Stories of your 1st yr in the Army Nurse Corp

[spawnupe]

Hello, I was previously selected to become a member of the Army Nursing Corp(HOORAh). I intend to commission sometime next week. I would really like to elicit your thoughs, opinions, and words of advice from your first year experiences as an Army Nurse. Feel free to be candid in your response. I strongly believe in getting advice from others who have gone down this path before me.

Feel free to discuss:

OBLC

Your first duty station experiences

Med-Surg Nursing in the Army( is it truly different than the civilian side( nurse/patient ratio wise)?)

Course Guarantee

Time that it took for the Army to fulfill the course guarantee

Time it took for you to work in your field of interest( after taking the course)

Second assignment( for those that reenlisted)- My recruiter mentioned that at this time you should be a CAPT. and managing a clinic or so. Is this true?

Thanks in advance

[Jarnaes]

1st duty station was hard work 24/7. Spent more time at work than at home, didn't know which shift I was working from one day to the next. Days off were never days off. Learned a lot though, but it sucked while in the middle of it.

I've heard they have changed things now and give you an internship. We didn't get that in 2000. We were free labor and used as such :)

It took 16 months before I managed to escape to my specialty course, which once completed changes your job in the Army. I went from med-surg slave (66H) to an OR nurse (66E). Haven't looked back since.

[Itshamrtym]

1st duty station was hard work 24/7. Spent more time at work than at home, didn't know which shift I was working from one day to the next. Days off were never days off. Learned a lot though, but it sucked while in the middle of it.

I've heard they have changed things now and give you an internship. We didn't get that in 2000. We were free labor and used as such :)

It took 16 months before I managed to escape to my specialty course, which once completed changes your job in the Army. I went from med-surg slave (66H) to an OR nurse (66E). Haven't looked back since.

Hello: thanks for the reply... What is it like to be a OR nurse in the ARMY? Just wondering if it is the same as being a civilian OR nurse.. thanks.