To pursue commissioning opportunities as a nurse in any - and I do mean ANY - branch of the US Armed Forces, please be sure you are talking to a Health Professions Accessions recruiter or whatever that branch's equivalent is. The folks you commonly meet in the the recruitment offices in shopping malls, plazas, and at high schools are ENLISTED accessions recruiters and generally know nothing about officer recruitment, much less health professions recruitment. You'll find a few officer recruiters that way, but most of them are strictly for enlisteds.
I'm only pointing this out because I've seen several posts that are leading me to believe folks are talking to enlisted recruiters only.
Another commissioning source may be ROTC; you can look up ROTC detachments through local universities and colleges. Any ROTC Det cadre member at any school in the country would be able to explain available cadet opportunities for nurse candidates for their particular service, if any exist.
For the Guard and Reserve, be sure the recruiter realizes you are ultimately interested in a commission as an RN by the most direct route possible - their funding and processes are a bit different from the active duty side of the house.
Just a quick tip. I don't want to see anyone get blindsided into enlisting when that's not really what they want to do. Once you're enlisted, becoming an officer is highly competitive and sometimes downright impossible. You want to go for the commission and the RN from the start if at all possible.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with being enlisted - I'M prior enlisted, my father was career Navy, my oldest brother is retired Navy, and my other brother is retired Army - that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is if you want to be an RN from the first moment you raise your right hand, you have to go for a commission and not for an enlistment.
See, that's what I thought but the RNs I work with when I take registry jobs at our local navy hospital are telling me different. The mansger said the demand is so high they are waiving the BSN requirements for experienced rn's if u have a bachelors degree. But I can't seem to get a definite yes/no. Even the local recruiter is having problems getting reserve RN info. I need someone who's in the reserves as an rn to help!
Oh and don't believe that crap about needing a DNP to practice as a NP. They've been trying to push that requirement for years and it won't happen anytime soon. Less than 1% of rns carry a dnp degree. U couldn't staff 1 state, let alone the country with those numbers. I've been accepted into the bridge rn-msn program with the option to extend into a dnp degree and my counselor is begging us to continue on because they can't get enough students to fill the DNP seats! It's just too expensive at this time to go onto dnp for most students. Hopefully soon their will be enough benefits to do so but for now a msn will get u all the work u want.
But are you talking about working as a civilian RN or a commissioned officer. You will need a BSN to become commissioned.
To qualify for employment consideration in the Navy Nurse Corps, you must:
Be a U.S. citizen currently practicing in the U.S.
Be a student or graduate in good standing of a U.S. education program granting a bachelor of science degree and accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
Be licensed to practice in a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a U.S. territory (new graduates must obtain a license within one year of beginning Active Duty service)
Be willing to serve a minimum of three years of Active Duty
Be between the ages of 18 and 41
Be in good physical condition and pass a full medical examination
MSN-NPs can still practice in the civilian world, but new grad MSN-NPs will find it difficult to serve as an NP in the military. I'm not sure what the navy requires, but home-grown AF NPs (degree earned while serving) must get DNPs to transition from RN to NP. For another thing, our promotions are directly linked to education; a new grad NP would be competing with many DNPs when it came time to promote to O-4. The average education level of military nurses is far higher; you would not believe the number of MSNs practicing at the bedside as RNs. Even if you were able to get the job initially, I find it unlikely that you'd be competitive when promotion time came.
FWIW a BSN is a bachelors degree. Last time I checked a BSN is required for a commision at least in the Army it is!
I am a semester from completion of my BSN, just working on fluff requirements at the moment.
The Army does have a 42 year old age limit though and I am pushing that! I emailed an AMEDD recruitor from the website. I have 7+ yrs of experience mostly in adult ICU and am prior-service 91F with 2+ yrs of service, with a reentry code RE-3. I am interested in getting back in and hope this doesn't automatically disqualify me. I hope they contact me soon!
FWIW a BSN is a bachelors degree. Last time I checked a BSN is required for a commision at least in the Army it is!
I am a semester from completion of my BSN, just working on fluff requirements at the moment.
The Army does have a 42 year old age limit though and I am pushing that! I emailed an AMEDD recruitor from the website. I have 7+ yrs of experience mostly in adult ICU and am prior-service 91F with 2+ yrs of service, with a reentry code RE-3. I am interested in getting back in and hope this doesn't automatically disqualify me. I hope they contact me soon!
The post you quoted is referencing NPs, though.
Do you have your CCRN? You would need that to be competitive. The Army is overstrength and can be extremely picky at this point. Anyone requiring a waiver will find that a difficult task as well.
Do you have your CCRN? You would need that to be competitive. The Army is overstrength and can be extremely picky at this point. Anyone requiring a waiver will find that a difficult task as well.
FWIW a BSN is a bachelors degree. Last time I checked a BSN is required for a commision at least in the Army it is!
I am a semester from completion of my BSN, just working on fluff requirements at the moment.
The Army does have a 42 year old age limit though and I am pushing that! I emailed an AMEDD recruitor from the website. I have 7+ yrs of experience mostly in adult ICU and am prior-service 91F with 2+ yrs of service, with a reentry code RE-3. I am interested in getting back in and hope this doesn't automatically disqualify me. I hope they contact me soon!
I think you should be okay to be honest. They're trying to keep in ICU nurses which all services have a hard time doing. NPs are in a different ballgame and we are still having difficulty with long term retention providers left and right.
I finish my BSN in August and was planning on working in the OR. Do you think I would be better suited to get my CORN accreditation before making the move for the Army? It will take two years before I can sit for the exam for CORN but I thought the two years experience and specialty accreditation would make me a more attractive applicant rather than being a new grad. Thoughts ...
You absolutely can't join the Army as a new grad without ROTC. The Air Force won't let you start in OR without at least 1 year of OR experience; you'd be stuck in med-surg or OB as an AF new grad.
If you want OR nursing, go for it in the civilian world. Get the experience, get the cert, then apply. You're much more valuable with both of those things.
I have a question regarding your statement about paying for everything yourself. Can you elaborate more? I am considering the Army Reserves as a RN (I have a BSN) and have spoken to a healthcare recruiter, but this wasn't mentioned. I see your post is from 2009. Just wondering if this still applies. Thanks.
I know funding for loan-repayment still exists in the Air Force for active duty. You'd have to ask a healthcare recruiter for your branch and duty status what sign-on goodies currently exist. It is always changing.
Hi SFC JIMENEZ, my name is shelva arrington and I'm thinking about joining the Army and going into the medical field, I have a lot of questions and would appreciate it if you would be able to call and answer some questions I have?
Hi SFC JIMENEZ, my name is shelva arrington and I'm thinking about joining the Army and going into the medical field, I have a lot of questions and would appreciate it if you would be able to call and answer some questions I have?
Good morning, and welcome to allnurses. That member that you are addressing has not been active on this site since 2011, and is not likely to respond. I suggest creating a new thread in this forum with your questions so the members can possibly provide answers. Just click on the following link, then click on the big green button that says "start a new topic" — https://allnurses.com/government-military-nursing/
jeckrn, BSN, RN
1,868 Posts
But are you talking about working as a civilian RN or a commissioned officer. You will need a BSN to become commissioned.