get things going starting in May, by the advice of my recruiter, to go for the October board. Good luck!

A word of caution, your ASN program must be NATIONALLY ACCREDITED. ie NLN or CCNE. I called my local AMEDD recruiter last fall all excited about joining the reserves and utilizing STRAP monies to help pay for school, only to find out that my associates program was not nationally accredited. The BSN program at the school was, but the powers that be decided that accrediting the ADN was a waist of time. So now I am taking classes on my own dime to finish my BSN in hopes of going active duty upon completion, and already have the application packet to do so. So it boils down to this: before you get your hopes too high, check that the program you graduated from is accredited by an agency that the federal government recognizes. It briefly broke my heart when I found that my well figured plan of action wasn't at all possible. Hope this helps.

http://www.goarmy.com/amedd/undergrad.jsp This is a link to the army recruiting website for information on the army paying for your BSN. You need to be within 24 months of graduation, and you get a 5000 bonus at the beginning, a monthly stipend of $1000/month (currently, this number is re-evaluated periodically) while you are going to school, then and additional $5000 when you finish. This is for a four year commitment. I believe they will do a loan re-payment on top of this but not an additional sign-on bonus. However, if you use this for the full 24 months, it ends up being more than the current bonus. This is for the army, other branches most likely have similar programs, you would have to check websites or talk to recruiters to get full details. The name of the program is the army nurse candidate program. Good luck in your studies and what-ever you decide to do! Lindsey

Thanks for all the info so far. My background is in step-down and cardiovascular obs. I plan on getting my BSN first and then going active duty. So I'm really curious if my Associates experience will count toward rank in active duty? From what I've read, most of the people talking about experience counting toward rank say they have BSN or MSN experience. Since I can't go active duty with my ADN, will they accept that experience as relavant?

Personally, nursing was the job that I always wanted, and when I was in school and after, I somewhat regretted my decision; while my roommate on the other hand always said she would never be a nurse and that's what she ended up doing and loves it. Shadowing is definatly a good idea, so you can see first hand what nurses do on a daily basis. There are areas in nursing that don't require direct patient care, but do require a few years of direct patient care experience to get into. Can you talk with your advisor at your school about your situation? Many schools offer career aptitude type tests to analyze your interests and abilities to hopefully point you in the right direction. From my own experience, I love working with the patients for the most part, and I like that there are so many different areas to explore, so if you do get bored in one area of nursing, just try something else. And as far as getting bored, medical advances, the people you work with and for, all areas of nursing are constantly changing to keep you stimulated. I really do not enjoy the politics that go along with nursing, ie: paperwork and pleasing upper management and other accrediting bodies. Hope this helps, and good luck with your decision.

I am currently an ADN with 5 years of experience. This January I will start toward my BSN with the goal of joining the Army. Does anyone know if my years of nursing experience with my ADN will count toward my rank once I join? Also, I am currently cured, but have a history of cancer, will this affect my ability to join up? And finally, can anyone give my any good info on the AMEDD Officer basic course? Is it difficult? What are the living arrangements like? My brief interaction with a recruiter and my scouring the internet has not been very helpful thus far. Any help would be greatly appreciated!