Whats it like to be an army nurse?

[IHeartNurses33]

I am thinking of doing ROTC, Im a nursing student pursuing my BSN and I was wondering what kind of experiences any nurses in the army nursing corp have had. I have talked to the head of the ROTC at my college but of course they only tell you the good things. I basically want to know any and everything about your experience. Was it what you expected? Did the things they promised change when you got in? How often are you deployed? Im thinking of doing OB/GYN so any advice on that would also be wonderfull!

Thanks!

[norcalidiot]

I want to start out by saying I am not a nurse but I was in the military and in a medical field. As far as being deployed it depends on where you are stationed and what the need is for nursing. If you go into a specialty such as OB/GYN you are still a nurse and you will be sent where the military needs you. However, the military needs nurses right now and you might be able to get something wrote into your contract about your first duty station. As far as the military itself. I loved it. The military medical is way better than anything else. I was a medic stationed with an ADA (Air Defense Artillary) unit for one year in Korea. That was hell!!! I spent a lot of that year in what is known as a tent city because we literally lived in tents and wore the same set of clothes for days at a time.

I also spent 5 years at Fort Bragg NC and when we went out on exercises we lived in airconditioned tents. We had MP's (military police) guarding our area we didn't have to worry about anything but taking care of patients and playing rumi. It was great and fun and I learned more than I could ever learn in school. I got more experience there than I could any where else in the world. So in my experience as a nurse in the Army you can have a very good job and get lots of experience while you have people like me doing all the grunt work. Plus they pay off your school loans.

[butterflyeffect]

I too worked in the military in the medical field but not as a nurse. I think as a nurse you will have more autonomy and freedom than I did but ultimately I would truly weigh and consider your decision. If you do not agree with your superiors or think something does not make sense or is not fair or safe you will have no choice but to follow orders. There is no arguing your point. If you work as an OB/GYN nurse it is still possible that you will be sent to Iraq and told to work in another specialty...a nurse is a nurse to the Army. The military allows a lot more latitude in scope of practice....things that would normally be illegal in the civilian world are not only legal but considered part of your job description.

My personal experience in my field was that I was given to another unit in a time of war and separated from everyone I knew for several years to go be with another unit where I knew no one...I was then told it did not matter what my MOS was because today I would now be a combat medic...I was given a week to learn what others in that MOS learned over the course of several months...now my military record reads that I should be given credit for that MOS in the civilian world because it was something I learned in the field.

I cannot say what your experience will be like and different branches have different flavors and a different feel to them depending on your chain of command. My personal experience was awful and I hated having other people (people who by the way I felt were not qualified to be giving me direction) tell me what to do. I also hated being given responsibility over an area of expertise that I truly did not feel I was ready to be responsible for. I also hated having to participate in a war effort that not only meant nothing to me but that I was completely against. You have to remember that you are property when you join the military. You are used and treated in any way that the military sees fit to use and treat you.

I was not an Army nurse but I worked closely with one and I can tell you that I would not put myself in that position. But, again, that is my experience...I am sure others as stated above had very different and valuable experiences. I did learn a lot more than I ever would have learned in the civilian world but that was mainly because I was doing things that in the civilian world would be considered out of my scope of practice.

Please, please, please think about what you are committing to...once it is done it is done and then you will have to do whatever they tell you to do and go wherever they tell you to go and in some cases for years at a time and for several tours over and over again all away from your family...and your orders will say one thing when you leave and once you are there they may change...suddenly you have to stay for 6 more months and then when that time arrives suddenly you have to stay for 3 more months...your life is not your own and you have NO choice in the matter.

[IHeartNurses33]

Thank you for writing in response to my message! Im sorry you had a horrible time from what I have learned from everyone else its completley different for nurses and they have had enjoyable experiences!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Moved to the Military Nursing forum.

[Rme4life]

i'm a 66h(med/surg, what most new nurses come in the military as) but working on labor delivery. I hopefully will be going to the ob/gyn course after i come back from deployment. right now the deployments are 6 months for nurses and they want you to be at your first duty station for 1 year before you deploy. i was prior service and the officer side is nothing like enlisted and probably even more so as an nurse corps officer. i love the army, so when i came back in, the things that some people will complain about were no longer an issue. i'm not pulling guard duty or some @*!% detail. i get to take care of patients. to tell you the truth, people who don't like the army will come up with stuff to complain about. just like every job, there is always things to complain about.

if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.