Raider 3/1

Thanks Pixie, How about fun around the work place? Being that you're a Commissioned Officer, I know there is a certain professionalism and mature nature you have to instill in the enlisted group of Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, and Airmen. Can you still have "shenanigans" around the work place when appropriate? Do you ever have days where you're command just decides the take a couple days off for no reason which in turn gets you a couple days off from you're nursing duties? Or days where they make up made up holidays for an extended weekend? My favorite was basket weaving day hahaha How diverse is it working as a Military Nurse? For example, I was enlisted and had one week of 0900 to 1700 regular patient check ins. The next week, im trudging through the muck and mud in the field providing over watch for my Marines. Lastly for next month, im sitting on a mock tug boat providing medical coverage as recon ropes in and takes over the Somali pirate controlled vessel for training. I have to say, one of my favorite aspects of my enlisted time was the constant change in work environment. I never got stuck into the same old routine for too long. Can I expect this type of working environment and change in responsibilities as a Military Nurse? I don't like to get bored but give it to me truthfully. Thanks again!

So I thought I would start this thread to ask a few questions besides the usual "how do I get into Nursing for the Military" questions that every keeps asking here. These questions are geared towards experienced military nurses if you could help out. So how are you're relationships with Doctors that you work with? Do you spend time together as friends and co-workers outside of the work place? Are you ever limited to the type of patient you see in the hospital or clinic? Specifically, do you only treat military aged males and females? For those of you that have worked both in the civilian and military side of nursing, would you say the opportunities for learning are about the same when compared to each other? I think that last one may have been asked already; but I wanted to hear what the experienced military RN's had to say about these few questions I had. Thanks!

It would hurt to build up you're GPA but in all honestly I have a 3.3 GPA right now with just nursing pre-requisites. I have had a Navy medical health recruiter calling once every two months to find out if im ready to start the NCP application process. I also have no previous degree of any kind. I don't know if my prior enlisted service has anything to do with that but often times it might just be luck of the draw. You are correct in assuming that the Navy NCP is the only real way to guarantee a commissioned slot as a nurse corps officer RIGHT NOW. All I can really tell you is work hard with you're courses in school and try to find out if you can apply to the NCP while you are still in school. At the worst, they are going to tell you no; in which case you graduate and get a couple years experience before you try to apply for a direct commission. By the time you graduate, the Navy may be open to direct commission graduates. If the past history of commissioned and enlisted number requirements have shown us, it is that the needs of the military change every 3-5 years. They may be scrambling and desperate for new nurses by the time you graduate. Are you in an accelerated BSN program and are you within two years of you're BSN graduation date? My health care recruiter recommends only starting the application for the NCP when you are within you're 2 year graduation date. Also, he tells me that in order to be competitive in the NCP you have to have at least a 3.5 GPA but as noted above, I have a 3.3 GPA right now and he has still been checking in with me regularly. Sorry, this message seems to be all over the place and im sure someone else will chime in and give you some more info but for right now this is a start. Welcome to the forum by the way.

Never have been to Europe, might be pretty fun!

Any of the possibilities, im not looking for anything specific. Just some well rounded areas for anything you value. Personally, im single and have no dependents so I would value experience oriented installations.

I figured I would jump in on this thread and ask where the most coveted places to be stationed at are? (in you're own opinion) Navy and Army installations are what im looking for but I guess if an Air force candidate were to drop in, they might want to know where the most popular places to be stationed at are currently located.

You can not bypass (A school) but you do get a rank boost. I was training with one guy in (A school) that received his second class petty officer rank because he had a bachelors in a health care related field. I don't remember what his bachelors was in though. Im sure you're going to get heckled for this multiple times but why would you want to be an enlisted corpsman when you could be a commissioned nurse corps officer?

I was under the impression that you couldn't begin the application process until you were at least two years away from you're graduation date.

So it seems that nurses can be destined to be pilots if they so choose and work for it. What else is out their?

Well not to stir the pot too much but what other positions can an RN with a Bachelors in science or health science do with that degree? (aside from being a nurse that is) Just returning fire to the people who say its impossible What position, if any, require on the job training or training that can only be obtained while on active duty and/or nearing the end of you're time commitment to any branch of the military? jfratian mentioned the pilot training program for MDs in the Air Force. What else is a possibility for RN's and medical professionals in general? First hand experience and blind baseless rumors are encouraged.

Humor me here but going off of what jfratian says about line officers and non-line officers... Lets say for example a fictitious John Doe who is a commissioned RN and holds a non-line officer position (obviously). John Doe has all the right credentials for a line officer position and wishes to change (transition) to that line officer position. Is there a chance that John Doe can transition to this position or is he going to be sh*t out of luck? Obviously, the current troop draw down and down sizing has got me... frazzled. I know they wouldn't take me to begin with unless they absolutely needed me as an RN. I shouldn't really care about this until im actually their but just wondering what an RN could do as a last ditch effort to maintain their military career.

So I thought I would ask if anyone has ever become or heard of anyone commissioned as an RN that ended up doing something other than being a nurse. Given that most of the time the branch you serve in tells you where to live and work; has anyone done an about face and done something other than nursing, voluntary or not? This question could be geared towards military or civilian but mainly have commissioned nurses ever done things like admin work, logistics, or even something as crazy as become a special forces/operations officer? I was enlisted for 5 years as an 8404 field medical corpsman and I have done my fare share of jobs that had nothing to do with my medical training. Working in the warehouse sorting mail, manning the 50 when we were on motorized patrols, etc. I know that the military pretty much owns you once you are in but could the powers that be make you do something other than what you have gone to nursing school for all those years? Again, emphasizing the voluntary or not part of this question. Sometimes people get sick of the same old routine, just want to hear of other peoples experiences with this.

im sorry no one has given you an answer yet. Iv often questioned whether or not im making the right choice by choosing nursing myself. I changed my major 5 times before coming up with nursing and that's only because I had some enjoyment fulfilling someone's medical needs. I should look at what im doing for other people instead of myself but I also want to enjoy what I do. I hope someone can give you some straight answers so you can stay with the VA, good luck in you're future plans and goals.

Better to have a bunch of applicants waiting and retrying then to completely cut off any possible candidates. When a shortage does (and will) happen there will be plenty of people to pick and choose from in the waiting pool.

+1 with what SoldierNurse22 says, you could do the enlisted route and spend 6 years doing something OTHER than nursing but that's not a good way to do it. Im not sure how a U.S. based school would credit you for your bachelors from another country but there is the possibility of an accelerated BSN program if a school does credit you with your degree. You could finish up your BSN in the U.S. in about 2 years and by that time try you're luck at a direct commission.