navyman7

Great post. I am curious about how much time people have taken to prep before the test? Weeks, Months?

Great post, thank you.

Great explanation, thank you. I feel like I have a million questions for you, but i'll try and keep it to a few. 1. How many months did you give yourself to study before the exam? For the GRE/CCRN, I gave myself 3-4 months for each. 2. Which exam did you take? AANP vs AANC? 3. What would you change about your prep, prep exams, books etc. If any? Thanks again for any insight you can give.

Checking in after a long needed sabbatical. Glad to see so many of my military brothers/sisters picking up where I left. I'm still around if folks have questions. I tried to read through some of the stuff that has been posted, too much to try and catch up on. Lets start anew.

Carolina; As I have said before, I HAVE met a few nurses and physicians who have deployed with the seals and other special ops groups and some of them have had to shoot back. I have seen some of the pictures myself. Please don't tell me what I know and don't. I can't speak on things related to the AF, so don't speak on Navy things as if you are an expert. I am not being dramatic, just presenting as much info as possible for all those who are reading. Lets move on from this topic now.

Thanks for the clarification. I met a retired PJ who told me he was a RN. He didn't specify wether or not he was still AD and in the PJ's when he had his RN. My bad. Despite the above clarification I have met a few navy RN's who have deployed with seals and others, who had to lay down some lead. Spoke to one just last week.

Chief: It absolutely IS there leadership. I am not there DIVO/DH. They have the worst enlisted leadership that dogs them day and night. I go out of my to support them, train them to be the best in the command, write letters of recommend for all my corpsmen, help them pursue college courses and more. It is there enlisted leadership who continually beats the metaphorical life out of them and fails to promote those who are truly worthy. Mandatory PT every morning despite working 12 hours at night. Not to mention there master chief won't allow them to live where they choose, they are all but forced to stay in navy sponsored housing, and so much more. They get paid poorly, deploy frequently, never get the duty assignments they need to help them in their careers. And more... Like you said, it is not the most glamorous of jobs in the begining, but then again what job starts out glamorous. Why is that... You're an E7+, they start out in the hospital as a E2/3. As an E2/3 they are not getting much of a choice as to where they will work, regardless of what there career goals are. Needs of the navy first, as always. As a chief you have a choice to some degree. If someone wants to pursue nursing they should get to it and not delay. Why waste time doing a job that may not help them in the long run just in hopes of possibly getting tuition assistance (TA). One last thing; no one here is saying that being enlisted isn't a worthwhile job, it just isn't the best way to pursue a nuring degree. All of us here are proud of those who have served no matter if they are enlisted or officer, even proud of you chief. Now lets stop playing the blame game and present all the facts, even if its not the prettiest of pictures. Newbie13; These are some of the many things that many of my corpsmen encounter on a weekly basis despite the support of the officers, and some enlisted leaders, that they work with. Good luck!

And Aircraft Carriers of course. thanks dschulte.

SNLO: you will be busy as a nurse. 12+ hour shifts, 7 shifts over 2 weeks, plus it can be very challenging trying to take your leave/vacation. As with any facility, you will be busy. Regarding ship life; unless you are selected to deploy on the Mercy or Comfort, or end up working on a FST or ERSS team, you won't see sea duty. And Yes, I always felt safe on a ship. I suggest reading some of the earlier posts in this thread to get an idea of what navy nursing can be like. It should help with a lot of your questions. Also you need to be a little more specific in your questions, not sure what to say about your statement about wanting to be a critical care nurse. Good luck

Just to clarify some things that corpsmen can do; what they can do all depends on where you work. Corpsmen in the ICU can do much more than corpsmen who work on stepdown or L&D units and vice verse. My corpsmen can work with central lines, push IV meds, etc. Just don't abuse the corpsmen. They are there to learn from nurses how to take care of those people downrange. They are not there to do the nurses work for them. Remember that. Too often do I see the nurses complain that the corpsmen are not doing what the nurses tell them to do, Whilst the nurses sit back and surf the internet all day. Just trying to state all the facts and start you out right is all. Good luck in your new career.

Pandabear: I am sorry to say but the recruiter would be the best one to answer your question. It's been so long since I came in that I don't remember what kinds of things that help an application look good. I do know that grades, and experience go a long way. As mentioned before, I don't think that any branch accepts AD Nurses anymore. Not even the reserves. Also, just because you join the reserves doesn't mean that you won't deploy. In fact more reserve nurses seem to be deploying these days vs active duty. Not sure why that's the trend right now but that's what I am seeing.

Check out my thread; Military Nursing Questions Answered. Many great questions/answers there. Also nurses can go into battle while deployed. Check your facts. FST's/FOB's can and often are on the border of the fighting and take incoming fire/mortar fire. Also some AF PJ's are nurses too and they may have to lay down some lead at times. Also ships can be deployed to a combat zone where nurses may be.

Bad idea to enlist. Take out a loan, apply for scholarships, etc. DO NOT ENLIST. You will be so sad that you did. Many of my corpsmen are biting at the chance to get out and get into school. You will be treated like crap, paid poorly, and have to wait many years just to be able to use your GI Bill. Yes there are other ways than the GI Bill but it is a competitve world and unless you are the absolute best in a field of overachievers then I wouldn't If I were you. I know how it is wanting to be done with school and wanting to almost anything to get there, but enlisting is NOT the route. Good luck in your search.

JP307: A recruiter can guarantee NOTHING! I was guaranteed so much, and I have been so disappointed over the years. I know many people that have their CCRN and have not been admitted to the ICU. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Also if you're looking to continue to take care of level 1 trauma patients then the Navy is probabaly not the best place. Most of the pt's we see are retirees/dependent family members. Rarely, if not ever, do we ever get a real trauma. Think about it this way, when there is a trauma in the U.S. where does it happen? Not typically on a military base. It's out in town somewhere. Then who gets called, 911. 911 responds as usual and EMS/Paramedics respond and take you to the local level 1 trauma center, not the Navy base. If your looking for adrenaline packed trauma and excitement then you won't find it in the Navy. You may find it eventually IF you deploy, but thats the only time. Sorry but this is really how it is 99% of the time. Also, regarding the big 3. They can suck the life out of you with all the politics and BS. Many of my friends have been much happier at other midsized commands. And yes, you can request such places. Just don't put a big 3 on your list otherwise that's what you'll get.

RESINGRN, Typically they would place you in the PICU because you have a specialty that takes time to train people in. Now things are changing at our hospital where they may put you somewhere regardless of your training and wants because they think that you need to learn how to be an officer first and then you can move to a specialty area. It's a load of crap! But that's what I am seeing at NMCSD. Hopefully not the case at other places. Good luck.

RGR 22, I know of an Anesthesiologist (MDA) who was a prior nurse. Also it's not uncommon to meet former SEALS/Pilots who have left that area to become PA's or something like that. I think in most cases, they utilize some sort of scholarship program or use their GI Bill to get their degrees. You would need to speak to someone who has actually done it, otherwise I think that any info from a recruiter would be based on speculation.

Please check out my thread; Military Nursing Questions Answered. A recruiter does NOT know all. I know he'll disagree with me but they leave out LOTS. I have answered many of these questions and more.

Check out the post Military Nursing Questions Answered. Lots of answers to your questions. Good luck.

I am not sure this forum is what you are looking for. You may get more info from a different forum as this one is more geared to those looking for answers related to working with the Federal Gov't (military/VA/public health), not state or local. Sorry. Good luck in your search.

jarmstrong: I will do my best to answer your many questions. Good luck, let me know if you have more questions. (FYI, I am sure that others here have more experience with ROTC programs than me, so if I am missing something hopefully others will fill in the missing parts) 1. In short the only way that the navy would pay for your undergrad nursing is via a rotc program (there are other programs available like NCP, but you have to be in a program already with 2. Unless the specifics of your ROTC program say no, I am not sure why they wouldn't accept your previous credits. The problem I see is that by utilizing your previous credits it would shorten your time in school and that may affect the actual rotc requirements. You need to speak to a recruiter or rotc director for more details. 3. not sure about the competitiveness. It won't hurt though. 4. CRNA school depends on a lot of factors; deployments, ccrn and other certifications, critical care experience, collateral duties (ACLS inctructor), time in, etc. If you pursue a civilian course, then lots of other factors come into play also; items like gpa, gre score, time in ICU, science gpa, experience, desire, etc. 5. I belive the rotc payback is 4 years. Reimbursement or direct accession depends on your time commitment. Talk to a recruiter about those specifics because they may be changing with the gov'ts cutbacks, etc. 6. Yes there are other paths but you would need to be enlisted and then you could apply for programs like STA 21, or MCEP. But I WOULDN'T recommend doing that as you already have a BS/MS. 7. NO. The Navy provides all healthcare for the marines. Check out some of the other questions posted under: Military Nursing Questions Answered for more help. Good Luck.

jagnurse: you also will need to work with a recruiter. With so many applicants I can't predict what GPA they are starting at. I would say that the more experience as a RN that you have the more marketable you will become. The CNA type experience is helpful but won't weigh in too much. They want licensed individuals with experience. But maybe you can get lucky. Can't hurt to try. Just work on the experience part too.

Simmaplease: I am sorry to say that I can't help you with that question. You will definitely need to speak to a recruiter. So many variables with you; masters degree issue (depending on the degree type), experience issue, pay and rank, where to work etc. Just weigh your options carefully. Good luck.

Mslecia, you should start your 1st reply with that statement about the Army. It seems very matter of fact when it isn't the case for the Navy, or the AF apparently. I know a few single parents in the Navy and they didn't have any problems. Yes, they did need to create a family care plan in the event that they had to deploy. Dual military also have to do the same thing. At least in the case of the Navy. Good luck in figuring things out.

Check out some of the similar posts under: Military Nursing Questions Answered. There are many similar posts there that might shed some light on your question. In short I would take the ICU job, get your CCRN, then apply via DA. You will be much more competitive later on, plus you will get so much more $$$ when you come in via the DA route than the NCP. Plus you can always sign up for the ISP and get more money once your intial commitment is done, granted you have your CCRN. (All this applies only to the Navy as far as I know, and in regards to ICU nursing.)

Austeremed: Honestly you need to ask yourself if you can deal with everything that you left. Is it worth putting up with all that for 10 more years? Don't forget that you can work at the VA and apply your time in the military towards retirement there. It also depends on what your goals are, like NP/CRNA etc. Do you want to pay for that yourself or let the military do it knowing what that means, more deployments etc. FYI, the Navy's deployments are approx. 8 months long. I have no idea how long the AF deployments are.