What are my options?

[chloe247]

Hello,

I am in a somewhat difficult situation. It's about time that I start pursuing a career in nursing but I don't seem to have many, if any, options. I am active duty in the military, I work 9-5 Mon - Fri, and I live in Alamogordo, NM (the middle of nowhere with one school). With my job in the military, I will be stuck here for years so i've been racking my brain trying to come up with a way I can still become a nurse.

Let me know if this is a crazy idea: I would start off by getting my EMT basic certification online and then i'd find another online program to become a certified paramedic. I have found programs where the tuition includes flying out to the location for hands on training.

Next, I would apply to Excelsior and hopefully be accepted. It is the only online paramedic - adn program I could find.

From there, I would find an online adn - bsn program. I have completed my B.S. degree and all prerequisites but I might have to retake some classes that were taken in 2010.

Finally, I would apply for a direct commission as a nurse in the military.

This seems pretty crazy, time consuming, and costly so I am nervous and excited about the whole thing. Any advice? Thank you in advance for your time!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Check and see where the military wants their nurses from. I'm pretty sure they want it from an accredited, reputable school.

One of our longtime moderators (LunahRN) started off as a paramedic, earned a distance-based ASN degree from Excelsior College, and an online BSN degree from Chamberlain College of Nursing.

Due to these credentials, she had gotten accepted as a direct commission officer into the hyper-competitive Army Nurse Corps. Excelsior College is military-friendly and the US military loves Excelsior College.

[golson]

I know its not nursing, but have you thought about the PA program? I'm sure the AF has one (I'm guessing you're AF since you're at Holloman). El Paso isn't too far away; any chance you could hook into a nursing program down there? Hopefully they have something that runs on the weekend, but I don't know since I wasn't looking to go to school when I was down at Bliss.

[golson]

Also, go swing by your post's ed center to see if they have any ideas for you. I don't know if they have one up there, but the one at Bliss was pretty helpful for a few of my guys. You could probably make an appointment down there if your leadership aren't turds.

[tnicnat]

Are you Air Force or Army? I would look into changing my MOS (I was Army) if you f

have to reenlist than do that, get your degree in the military

[ixchel]

Although the OP's plan is poorly thought out, I wanted to mention that Excelsior College is not a shady fly-by-night school. The school is nonprofit and has existed for 44 years. All of the nursing programs are ACEN-accredited. In addition, Excelsior College was deemed an NLN Center of Excellence.

The California BRN is the only state board of nursing that refuses to grant licensure to graduates of Excelsior's associate degree nursing program.

I think Maryland is on that list, as well, but I may be reading this wrong.

Maryland Board of Nursing - Nursing Education

[golson]

Are you Air Force or Army? I would look into changing my MOS (I was Army) if you f

have to reenlist than do that, get your degree in the military

If you're an Army medic (68W), you can pick up an LPN certification as an ASI. If the OP is up in Alamogordo, they're probably a zoomy, though. I'm not sure if they have the same program.

[ajohn2015]

I was just like you once, stuck as an enlisted Soldier in a support battalion hating my job and dreaming of becoming a nurse. So instead of struggling for an online education that would take years, I put ALL my faith into the GI Bill and got out, moved from Campbell to the Bay Area and put my ass in class. The GI Bill has supported me through all my prerequisites and will continue to provide a comfortable living while I attend a state school for my BSN. If you really really want to become an Army nurse, get out and go to school, then come back COMMISSIONED. It's worth the wait and the GI Bill is the greatest benefit our government has to offer it's veterans, you should use it before some civilian in the white house takes it away.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

I've never heard of paramedic school as a requirement before nursing school before. But then I read the magical word "Excelsior". I'd think twice about a for profit school that expects to train you with minimal clinical time AND requires a pre-degree.

Again, thank you for the replies. I have already completed my pre-requisites. There are no night/evening courses nearby. I wouldn't be allowed to drive over an hour to go to school every night/weekend because of rules of how many hours I have to sleep & being a certain distance from the base when i'm on call. I signed for 6 years and I have no idea when i'll be get to move but it will be several years.

I am doing the paramedic route first because it's required for excelsior. That or being an lpn. There aren't any lpn programs near me. If you're confused about the clinical portion of the adn program, that information is on the excelsior website.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

I've never heard of paramedic school as a requirement before nursing school before. But then I read the magical word "Excelsior". I'd think twice about a for profit school that expects to train you with minimal clinical time AND requires a pre-degree.

One correction Excelsior is not a for profit school but is one of the few nursing schools with the honor of NLN center of clinical excellence. That said this is not a program intended for newly minted medics. It's intended for medics & LPNs with significant clinical experience that can successfully challenge certain exams and demonstrate clinical competence in a rigorous 3 day challenge. Many are successful, many others are not. It's not a one size fits all program. It's an extreme few that do a distance EMS program with no field experience that can successfully complete EC's distance based program and subsequently pass the NCLEX-RN. Many new grad LPNs that attempt EC end up needing to take classes and find supplemental study groups as they don't have the background knowledge or experience to be successful. Forewarned is forearmed.

[jasmine1990]

Have you looked into Green to Gold?

[golson]

Have you looked into Green to Gold?

They've already got a bachelor's, so I think they'd just be directed to OCS/OTS. Now that I think about it, they might not be eligible for the GI bill either, if they accepted student loan repayment.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

Thanks for the clarification, beachy!! My bad, I do know the difference now!