Student RN who wants to join military...help!

Editorial Team / Moderator · May 13, 2013

If you want to be a nurse in the military, you'll need a BSN. If you join with your ADN, it will not be as a nurse/officer. Have you contacted actual healthcare recruiters? Those are the ones with the most current information. Good luck!

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · May 13, 2013

First - I would expect a recruiter to be biased toward their own service - that's their job!

You need a BSN to enter as an officer - I think the Army was the last service allowing ADNs in, and that disappeared, if I'm remembering correctly, within the last couple of years. I am AD Air Force, and I picked the USAF because I'm a prior enlisted member of that service, and because I feel they are more family focused than the other two branches with medical personnel (there is no medical corps in the Marine Corps; their medical personnel are Navy). That's why I picked that branch when I enlisted 17 years ago.

I'm not taking classes yet (I've been on active duty for 3.5 years and am now a Captain), but I am OCN certified and am preparing to take the AACN certification exam in progressive care. I'm also applying for a position in the Air Force's NICU program, to take my career in another direction. That to me is the best part of this - I can literally do anything. My Chief Nurse (she's the top nurse, so to speak, for my department) is a Colonel and has done six different things over the course of her career: she's been a med-surg RN, a flight nurse, a NICU RN, a public health RN, and an OB RN, and is now a CN. She has two master's degrees and has attended three levels of military professional education. And this isn't unusual for the military (at least, not for the USAF): my best friend is attending the ICU Fellowship in Scottsdale, AZ this winter, after working BMT with me for two years (I precepted her, actually); another friend of mine has gone to the Critical Care Air Transport Team (CCATT) training and is now flying aeromedevac missions after coming in ICU qualified the same time I did. I could name several more.

The reason I've not gone on to get my master's is very simple: I don't have to yet. There's no rush. I get paid the same regardless of my degree status (as long as I have a BSN) and I have plans for completing an MSN of some ilk in the next three years. I do have friends who have chosen to go straight to get their NP degrees and are now in school, full time, while drawing full pay and benefits - their job is to go to school. Of course, they'll owe the military time afterward. I also have friends who are doing their MSNs with tuition assistance (the USAF had their tuition assistance reinstated about two weeks after they announced its suspension) part time, and those degrees are equally recognized by the Air Force. I don't need to worry about an MSN - or any Master's degree (it doesn't have to be in nursing) until I'm closer to the next rank, which for me is Major. I have plenty of time; I anticipate about six years at the rank of O3. I have no need to rush.

I worked as a civilian for two years prior to coming back on active duty as an officer/RN, and I'm glad I did. We have it much easier on the inside: I'm an oncology RN, and here, everyone has central lines, everyone's treatment is paid for, no one has to worry about insurance. Also, doctors don't get by with yelling at/abusing RNs like they do on the outside - EVERYONE HERE HAS A BOSS and everyone has parameters for interactions that are met....if an MD verbally abuses me, his boss - who outranks both of us - will certainly hear about it, and he'll be appropriately counseled. I've met some attitudes, but jerks are everywhere. I personally saw my pay skyrocket when I came on active duty; some people have said they've taken a pay cut. As a civilian RN I paid $400 a month for health insurance, all coverages: dental, vision, long- and short-term care, life insurance, full hospitalization. I had copays and restrictions. I worried about sick days. I had a limited amount of vacation a year.

Tricare costs us nothing; I don't need sick days because they're considered 'time served' (meaning if you get sick and an MD says you can't work, you're excused from work, as long as you stay home 'on quarters' or follow whatever other parameters set by the medical team); I accrue 2.5 days of leave for every 30 days I serve - and when I'm on leave, I earn leave (example - if I'm able to take 30 days leave, I still earn 2.5 days while on that 30!). The military pays a generous housing allowance (I make $1563 a month - and that's TAX FREE, which means it's actually worth about 30% more than that) and $225 a month for BAS - in other words, food - and that's also tax free. But Tricare is amazing and well worth it in my opinion.

I'm active duty because I wanted it to be my full time job; you can be Active Reserves in some cases but that didn't interest me.

Yep, I can get deployed, and everything in here ain't all rosy all the time - but there were things about my civilian job I hated as well. Crap is everywhere, and you just have to choose what it is you want to deal with. To me the bennies of being in outweigh the 'garbage factor'! They're stuck with me now until retirement.

aliseel25 · May 21, 2013

Carolinapooh,

Did you go into the AF as fully qualified clinical nurse?

I'm applying for the next board coming up in October. I'm hoping that being prior enlisted AF will give me an advantage. Do you think being prior enlisted helped you? I'm 29 years old. Served 4 years active duty AF as a med tech. I've been working as an RN for 4 years, but just received my BSN in December. 4.0 GPA. Great references. I just want this so bad and had no idea how competitive it was.

aliseel25 · May 23, 2013

Carolinapooh,

Did you go into the AF as fully qualified clinical nurse?

I'm applying for the next board coming up in October. I'm hoping that being prior enlisted AF will give me an advantage. Do you think being prior enlisted helped you? I'm 29 years old. Served 4 years active duty AF as a med tech. I've been working as an RN for 4 years, but just received my BSN in December. 4.0 GPA. Great references. I just want this so bad and had no idea how competitive it was.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · May 24, 2013

I did come in fully qualified and received constructive credit for one year's time in grade as I had two years' experience as a civilian.

They'll either make you a second Lt and you'll promote within a few weeks/months OR you'll come straight in as a first Lt. I say it that way because they don't always count your time in a way that makes sense.

You won't be an OE, but you'll be paid as an eight year officer. Your inactive Reserve time counts for pay but not retirement. Shocked me too. Makes a nice change to get something up front, right? :)

We're not treated the same, either; we get more control over assignments than the line does and certainly more than the enlisted side of the house. Again, it was a shock. Otherwise it's the same evil you remember. And I say that with a smile, because they are now stuck with me until retirement.

As a prior you will have a line outside your door at COT. COT is a poor preparation for officers and leaders IMHO and speaking prior-to-prior, you'll find it ridiculous and a borderline waste of time. There was more military discipline in BMT than these folks will ever see in COT - although I did hear with the budget cuts the students now make their own beds and clean their own floors (yes, we had maid service when I was there - horrific). They barely teach anything that you'll think is important, and spend a lot of time on the history of air power (that's fine, but you've got officers graduating who don't know what a MAJCOM is or how the AF structure works, and that's pretty sad IMHO).

You'll know a lot of the stuff that others will struggle with, and that's a huge advantage. Share the knowledge. I put together more uniforms in those four weeks than I think I did my whole enlisted career. (And I'm an ex-K9 handler, so as a cop we pretty much exemplified 36-2903 compared to a lot of AFSCs! You should've seen the reaction when I was eyeballing function badges and saying the distance was off...and I was right, every time, when they'd doubt me and go measure it for themselves - hilarious. I can spot a quarter inch at twenty paces, I swear.)

Share the knowledge, even if you're gritting your teeth in frustration. Remember these folks are straight off the street civilians and you're not, so you have the advantage. Put on your SSgt stripes and be the NCO, even if you weren't one in your enlisted career. I'll grant you honorary stripes for the effort. :)

Keep an eye on your enlisted record - they WILL screw up your officer record. By reg and per AFPC, none of your enlisted record should show in your officer one, unless it's awards/decs and your TDY roster, if you went on any. Everything else goes.Your EPRs, your service record, all of it. It's to put you on an equal footing with other officers when you're boarded for Major and for certain positions/opportunities (though they'll be able to read a few things and get the idea - it's not fair, though, if we're both captains and they give me the job because I'm a prior SSgt - that's garbage, and fortunately they know it, so that's why it all goes). It took me three years to get it fixed because no one told me that.

Make sure they get your education stuff in the right place - for three years they had me as an A1C (I was a SSgt, not that that matters) with NO degree (OMG) but they commissioned me and made me an RN. When I called AFIT, they said they never got my transcripts. I told them that was hilarious, because they wrote and approved for me a check for 60K when I walked in the door (20K signing as an RN and 40K to pay off loans) so SOMEONE had them at one time. I just got it fixed last year.

Persist. Take advantage of the fact that you know the system - and use it to help others. When I was at COT they kept saying they weren't going to pay us or set up dependents until we got to our first base. I respectfully went somewhat ballistic and told them we weren't eighteen year olds in BMT - we're ADULTS, COMMISSIONED OFFICERS, with mortgages and children and sick spouses and REAL BILLS that can't wait. Apparently Maxwell doesn't (or they didn't then) set up pay profiles (I know, I know - !!!!!) but every single person in my flight got paid at least the checks we were due at COT, and we all got DEERS access for our family members, because I knew how to work the system and I used it for everyone's benefit. Don't tell them you heard that from some nutty Capt on a message board, though - when you get there, you'll see what I mean. Navigate the BS, but do it for the benefit of all when you can. But - don't do it at your own expense.

For the record, I filed an AETC IG complaint about that when I got to Lackland. That is seriously off the chain and needs to be addressed ASAP.

You are going to meet people who will whine about 'when do we get to go off base?' and 'the TI's yell at me'. It was infinitely worse than that, though, it was near constant, and it got old. Real quick. Me and a few other priors had a come to Jesus meeting with the whole class over that - talk to our friends deployed downrange for the third and fourth time in two years and then cry to me because you can't go to JCPenney for three weeks. Go look a BOT (traditional OTS) student in the face the next time YOU think you're getting yelled at. Suck it up. It can get pretty bad but we made an attempt to set them straight on that one - and it wasn't everyone, so I'm not tarring the whole class with the same brush.

It will be frustrating, but when your class leader (ours was a Lt Col!) looks to you to help him or her out, and they're doing that because you've stepped up to the plate, you've had your first lesson in what it means to be an officer. And it's a learning curve - don't get me wrong. You're not enlisted anymore, you can't act enlisted. It's a hard place to be. But you'll do fine, and you'll find that you're in the best position to set the example for both the enlisteds below you and the officers with and above you. Mentor when you can (which is pretty much all the time) and sit back to learn when you can't. Remember we can learn from each other at all ranks - my airmen teach me as much every day as my senior officers do, about the USAF, our jobs, and myself. Keep that perspective throughout your career.

You'll do fine. I wish you luck. Keep me posted.

eyesopen_mouthshut, CNA · May 25, 2013

What is the difference between civilian corps and assure national guard, in comparison with joining the USAF? From what I understand, CC is under the DoD but NOT military affiliated? I'm still doing research, and I do want to join the USAF after I've finished my BSN, but that's the conclusion I've come to with little info on everything. Thanks for the insight though, everyone. It's very much appreciated :-)

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · May 26, 2013

I'm sorry - explain your abbreviations - I'm confused. I think you mean Reserves and National Guard/Air National Guard?

Reserves are like little sisters to their main service - their initial intent was to backfill the "mother service", which is why they're called Reserves. However, now it depends on what your designation is within the Reserves - and it's best explained by a Reservist themselves. I have a VERY rudimentary knowledge of how the Reserves work. Reserve units fall under the Reserve Command of their "mother service", and under the Department of Defense directly.

There are three 'types' of Reservists: the Ready Reserve (what most of us think when we say 'Joe is in the Reserves'), the Standby Reserve (when you are discharged from active duty, you belong in this group for a minimum of four years and usually with one year for every AD year you served - this is the so-called Inactive Reserve, and there are a couple of other designations in this group), and the Retired Reserve (these are the retired active duty military folks who served at least 20 years and receive retirement pay; they are subject to recall until age 62 as a condition of receiving their benefits). There are Reservists on this board who will probably say I'm really oversimplifying, and I am, and please - if you're out there, jump in and explain what I'm missing.

The National/Air National Guard is financed by the states and the feds, and answers to/is directed by the Governor of that state directly. and the NG/ANG are directed by the National Guard Bureau, a joint activity under the DoD. It is the liaison to the DoD for the NG/ANG and the director, a four-star, is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, DoD advisors to the President. Essentially they are what's left of our Revolutionary era militia, although Guard units are also now used to backfill Reserve units and active duty. Again - an oversimplification.

There is no civilian medical corps, unless you're talking about the US Public Health Service, who are not a branch of the Armed Forces but are considered a Uniformed Force. They're a whole other ball game, and I really know even less about them.

Active duty is a full time job, no questions asked. Guard and Reserve can be, but often aren't. Guard and Reserve retirees draw partial benefits and Tricare for Life at age 62; their pay as a retiree is based on how their time converts to 'real time' as opposed to part time. All segments now deploy overseas to Afghanistan, something that started during the First Gulf War, and Reservists (Guard might too - I only can speak for the Reservists) sometimes deploy stateside (and overseas, as well, but to 'regular' bases, not war zones) to fill positions that are left vacant in the wake of an active duty deployment.

To qualfiy for retirement and benefits (Reservists can purchase full Tricare coverage for $150 a month for themselves and their families, and believe me, for the coverage you get, that's a BARGAIN!), you have to serve one weekend a month and two weeks a year MINIMUM; many units will let you serve more and there are full time Reservists and Guard positions all over the country, and in the case of the Reserves, the world. (I met full time Reservists in Germany and in Saudi Arabia. It can be and is done.)

Retirement from either component takes 20 years of service.

Did that help?

brawneyez · May 27, 2013

Hey KsKaggs126

Civilian Corps (Commission Corp) is still a military affiliation. They are considered fall under the DoD, but still go off of the same rank and pay system as the other 4 main branches (Marines, AF, Army, Navy). I researched it when I was thinking about joining, if I did not get a slot in the Air Force ROTC. They do get deployed, but their deployments are mostly stateside (Katrina, 911, etc.). A majority of their nurses are assigned to Indian Reservations or the Federal Prison. They do wear military uniform (I believe that it is the Navy's brown uniform). They also get BAH (housing allowance). If you are currently in school, you will apply during your junior year. Your packet will go up to a board and a company will select your packet to sponsor you. If you agree to go with that company (example, Indian reservation, or federal prison), this company will pay for your senior year of school, pay for your relocation, but you will have to contract with them for 2 years. After that two years you can sign another contract with them, or apply to go somewhere else. That new company will them pay for your relocation and you will sign another 2 year contract with them. I hope this helps. I did not end up going this route because I got the Air Force slot that I wanted.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · May 28, 2013

I think you're talking about the Public Health Service - and yes, they wear Naval uniforms. I'd never heard them referred to as CC. :)

Editorial Team / Moderator · May 28, 2013

The USPHS (Commissioned Corps) is not currently accepting applications for nurses: Nursing Jobs at USPHS Commissioned Corps

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · May 28, 2013

Wow - good information.