U.S. Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing (USAGPAN) - 2026

RNMedic553, BSN, EMT-P · May 20

Only thing I would add is about housing. Each soldier gets a Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) in addition to their base pay. BAH is based on your rank, years of service, the location you are being stationed, and whether or not you have dependents (there's no difference if it is 1 dependent or 21). There are 2 options for how people typically use that BAH while in the Army.

1: Living in on-post housing. Your housing options on post are based on both your rank and family size. You can find the housing office by searching for Fort Sam Houston on-post housing and see floor plans that you would qualify for (at least in theory). They won't be able to get you on the list for on-post housing until after you get accepted and have official orders with a report date. Once you get housing, the housing office takes your full BAH and it covers rent and average utilities with the exception of internet and/or cable.

2: Live off post. This is no different than renting or buying a house in the civilian world. You just get your BAH added onto your paycheck which you can then use for housing and utilities wherever you choose to live around your duty station. For instance, say your BAH is $2000/month, if you find a house to rent for $1600, you have $400 left for your utilities. Anything left over is just part of your pay. On the flip side, if you go bouje and find a place to rent for $2500, your BAH stays $2000 and you will need to cover the difference.

That's a lot but I hope that helps give you an idea about housing. We have a few living on post but the majority of us rent at various places across the city (it's all about your preferences). There are several areas that are reasonable as far as rent gos that are also convenient to post.

yzchitown · Jun 9

Silly question, but for those who interviewed recently or in the past, did you bring comfortable work shoes during shadowing? I assume that on the first day at the hospital, we will wear full suits (formal) and dress shoes before changing into surgical scrubs to shadow.

araguilar11, BSN, RN · Jun 9

yzchitown said:

Silly question, but for those who interviewed recently or in the past, did you bring comfortable work shoes during shadowing? I assume that on the first day at the hospital, we will wear full suits (formal) and dress shoes before changing into surgical scrubs to shadow.

I did for my shadowing experience. I wore my dress clothes walking into the hospital with a bag for my shoes and snacks. For my interview, they didn't make me change back into dress clothes because they pulled me directly from the OR and started immediately once I sat down in the room. I'm sure each place is different, but I wore dress attire every single morning just in case I was asked to change.

Best of luck!

yzchitown · Jun 9

araguilar11 said:

I did for my shadowing experience. I wore my dress clothes walking into the hospital with a bag for my shoes and snacks. For my interview, they didn't make me change back into dress clothes because they pulled me directly from the OR and started immediately once I sat down in the room. I'm sure each place is different, but I wore dress attire every single morning just in case I was asked to change.

Best of luck!

Thank you so much for your response!!

dmoore94, BSN, RN · 2025-06-13T17:26:27Z

yzchitown said:

Silly question, but for those who interviewed recently or in the past, did you bring comfortable work shoes during shadowing? I assume that on the first day at the hospital, we will wear full suits (formal) and dress shoes before changing into surgical scrubs to shadow.

I'm not sure where you'll be shadowing, and the structure may vary between sites; however, I conducted my shadowing and interview about two weeks ago at William Beaumont. I contacted the clinical director, who confirmed that the interview would occur on day 3 and that I would be given time to change. I wore comfortable clothing and shoes each morning that were easy to change out of, and I brought my suit in a bag on day 3. If you're already setting up your shadowing, I would confirm this information with your clinical site director. Best of luck!!

yzchitown · 2025-06-13T22:19:59Z

dmoore94 said:

I'm not sure where you'll be shadowing, and the structure may vary between sites; however, I conducted my shadowing and interview about two weeks ago at William Beaumont. I contacted the clinical director, who confirmed that the interview would occur on day 3 and that I would be given time to change. I wore comfortable clothing and shoes each morning that were easy to change out of, and I brought my suit in a bag on day 3. If you're already setting up your shadowing, I would confirm this information with your clinical site director. Best of luck!!

Hi, thank you for answering my question. I will be interviewing at BAMC, but I have not received any other information regarding when and where to show up and my recruiter does not know either. Did you get your shadow information from the hospital team or Baylor?

dmoore94, BSN, RN · 2025-06-13T23:19:26Z

yzchitown said:

Hi, thank you for answering my question. I will be interviewing at BAMC, but I have not received any other information regarding when and where to show up and my recruiter does not know either. Did you get your shadow information from the hospital team or Baylor?

After sending the required documentation to MAJ Houhoulis and being cleared for shadowing, the clinical site director contacted my recruiter with the available dates. Once I picked which days to shadow, I was contacted by the clinical site director, who told me when and where to meet and gave the me contact information for the NAR I would be shadowing.

yzchitown · 2025-06-13T23:22:42Z

dmoore94 said:

After sending the required documentation to MAJ Houhoulis and being cleared for shadowing, the clinical site director contacted my recruiter with the available dates. Once I picked which days to shadow, I was contacted by the clinical site director, who told me when and where to meet and gave the me contact information for the NAR I would be shadowing.

Thank you! I will reach out to them.