Soon to be Nursing graduate. Please help!

Gradius · Jan 6, 2013

Hello! I am a Nursing student who will be graduating in May of 2013 with a BSN. Currently I am trying to decide where I want to start with my career with the end goal of being a CRNA. I am highly interested in joining the military, particularly the Air Force. My questions are what are the chances of landing a Critical Care job directly out of school in the military? Is it possible to somehow work that into a contract? What are the advantages and disadvantages of joining the military as a nurse? With the goal of becoming a CRNA would it be smarter to take a civilian job in an ICU first and then join after a year? Any help is much appreciated.
A little information about myself...
University of Iowa College of Nursing
Worked as an NA on a Speciality Surgery floor (Transplants, GI surgery, Bariatric)
Overall current GPA 3.62
Nursing GPA 3.5

I'm a 2nd degree BSN applicant to be so I'm behind you, but I am doing Nursing to join the USAF myself.

For now with USAF Nursing I've done a little bit of homework so I can tell you this for now:

Getting a job through USAF (assuming you apply for USAF 12 months out, that's how long it takes) directly out of school will put you in what they call the Nurse Transition Program, which is for people with under 6 months of experience. It's 10 weeks I think. You will go there directly after COT, Commissioned Officer Training.

Advantages: $30K sign on bonus right now for 4 years

$20K + up to $40K loan repayment bonus for 6 years

If you haven't applied 12 months out (something tells me you haven't), go see your nearest USAF Healthcare Recruiter to start the ball rolling. Get a job for a year first, so that a year from now if you are selected you will be going in with experience.

Beyond this,

Look for a group called "Air Force Nurse Corps" on Facebook which I'm a part of. Currently has 1,023 members. They can be far more detailed with your questions than I.

Good luck.