What are my chances at the Navy or Army Nurse candidate program and question

[leslie95]

I have a 3.8 GPA, I don't know if volunteer/extracirriculars help but I volunteered at a hospital for about a year, volunteered 2 months with children in peru and am a member of Phi Theta Kappa. I don't have a job since starting nursing school. My last job ended 3 months ago which was babysitting children(I did that for a year). I really don't know what else to add so I'll start my questions.

1. How many references do I need. Obviously more the merrier but what is a good number to have. I don't know many people in the medical field except my cousins(which would be a useless reference since she is family) and my sister in law. Could I ask my sister in law? I don't know her very well but if it would add points to my resume why not. And what type of people should I ask for references from?

2. How far in advance should I apply. Lets say I wanted to be accepted in 2014, when do they start doing boards for then?

3. Would having my CNA help? Even if I didn't go out and get a job as a CNA would just having it help my chances? I have a little extra money I could go get it.

Sorry for any typos, its already been a long day

[JillyRN]

Hi Leslie,

It looks like you have a solid GPA and volunteer experience is really important as they look into your community involvement when they consider you for selection. I recently applied for the AF Nurse Corps and am awaiting the results. Our package required 3 letters of reference but I was asked to provide 5 for the top 3 to be used. None were allowed to be family members, they were all supervisors and co-workers. I'm not sure about the CNA thing. I did work as a Nurse's Aid while in Nursing school, but I don't think that has much bearing on my application, that's just the vibe I got from the recruiter. He was more worried about my experience as a nurse. This could be different for the NTP applicants, since you will be going in without RN experience. FY 2014 selection would likely be at the end of this year, so you should contact a healthcare recruiter for your respective branch so he can answer your questions and get you started. It can be a really long and extensive process, so the sooner the better. Good luck :)

[AngieR17]

I thought you said you were already a part of the Navy Nurse Corps & interested in dating a sailor.. You haven't even started nursing school yet though.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

That's a very good question, Angie. Leslie, would you like to clarify?

Also, the Army is not taking new grads at this time. ROTC might be an option, but an active duty commission is not guaranteed.