Should I get my ABSN degree or join military first?

[blapham16]

Hello nursing community,

I am set to begin my ABSN degree at Johns Hopkins SON this fall and am very excited! However, I have been contemplating joining the military reserves (not sure which branch) to help with paying for school--also, I would love to be a military nurse. Since I already have a bachelors degree, I am wondering if going to nursing school first is a smart decision financially. Would it be more logical to join the military first? Or would joining after receiving my ABSN be a good route to take?

I'd appreciate any advice you guys have to offer. Thanks!

Brittany

[jfratian, DNP, RN, CRNA]

If you're goal is to be a military nurse, then you should complete nursing school 1st. It's going to financially work out about the same if you go to school and have them pay off your loans after the fact via direct commission (Note Hopkins might be way too expensive for them to fully pay with either method as these programs often are set at public school rates).

I imagine the line officer reserves slots are very difficult to get if you aren't a prior active duty line officer. Therefore, I assume that means you are considering enlisting in the reserves? The initial training phase (8ish weeks basic training and 12 weeks tech school) is going delay you starting nursing school; after that I guess it's do-able. The problem here is that you could very realistically be stuck as an enlisted medic in the reserves long after you graduate from nursing school. Many enlisted have bachelor's degrees; it isn't a backdoor into an officer commission.

The best way to go is to apply for ROTC scholarships. It pretty much guarantees you an active duty nurse corps slot. Direct commission for new grads is very competitive, and you may not get it.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

I believe that ABSN programs are pretty intense, right? Joining the reserves now, you wouldn't be a nurse (and switching to that lane may be difficult) and you'd also be subject to deployment or mobilization. I imagine that would interfere with school! In any case, congrats on acceptance to your program, and work hard for a great GPA - the military cares about such things.