What is it like to be a Navy Nurse?

Navymurse · Feb 6, 2014

It is a very competitive process to get accepted into the Nurse Candidate Program or Accession programs. High GPAs are extremely beneficial. I would strongly encourage you to speak with a Navy Officer Recruiter. If there is a local navy medical facility they also may be able to assist you and show you the ropes. While the site is down at this time I would recommend searching for Navy Nurse Candidate Program. There are also people on this site who recently applied/accepted and may have information that worked for them if you contact them.

I love being a Navy Nurse. Taking care of our nations heros and their families I consider to be a great honor. As a Navy Nurse we spend most of our time training the HMs (Hospital Corpsmen). These young sailors go out into the field or on ships and are the true lifesavers of Navy and Marine Corps. There are travel opportunities (deployments) and many programs to further your education. If you have any questions I would be more than happy to answer them.

sharapatan · Feb 7, 2014

I do have a few questions :)

-what is considered a high GPA? Some people think a 2.8 is high while other think a 3.8 is. (I have a 3.87 currently)

-Are you able to choose if you are on base, ship, ect?

-what is it like on the job?

Also thank you so much for the information it was very helpful!

Navymurse · Feb 11, 2014

I would say that a 3.87 is a high enough gpa to be competitive. The site for the program is: Nurse Candidate Program

As a Navy Nurse you will most often be on a base. Shipboard billets are highly competitive and coveted, reserved typically for people who have at least several years of nursing experience under their belts. You can get to shipboard nursing but it will take time. There are opening for the USNS Comfort/Mercy which is are hospital ships that perform humanitarian missions in foreign countries. As you can imagine many many people want to be a part of these humanitarian missions (Haiti for example). There is also deployments to many world wide locations available. You may be able to get to the Naval Hospital of your choice. I was able to get my top pick. But many times it will be needs of the Navy. The detailer works with you to get what the Navy needs, what you would like, and what would be most beneficial to your career.

The job is similar to civilian nursing in many ways, but also different in many other ways. Some departments wear uniforms and some wear scrubs. Many new nurses start on either L&D or Med-Surg, depending on the command. We have Corpsmen (HMs) assigned to us who operate at the level of LVN/LPN depending on their abilities and level of training. We mentor the Corpsmen to improve their knowledge and skills. We are also responsible for additional duties/committees such as scheduling, training, ect. We maintain physical fitness and prescribe to Naval Customs and Courtesy. I personally love my work and the teamwork we have on my floor. Nurses will cover each others patients if that patient's nurse is busy with another patient.

Sorry it took me several days to respond.