Reserves for new nurse/prior enlisted

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Hello, I just graduated with my BSN in May. I don't have nursing experience yet, but was enlisted in the Navy as a Corpsman for 4.5 years. I'm not working yet as I'm the primary caregiver of my medically complex 9 month old. We're working on getting her a nurse so I can gain some official nursing experience.

I'm prior enlisted--I was a Navy Corpsman for 4 years and am interested in joining Nurse Corps reserves but am having trouble finding requirements for each branch. I'm not sure what the process is like and how it differs from branch to branch, but I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. Do all branches require experience beforehand? Are there any other programs that may be a better fit for me?

Thanks for your time and guidance!

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

There are many, many active threads in this forum that cover commissioning with the military. There is an article here with links to recruiter info as well: https://allnurses.com/government-military-nursing/military-nursing-885815.html

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Specializes in Adult Critical Care.

The Navy and AF take new grads, but if you've already graduated you've missed the boat on that.

If you're interested in the ship nursing thing (and given your Navy familiarity), I would say the Navy is the best fit. Most nurses in the Navy don't work on ships. However, many deploy on the Mercy or Comfort. Plus, a few are attached to larger ships from what I've heard.

The Air Force values specialization and is great for people who want to stay in one specialty forever (ICU, ER, etc). The Navy seems to value jacks-of-all trades in my opinion; it seems to more easily allow people to retrain and move to new specialties.

The Air Force has the vast majority of flight nursing jobs in the military.

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Specializes in Inpatient Psychiatry.

The Army Nurse Corps Reserves requires one year of experience.

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