What to expect with Navy NCP program??

[confusedstudent_88]

Hello!

I was recently given the go ahead about my tattoos for the Navy NCP program and was told that there is definitely room for me because of the year I would be graduating. I am waiting to hear back from nursing school whether I was accepted at the end of this month.

I was wondering about the order of things. After I fill out paperwork for the navy when would I need to take the physical fitness test and have an interview? I am more concerned about the physical fitness test and I am wondering how much time I have to lose the required weight. I currently started crossfit training and switched my diet to Paleo (its great!). I was wondering when I could expect to be tested on my fitness??

[williams84]

It was actually a cumulative GPA thing. I had a previous degree from years ago that had I just barely graduated at a 2.5. For some reason (probably to be competitive), they wanted to include all of my old classes in with my current stint in nursing school. No matter how many A's I got, it just couldn't bring the cumulative GPA above a 3.0. My recruiter finally realized this and said I would be better at applying for a DA spot. The NCP program is great way to secure a spot before the experienced nurses get added to the competition. I just hope I can be a part of the Navy again in the future.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Okay - totally miffed that HM2 missed out on a second go of the duck walk. Completely unfair. LOL. I not only did it a second time, I did it in a room of women who were young enough to be my daughters. Not cool! :)

@Trauma - sometimes the services don't release data to the recruiters until a certain point in the year. Very rarely is it released to the general public. And sometimes you never even get that hint as to what might have kept a person from being selected. And more often than not you just get a 'no'.

[elisabethm]

TraumaRNHopeful, CarolinaPooh is right. A lot of times even the recruiters don't know the admissions rate for the NCP. After I was accepted, I asked my recruiter what the numbers had been, and he told me that he had no way of knowing. The board might release the numbers later this year. All he knew was the number of applications that he personally worked on. In my recruiting district (Colorado), 27 nursing students applied and 3 were accepted. In other areas where the Navy is more popular, like San Diego or other places with a big Navy presence, there are even more applicants.

[Teetah]

Thanks! My MEPs appointment isn't until the 24th of this month. I'm going with two other NCP hopefuls on our island. I'll be graduating December 2014. I think MEPs and the interviews are the things I most nervous about doing!

[HM2Doc]

MEPs and the interviews are pretty much the entire process.

[elisabethm]

If you don't have a health history, MEPs really isn't bad at all. It is very loooong and boring (I think mine was like 5 am to 3 pm), but it isn't difficult or anything. They check your eyes, blood, hearing, you do the duck walk and some funny little calisthenic exercises, then they ask you some questions about your past health and any medications you've taken. The interviews really aren't bad either, although I was very nervous about them going in. They have a really laid-back, conversational vibe, and everyone who interviewed me was super friendly. They'll ask why you want to join, why you wanted to become a nurse, how your family feels about the military, how you feel about the possibility of deployments, etc. Nothing too hard really. I'm sure you'll do fine. Good luck with everything!

[Teetah]

MEPs and the interviews are pretty much the entire process.

haha, true! I guess that was more so me trying to feel comfortable about some part of it. Filling out the paperwork is tedious, but since I'm out for the summer it has kind of replaced my school work.

I had mitral valve prolapse, but the cardiologist I saw last year said he couldn't find any evidence of it, so I have both my original diagnosis and the notes on it from last year. My recruiter said it shouldn't be a problem, especially if I don't take medication for it, but he's pretty sure he'll have to run me over for an EKG after MEPs.

[TraumaRNHopeful]

Thank you all who repsonded. I had my physical and interviews last week. I have to/want to revise my personal statement, and get my acceptance letter for my BSN program, then my kit is complete and ready for submission. The interviews went ok....the first was basically alot of the woman telling me about different specialties and how things worked. The second wasn't planned- as my originol interiewer was stuck in a meeting so my recruiter found someone else that would do it. He started out by reminding me I could be deployed and die, lol. I'm horribly impatient and just want to know if I have a spot...even though if I don't get accepted for NCP I'll still try for DA but that is 2 more years of NOT knowing...arggg

[sargent46]

I just got my acceptance letter last week for an accelerated BSN program starting this Fall 2013. I was digging around and everything I saw said that you do not begin the process or to even bother contacting a recruiter until after you've been accepted to nursing school -- I feel so behind the eight ball!

@TraumaRNHopeful -can you tell me about how long it took to get the other paperwork in line? And when would you hoping to officially be accepted, Spring 2014? I've reached out to a recruiting office in the area I'm just wondering if you can give me an idea of whether or not I'd have a shot to get my application together for the boards in time? I'd appreciate any advice!

[oaktown2]

@sargent46 - my recruiter had said the same thing and wouldn't really talk to me until I had an acceptance letter. Depending on your age and length of educational history, it might not take much time at all to pull your kit together. Just start getting official transcripts (don't open them) and you can start writing your personal statement. If you have had any medical issues then you will probably want copies of your medical records. Good luck!