Purple_Demon_RN

A downside with Bethesda for new nurses coming in is their internship program. At the other hospitals, Portsmouth and San Diego, their orientation process only lasts about ten weeks and mainly consists of training on the unit you're assigned too. At Bethesda, the internship program is 25 weeks long and the first month doesn't count because you're usually not assigned to a unit. Also, you'll be doing reports and powerpoint presentations on things like EBP, nursing research, wound care, culture, ethics, etc. throughout the internship. I actually have a few friends that arrived in Bethesda in July and are still in the program because there was some type of holdup when the two hospitals merged in September.

Like I told MB last night, the Navy has several subspecialty codes for nurses. There are subspecialty codes for PACU nurses and the subspecialty codes are different from critical care nurses. If you're asking me whether or not the navy has a need for PACU nurses, I'm not sure. What I can tell you is that the navy is spending crazy amounts of money trying to get periop nurses

You have to have a certain amount of posts

Speechless

Hahaha, do I come off as a lady? That's funny because I'm actually a guy. Anyways, I think I see now why some people get mad at my initial response because I have looked through the rest of the allnurses site. I can see that a lot of people are having trouble finding jobs, which I wasn't aware of how bad it was for this many people. In any case, you've asked a few questions, so here are your answers (this is my nicest and least offensive tone that I have for those out there that are easily offended). As for how many months of ICU experience I had when I gained accession, I had 6 months of experience. I had a total of 13 months when i began my service. Now it is important to remember that as time goes on, the budget for nursing in the Navy decreases and the obstacles to getting in appear to be increasing. Therefore, please get your CCRN and TNCC before you apply because you'll be much more competitive that way. The board recognizes those two things for sure and they understand how they set you apart from your peers. My timeline is as follows: I put in my first application as a general nurse accession in December 2010, which is right after I graduated and before I had my license. I found out in February that I was not accepted. I put in my application in May of 2011 as a critical care nurse. In June, I was approved by congress as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy, however I didn't find this out until October 2011 because of the possible government shutdown. I received orders November 2011 along with my formal commissioning. I went to ODS on new year's day 2012 and I now work for the United states Navy as a critical care nurse. With the critical care application, there are advantages. One of the advantages is that you can re-submit it every month. I think with the general application, it is only twice a year, once in August and once in December. I'm not entirely sure about those facts on the general application, but I know for a fact the critical care application is on a rolling basis. Another tip I have for you is that if you have ER experience and you want to get in the navy, get your CEN. That will also help you. The Navy has different classifications for specialty nurses with experience, certifications, master's degrees, etc. The only thing that would beat out that CEN in your emergency specialty is a master's degree in acute care. In case I didn't make myself clear, emergency nursing is a specialty in the Navy. On that note, obtaining your med/surg certification would also be helpful. Med/surg nursing is also a specialty in the Navy. If there are any other questions you have, just let me know.

So I'm a little surprised by that reply. I have to say it seems like either something was misunderstood on purpose or just completely overlooked. I think I make it pretty clear that the CCRN is not that bad and the only people that fail are those that don't study, which does not mean that if you don't study you will fail. So it appears that what you've done is re-packaged my post, because you basically repeated what I said, then insulted me by calling me cocky and non-objective. Interesting. I wish I knew your motivation for it

So with what you were asking there are minimums, but with budget cuts and the nursing shortage finally being found out to be a myth, here is what you need to know. If you are not in the nurse candidate program, the Navy will not take you right out of school. I have seen several applications, including my own, not be taken. You especially should not apply if you don't even have your license yet. You're just asking to get rejected if you do that. In case you're wondering what my GPA was when i applied and got rejected, it was a 3.6. If you definitely without a doubt want to get in without being rejected, apply as a critical care nurse. What are the requirements for that? You have to have 4 months of ICU experience as a nurse. Now even though you will definitely get in the navy through that process, there is no guarantee you will be put into critical care. I ha 1.5 years of experience, CCRN, and TNCC and I almost got put into a med/surg unit. That was mostly because I'm stationed at Walter Reed, but it can happen to you too. If you get denied, it is not a one-time deal. You can apply as many times as you want to, but I just personally don't like rejection. Do critical care and you'll get in, seriously.

I'm not MU Runner86, but we are acquainted. I can tell you that our experiences (mine and Mu Runner86's) are very similar, albeit still different. I am currently a Critical Care Nurse in the US Navy and I work at Walter Reed Military Medical Center. I can tell you that if you're trying to do direct accession into the navy without critical care or mental health experience and you are not certified in med/surg, you shouldn't even pick up an application. You don't have to have the CCRN in order to apply for the critical care nurse position, you just have to have 4 months of ICU experience. The certification for the CCRN was not terribly hard at all. I got 90% of it right, but I can see how some people would fail it. Now I can tell you that if you go into the navy with 4 months of ICU experience without your CCRN, you'll be right back in med/surg no matter which duty station you go to. I recommend you not going to Walter Reed because I had 1.5 years of ICU experience, CCRN, and TNCC and I still almost got put in med/surg. If you're really worried about the test, just watch the Gasparis DVDs and you should be ok if you understand most of it. The people that fail it are those that walk in without studying for it at all.

LunahRN always has a lot of good information on this subject, but here is what I can tell you about anticipating getting in on the Navy side, with a little bit of AF too. DO NOT talk to regular recruiters. They are there for the enlisted personnel only. It's what I did in the very beginning and when I realized they wanted me to go in as an E-1. You have to get in touch with your medical recruiter because only they know the details of the accession bonuses and correct paperwork. Recruiting seems to be different in each region. I have seen some people who say their recruiter won't talk to them or is rude to them, but my Navy recruiter always answered my questions. I did call an AF recruiter one time and I never got any answer back. You must have your BSN first before you go into any branch. Lastly, it is a long process. I started in 2008 and I just got accepted a month ago. I didn't make it in as soon as I graduated school, but once I got a year of critical care experience, I was golden deuces

Would anyone who recently graduated form ODS mind posting any of their experiences on this thread? The more detailed the merrier

ODS January second, then Bethesda in Critical Care

Since you just graduated MURunner86, how strict are they about the body fat regulations there? Do you need good-low for the first prt?

I was professionally recommended in June, and then final-selected in July. The thing is that you can be professionally recommended all day, but you still won't go until you're final selected. I read a guy's post on here that was professionally recommended for a year before he was final selected. I have one comment about the NCP that should be made known. When I had my face-to-face interview with a LCDR, he asked me if I was trying NCP and I told him no. He said that was definitely a good thing because those doing NCP go straight to med-surg. Not that I think med-surg is a bad ting, but I'm trying to go back to school and I need critical care experience for that. Anyways, he also told me that while he was working in Norfolk for the Navy, thee were tons of med-surg nurses that were trying to get into critical care, but they were never allowed to transfer. Therefore if you're trying to go back to school at some point, I would try and work in an ICU for a year, get your CCRN, and then go into the Navy.

Well I've been final selected now, but I won't be commissioned until October. What's funny about when I made that post is that my recruiter called me that day and we've remained in touch ever since. He actually is a good recruiter and when I call him and talk to him, he tells me everything he can about MY situation, so I can't even be upset at this point. With that said the Navy process is you put in your packet which includes your MEPS physical, recs, and transcripts. Then you just wait and hope for the best. With your situation, I don't know how it's going to workout because the Navy is coming out and saying that they want Critical care nurses, psych nurses/NPs, and perioperative nurses. I think that's why we (critical care nurses) were chosen so quickly once our paperwork was put in. For the ER, I don't really know what could happen, but a CEN would help.

I would if I could, but I can't