Thinking about signing up

[julieGN]

Hey all!!! I am a GN who just passed her boards. I am thinking about joining the navy. The reasons I would want to join the navy are because you get good experience in training (from what I am told) and its one of the few areas in nursing that makes working outside of the US possible. I have a few questions and I am hoping someone here who is a navy nurse can answer them. #1- I am single and don't have any kids, but I have a dog. While I understand it may not be possible for me to take her to basic training, how likely is that I can bring her with me at other times? (The recruiter I talked to said I can- but everyone else told me this was un-likely and they were just telling me what I wanted to hear). #2- I know the Navy pays less then what I would make if i were to work in an inner city hospital. I promised my family I would help out with paying bills when I finished nursing school, will it still be possible to do this? #3 How different is Navy nursing from civilian nursing? Nurse/ patient ratio? What are the shifts? If I took a job at a hospital I would be looking at 3 12 hr/week or 2 12hr and 2 8hr shifts/week. #4 How likely will I be able to pick my specialty? #5 i have student loans, but they are from private loans does the Navy help pay these pack or only federal? I think that about covers it. If you have any words of wisdom or think I left anything out I would love to hear it.

[OffandRunning]

Hi Julie, Congrats on passing the boards. I'm not a navy nurse but I think some things are the same for all branches. You should be able to take your dog with you any where stateside. There may be some overseas deployments that don't allow it but for most I believe you can.

When it comes to pay, I advise you to factor in not only the tangible benefits but the intangible benefits of both private and military nursing. Dont forget to look at the nontaxable pay the military offers like housing and food allowances. Also, if you need healthcare, think about how much that will reduce your take home pay from the private sector. The military has annual cost of living increases and time in grade pay raises in addition to promotions. They have tuition assistance and a lot of free educational opportunities. For cost and profit purposes, civilian hospitals may not be able to match up. Don't forget about retirement benefits.

The military should pay for your student loans even if they are from a private lender if you qualify and select that option. Some one else can probably give you more insight on that.

I was recently in your position weighing my options about joining the military or staying in the private sector. After I looked at all my options, joining looked like the option most beneficial to me. I can't tell you if I was right because I don't leave for training until August, but I will say I have not had any second thoughts or doubts yet. No matter what you choose, I wish you the best of luck.

[smattles1of2]

I don't really know the answers to most of your questions since I was just commissioned and haven't even gone to ODS yet, but as to the student loan question, my recruiter had me fill out a form requesting this and then it was sent somewhere. He said the Navy does so many loan repayments each fiscal year, so I missed out on it. But I did get the $30,000 sign on bonus, so that will help pay it off.

Good luck! If you want to join, I would start the process now. It took me forever to get in! :)

[LLLovely, BSN, RN]

The best chance you have to get student loan repayment is at the beginning of October when the new fiscal year begins and the recruiting coffers are full. They can do private loans, but there are certain stipulations that must be met and it varies by branch of service.

I can't tell you about shifts yet because I am still a student. I can tell you that if you are stationed overseas, such as in Japan or something like that, you can take your dog, subject to any rules of the country you are entering. Most countries have quarantine rules for arrival. If you deploy to Iraq, you will have to find a caretaker for your dog. For that reason, most people do not take their dogs overseas at all anymore, but that is entirely up to you and your parents or whomever else might offer to dogsit.

[The Little Greek]

To address your question about pay, I have to say that as an AF nurse I am very well compensated. Due to much of my income not being taxed I actually make out better than I did in the civilian sector. Not to mention that I no longer pay for health insurance, I have the opportunity to do 20 years and get retirement pay, and my housing allowance adjusts depending on the market value of rent.

Honestly I was quite surprised to see that I actually make more money in the AF than I did in Houston TX....and I did really well in Houston. All that said, you really have to do the research and look at your finances to see how it matches up. As an O-1 you may make a little less than a civilian, but in two years you'll already be making more than your counterparts in civilian nursing. Just make sure you really crunch the numbers before you sign up.