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As a new grad, I can say that choosing a career in anesthesia is one of the best choices I have made. Yes, a simple routine case can be boring, but you must always be ready at a moment's notice! Imagine giving sugammadex for an I&D, then 3-4 minutes later your patient's rhythm went from NSR-> Bradycardia-> PEA -> Asystole! A young patient to boot! Gotta make sure your HPA axis and adrenal glands are ready to mount a response to call for backup, give Epinephrine, and compressions! (good outcome, if your wondering) Love anesthesia, boring is nice, but have to be ready for the excitement.

The military route is a great path for CRNA. Competitive to get in as usual, but once your in, you get paid full salary and benefits for the 3 years you are in the program. Once you're done, you get paid your full salary/benefits + 21,000/year(will increase in October) for 5 years before you are able to get the full bonus of 56,000/year (this is going to increase in October). You end up coming out ahead with the military route due to a lack of debt. Furthermore, the education is great, you're pushed to be independent from day 1, there is no one to fall back on.

As a Navy Nurse, your an Officer first, nurse second, but that does not mean you don't practice at the bedside. As a junior officer, your main job is to excel at being a nurse, whether at the bedside or in the clinic. You will be training Corpsman how to take care of patients, administer medications, as well as teaching new Navy nurses how to be a nurse overtime. As you become more senior in rank, such as a senior O3, then you will need to choose how you will continue your career. Senior Navy Nurses such as O4-O6 can be clinicians (advance practice) and still be in direct patient care, but as one progresses O5, O6 there will be less direct patient care and more management duties. Whether a commanding officer of a hospital, or officer in charge of a clinic, you still make time to maintain your credentials. - clinician -> choose NP, CRNA, CNS, periop nurse programs (on the Navy's dime, your job will be a student) - management -> work as a Division Officer "nurse manager", progress to department head, or out of the field such as department head of staff education and training, in charge of command sexual assault programs, command alcohol programs, etc - research -> PhD program (on the Navy's dime, your job will be a student) As for travel, depends on your specialty. Critical care (ICU/ER) gets deployed more frequently, in my almost 10 years in, been deployed 3 times. Done things I could have never imagined as a civilian nurse... You also can deploy on the hospital ship the Comfort or Mercy in support of humanitarian crisis or missions. May also take care of enemy combatants if deployed into a war zone. You will provide the best care you can to them, and local nationals, as you are a representative of the USA. The Navy is short on ICU nurses and OR nurses, and provided bonuses up to $20,000/year after your accession bonus commitment is done. Some of the benefits of being in include free health insurance, great pay with big jumps with promotions, 30 days of vacation a year, able to go to school with full salary and benefits, potential to retire at 20 years with lifetime of health insurance and retirement pay, Post 9/11 bill that can be used for yourself or passed on to spouse or children, free air travel (hard to take advantage of), and represent the USA. Some of the hardships include moving every 2-3 years, deploying for 6-8months at a time, not always doing just nursing, working 40+ hours a week, not fully in control of your career (needs of the Navy come first) and family hardships (loss of social networks upon moving). Hope this helps.

see website below https://www.med.navy.mil/bumed/Special_Pay/Documents/FY19 Special Pay Plans/Special Pays Briefing Card_181214.pdf and a word doc going into specifics https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=11&ved=2ahUKEwihiordkd3iAhUPUt8KHbO5D4kQFjAKegQIABAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.med.navy.mil%2Fbumed%2FSpecial_Pay%2FDocuments%2FFY19%20Special%20Pay%20Plans%2FFY19%20NURSE%20CORPS%20SPECIAL%20PAY%20GUIDANCE%20(14Dec18).docx&usg=AOvVaw2j59ftxhfKfeYuZ1Or43MD

Jfrantian, I was taking a salary of $150,000 at ~30% tax bracket. 150,000 * 30% = 45,000 in federal taxes, not including state tax. $105,000 not including state taxes, health, dental or liability insurance. $105,000/12 = $8,750/month, again without the above deductions, nor with any perks with military service. My current take home as a SRNA is $8100/month. Military is great for the experience, the benefits, retirement, deploying, and taking care of America's 1%. Cheers

NO ADNs at all, the Army was the last one to have ADNs in reserve, and from my knowledge has transitioned to an all BSN force as the Air Force and Navy has. If you have the chance, the military is one of the best choices you can make, especially if your desire is for further education as CRNA, FNP, CNS, PhD. The experiences are worth it. Great calculator for pay, type in rank, years of service, and zip code. ~20-50% of your pay is not taxed, depending on rank and location. Higher rank = more taxes. O-1 is <2yrs of service O-2 is 2yrs O-3 is 4yrs O-4 is 10yrs O-5 is 16-17yrs O-6 is 23-24yrs https://militarypay.defense.gov/Calculators/RMC-Calculator/

Complete BS to take the ASVAB, you do not need to take that, as previously mentioned, that is for enlistment to determine what jobs you have the "smarts" for. I would recommend active duty over civilian, the experiences regardless of the branch joined is priceless, and includes training for almost anything imaginable. You can also retire in 20 years if you make all the promotions! The pay is not bad either, make as much as a CRNA with a BSN around 8-10 years depending on location. The services will also train you to be a CRNA, FNP, CNS, or PhD, and a leader. I could never have imagined the experiences and travel to the places I have been to, if I would have stayed as a civilian. The comraderee in the military is awesome too, bump into folks who you can make instant connections with, shared experiences, and best of all, taking care of our men and women in uniform. Again, slam the door on the enlisted recruiter, obviously doesnt know what they're talking about, and head to a medical recruiter... Air Force https://www.airforce.com/careers/specialty-careers/healthcare/careers/nurse Navy https://www.navy.com/careers/nursing Army https://www.goarmy.com/amedd/nurse.html

GPA 3.3 overall, GRE 318 - M=157, V=161, writing 4.5

Navy doesn't really utilize flight nurses. Two duty stations currently, one in Diego Garcia and somewhere in the midwest (desk work). The Navy uses en route care nurses (helicopter) for transporting injured patients from location (ship, small operating base) to larger deployed or fixed hospital. When it comes to certs, the only ones that make a difference that I am aware of, are certs in your speciality, IE CCRN. BLS is expected of everyone, ACLS/PALS depending on where assigned, TNCC just for fun (these the military provides the training for, plus switching to Red Cross right now).

I'm an active duty RN in the Navy, current job is a student for another 2.25 years. All 3 branches have recently cut their nurse corps due to military medicine wide cuts. That is not to say that the military is not recruiting, always upward mobility, as my senior folks are required to retire if they do not pick up a rank, mandatory age retirement, or max time in service for rank. The military needs OR, CRNA, ICU/ER, APRNs, and med-surg nurses that are deployable. Expect to deploy at least once every 3 years(per duty station) for at least 6-9 months, unless the President pulls us out of these conflicts. Regarding rank, if your goal is to retire (20 years of service), starting out at the lowest rank (ensign) will be beneficial, and provide 4 years till the rank of Lieutenant for you to learn the ropes. The military credits 2 years for a masters degree, 4 years of a DNP/PhD, and time of experience with a BSN or higher divided by 2. So if you have 10 years of experience would be credited with 5 years of service for rank only (does not count toward pay or toward retirement). With that being said, higher rank = higher pay, but also greater responsibility which you will be evaluated on for promotion. If you come in as a Lieutenant, you will be graded against others who know how the military system works and what is expected, what to do to earn higher marks and such. Which is why I would recommend starting as an Ensign first (not much is expected of you at this point, but to focus on clinical skills. At the rank of Lieutenant, you are expected to start doing administration roles, such as DIVO "nurse manager", and doing collaterals (teaching ACLS, BLS, etc, infection control tracking, and such). Right now the current duty stations for the Navy in Bethesda, MD; Portsmouth, VA; San Diego, CA; Jacksonville, FL; Camp Pendleton, CA; Camp Lejune, NC; Bremerton, WA; Okinawa Japan; Yokuska Japan; Guam, USA; Naples Italy; Sigonella Italy; Bahrain; Rota Spain. Not an inclusive list, but the ability to go to each one is dependent on open billets and need for your billet (job). To make matters more confusing, all of the East coast this year is falling under the Defense Health Association (DHA), West coast 2020, and world 2021. What does that mean for Navy? I don't fully know yet, but it seems that each hospital will be tri-service, though for deployments you will be utilized by individual branches. If your goal is to go into anaesthesia, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist, the military will pay full salary and benefits to be a student for 3 years (can apply at the end of your second duty station or ~6 years from entry).

I would work on your GPA, getting into the military is very selective, you are in competition against 100s of applicants for a few spots. Recently the military has significantly cut the nurse corps in each of the branches, making them more selective. Find ways to stand out, GPA, experience, certifications, etc. In the military you are not just a nurse, your an Officer first, nurse second. If it is something you dream of, then it is worth the journey, the experiences one gets in the military are boundless. It has been one of the best choices of my life.

I am a LT (lieutenant/O3) in the Navy for background purposes. The Navy has the best medicine/hospitals out of the 3 branches, and also the best duty stations and uniforms! Your biggest hurdle is your weight, if you don't fit standards, the Navy is not going to invest/waste their time/resources on you (unless your a MD). Physical Readiness Testing (twice a year) are becoming more important in the Nurse Corps, with an excellent result being the minimal desired. If you achieve less than an excellent result, it looks bad for promotion boards and for applying for higher education. If you fail to pass the weigh in, you will be processed out. The Navy is extremely competitive to get into right now, and their cutting back on paying for school. Why pay for school and a small monthly stipend, when they can pay 20-30k signon for an experienced nurse? When i entered the Navy 3 years ago, there was a 6% chance of being accepted. With that being said, the Navy has been a wonderful experience, camaraderie with your peers, ability to mold corpsman (medics or LVN equivalent on civilian side), the pay is fantastic, and the ability to serve your country/support the war effort. In the Navy, your not just a RN, but your first and foremost an Officer. As an Ensign and Lieutenant Junior Grade (O1/O2) your focus will be on nursing, but after that you will need to progress in leadership positions, otherwise you will fail to promote to Lieutenant Commander (O4). Higher ranks require that you be in leadership positions such as: division officer (nurse manager), department head, etc. You will not be able to stay as a clinical nurse for a career. Navy Officer Development School (ODS) is the boot camp for Staff Corps (MD, RN, Chaplains, Lawyers, PA, etc) it is a 5 week ordeal, and basically a walk in the park. You will PT 6 days a week, classes the rest of the day, and be yelled at for only 1 day, unless your class messes up. As for weight loss, if you want to loss weight and keep it off without too much effort. I recommend a Vegan diet with minimal processed food. The weight should melt off, as most vegan food is not calorie dense.

The navy is not accepting nurse applications currently, until fiscal year 2012 which starts October 2011. Usually can start applying with the recruiter in June or July. I was blessed to be selected for active duty, 1 out of 79 slots, over 700 applicants. I'm currently halfway through ODS(Bootcamp), I had 1 year experience prior to applying. There are 6 Rn's in my class, with 2 having no prior experience. The rest have less then 1 year experience. If your looking to have loans paid for don't do the military route, your wasting got time and the military's. Join because you want to serve. Do things to make you stand out if you want to join. Join a med-surg association, get your ACLS, etc. Get all te info you need now so your packet will be ready come October 2011

Wow 3 miles... I can do 2 currently at 8.5 mph, but not 3. How fast do u have to run? Again thanks for all this information it is helpful.

Thanks for the reply, so ur saying we never Get to use our cellphones except weekend? What is a typical day like? Do you get time to read or allowed togoto church on Sunday? How much money should I bring? Credit card/ debit okay?

I start ODS for the Navy on April 10th-May 13th. What should I know, bring, study, rules? Im excited yet nervous about starting my military career. Any suggestions would be helpful. Also is the reception the night before graduation formal or casual? Thanks!

I took the oath of office on 2/15, and now am officially property of the USN. What should I expect when I arrive 4/10/11 in Rhode Island? What can I do to prepare myself for ODS? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also I plan on being a "lifer", what are my chances of attending medical school as my "job" in the Navy? Am I able to attend school part time while being active duty? I have a few required courses to take for future med school hopefully. Thanks, cant wait to start serving our young brave marines and sailors!

I just found out I was accepted into the Navy as an active duty nurse. I commission in January and goto ODS in March. Will the Navy pay for me to goto medical school while active duty after 4yrs? As they will pay for CRNA and FNP as an active duty nurse? Any help would be appreciated, thank you. Looking forward to serving our country!

Athena, thank you for the great reply, didnt think I would get one as in depth as that. Definetly worth more then 2cents. What do you mean direct active and RC? I'm leaning toward going directly into active duty right now. What do you mean, "if you are really thinking about becoming a CRNA get your GPA up as high as you can NOW?" I am done with school, 3.3 was my graduating GPA. My prereqs and other classes dragged it down, but my nursing GPA is like 3.6, 3.7. Can i choose if I want to work in a clinic or not? I would prefer to work in the hospital. Also does the clinic count toward "med/surg" experience? By the time I enlist I should have close to a year of med/surg experience in a civilian setting. Is it easy to get into the Critical care course, once i have met the pre req? I really want to get into the ICU as soon as possible, as i enjoy trauma, or would possible like to join the foward surgical team. As for teaching in the critical care course, I wouldnt mind it. I believe that is the best way to learn, is when you have to teach it to someone else. Hate care plans though:yawn: What does TIG mean? For me as a soldier/nurse. I want to advance my career in nursing as far as I can, while serving my country at the same time. Again, thank you for your 2 cents=)

Irishmen i meant which branch is my family accommodating. I know the needs of the military comes first:idea:

Thank you for the reply. By the end of this year ill have one year of nursing experience. I wonder how long it will be before I can take the critical care course. I think it would be a great experience to be in the forward surgical teams. I need something that is as family friendly as possible. My friend in the air force did mention that the air force bases are much nicer then the army bases, is that true?

How do the services compare? I was just reading about the airforce, about how they have amenities that are similiar to civilian life. Free air travel too. How does the navy and army compare?

thank you for your reply, I did some of my own investigations and found some of the answers to my questions. http://militarypay.defense.gov/index.html Great website to calculate pay, and retirement pay. http://www.hooah4health.com/ Great website to calculate how well i need to perform on fitness test. http://www.usuhs.mil/ Great website on finding out more of the military's anesthesia school https://allnurses.com/government-military-nursing/my-oblc-experiences-218565.html A great thread on what to expect from Officer Basic Leadership Course Again thanks for all your help.

What is it like being an active duty nurse? Please share experiences. How many hours do you work a week, how long are the shifts? What are the chances of getting your first pick such as Hawaii or Texas to be stationed? How soon can one take a specialty course such as Critical Care Nursing Course? and will I be put into the ICU right away? How long are deployments, is it 180 days or 360 days "boots on the ground" Do I get to provide care for my fellow soldiers or is it family and retirees? Which service is best to join? Army, Navy, Airforce? Thank you.

Im a new grad (25m)currently working in a suburban hospital. I am going to join the reserves at least when October comes rolling around. My goal is to become a CRNA preferably or an NP. My question is if I go active duty will it be easier and quicker to become a CRNA then if I was in the reserves? If I stay in the reserves it will be at least 2 years of med/surg experience needed before I can try to interview for a ICU position, then another 2 years before I can apply for CRNA school. I am currently married, have a child on the way, own a house (which I dont mind renting out, I dont want to sell it), have a 3.3 GPA. My wife would like it if I went active duty if I could be stationed in Hawaii, or Texas. Some questions are... How hard and long does it take to go from a army med/surge nurse to ICU nurse. How long are the hours, how many hrs/week. I am a family man and would like to not be far from family. What extra benefits come from going active duty? What are my chances of getting stationed in Hawaii or Texas? What is this critical care nursing course (14 weeks) I saw on the website? How quickly do I get promoted, and how does the pay compare to civilian? I currently make 25.03/hr +2/hr offshift, +3 weekends. What are the chances of being deployed and for how long? (I have heard 180 days boots on the ground?) Thank you for your time, first time posting.