Any advice on a path into the Army Nursing Corps?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 04 May 2015 23:32:43 -0400

Good evening to all the leaders out there - always glad to here your advice. Currently I'm in school for medical assisting just to get my feet wet in the medical field. My goal/dream career is to commission in the ARMY as a Nurse . Next year I start classes for my RN. What's the process? Any advice?

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made May 5 at 2015 12:29 AM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Tue, 05 May 2015 00:29:13 -0400

I was going to type in a pile of info .. and then found this...
http://allnurses.com/government-military-nursing/navy-nurse-corps-157776.html?PageSpeed=noscript

Anyway .. I ran a science lab that trained nursing students at a local community college. The big killer I saw was Anatomy and Physiology.. 2 semesters and a real killer. Do not underestimate that class!

I wish you all the luck.. we need more good nurses!

Navy Nurse Corps - Questions

I'm 31yrs old and I want to go back to school to become a nurse. I have been looking into various options and the Navy is one of them and I have some questions. I have submitted a form on

Response by COL Charles Williams made May 5 at 2015 12:38 AM

COL Charles Williams — Tue, 05 May 2015 00:38:31 -0400

Go to "GoArmy.com" and set up a profile, and apply for the Army Nursing Program, ROTC scholarship program. Either when you ETS, or via Green to Gold. The ROTC recruiting operations officer at any college ROTC detachment can help you.

http://www.goarmy.com/rotc/courses-and-colleges/programs/nursing.html

http://www.goarmy.com/rotc/ways-to-attend.html

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 5 at 2015 5:22 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 May 2015 05:22:06 -0400

*Leaders

Thank you all for the advice , I'm excited to get started, anything good is not going to come easy and this I realize but it's the goal and to actually have support from people I don't even know but wants to see me do good gives me a lot of motivation,one of the reasonS why I joined the military if for support like this. Maybe one day I'll meet up with some Rally Point members and I'll have the pleasure of being their health care provider.

Response by MSG Morgan Fiszel, CPCM, CFCM made May 5 at 2015 5:46 AM

MSG Morgan Fiszel, CPCM, CFCM — Tue, 05 May 2015 05:46:59 -0400

Sounds like you already have a plan. I see you are a 92A in reserves. You have three ways to get to your goal: OCS, ROTC or direct commission. If you get your degree and become an RN "on the outside" then you can get direct commission in Army. Don't limit yourself to reserves. The Guard may have more opportunities for you.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made May 7 at 2015 11:52 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 May 2015 11:52:26 -0400

Are you active duty or reserves? There are many different routes depending on your status. Green to gold program in the Army, civilian education in the reserves with Army TA or GI bill. Hardest part is getting into a program.
I did the civilian Associates degree, commissioned in reserves, then BSN program a year later. Now my Masters degree.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made May 7 at 2015 2:06 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 May 2015 14:06:58 -0400

ROTC is a good way to go if your reserves, especially because they have the SMP program. That's probably your best bet. Contact a local college that has both nursing school and an army ROTC unit. There's always an embedded recruiter of sorts and a ROTC brigade nurse visits each school twice a year. If you need anything else just message me offline

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 7 at 2015 2:38 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 May 2015 14:38:09 -0400

First, the "minimum pre-requisites". To commission into the ANC, you need to become a BSN. This is new as of approximately 2011-2012. It used to be you needed it for MAJ, then they said promote to CPT for others, but really to access you need a BSN. This is to bring the Nurse Corps up to standards for the rest of the military (need a bachelors to commission).

Now, how to become an ANC that will be promotable and sustainable. I would HIGHLY encourage you to seek out a career field that is deemed mission critical. At this point, 8A (ICU nurses), and M5 (ER nurses) are two that are very highly sought after among CSH. You need a minimum of 1500 hours in two years if I recall. I recommend trying to get time as a PCA/Nurse Aide/whatever in an ICU or Stepdown unit and then working towards accession using one of those. Once you have your RN, work at whatever you need to do to get into a stepdown or an ICU if you can, and then work towards getting those critical skill identifiers.

Depending on the region of the country, you will not be able to promote very easily based on slot availability. Southern Region last I heard was at 300% strength and it was challenging for some people to find a slot for CPT and above. Central has been good on strength, but Army-wide we are understrength on the above-mentioned ASIs. If you want a career in the Army, that's the best way to go. Once you are in, continue your educational opportunities.

This is a basic outline, but I'd strongly encourage you to not commission until you have your BSN, or else it may run into some issues with time-in-grade and your BOLC screwing your BSN classes up. If you are looking to stay Reserve, direct commission or Green-to-gold is the best way to go. I'd be happy to discuss further if you need help.
v/r,
CPT Butler

Response by COL Thom Brooks made May 7 at 2015 3:07 PM

COL Thom Brooks — Thu, 07 May 2015 15:07:40 -0400

Great to hear that you have a desire to follow this incredible option within the Army Nurse Corps. The best way to proceed, in my opinion, is to get an early commission while you are in a BSN Nursing program. BLUF: you do not want to seek a commission with anything less than a BSN (for example, ADN program or diploma program). Make sure you meet the height and weight standards and that you are working on being physically fit. The way to progress through the Army Nurse Corps (AN) is to assure that you complete your military schools on time and that you seek advanced degrees (for example, MSN) by the time you are looking for the rank of MAJ. Also, find a mentor that can best influence you to solid leadership and clinical expertise, and focus on evidence based research. These are all, probably, a bit confusing for you at the moment, but they will all be elucidated as you reach each pinnacle. Good Luck to you, and I truly wish you a most successful career. TEB

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 7 at 2015 5:00 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 May 2015 17:00:13 -0400

PV2 McLamb,

If you are active duty, get your pre-requisites out of the way, and then you should look into applying for the AECP (AMEDD Enlisted Commissioning Program). It's open to any MOS, even if you are not in the Medical Field now. If selected, you will go to school for two years and then get Commission into the Army Nurse Corps. That's the best way, but there are always options. If you have questions, you can email me at [login to see] .

CPT Christopher

Response by CPT Kay Spence made May 7 at 2015 5:06 PM

CPT Kay Spence — Thu, 07 May 2015 17:06:04 -0400

I applied for and received a ROTC Scholarship. Did ROTC in conjunction with my nursing program. Good Luck and God Bless! Army nursing was great! Spoiled me for the civilian world.

Response by CPT Kevin Tracy made May 8 at 2015 10:54 AM

CPT Kevin Tracy — Fri, 08 May 2015 10:54:15 -0400

Make sure the nursing program you enter is certified and credentialed... there are some fly by night programs out there so make sure you are entering a valid program... Once you get about 60 credit hours under your belt and you have only two years left in your BSN, program, I would apply for the Army's Enlisted Commissioning Program... I think this still exists.... If accepted, you get to go to school full time and still get your full pay and benefits...After graduating with your BSN, you will pin on butter bars. If you don't get accepted to that program, you can still get your RN on your own (will be challenging getting your clinicals in while still on Active Duty). Then you can apply for direct commission after graduation.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made May 8 at 2015 7:44 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 08 May 2015 19:44:43 -0400

The best option right now is to put in for an ROTC nursing scholarship or the AECP. I'll echo others; a two year diploma will not cut it and you cannot get commissioned AD. It was allowed for 2nd and 1LTs in the USAR, but if they have not done away with that yet, they will shortly.
If you bounce around chat rooms right now someone will tell you that there is a lot of right sizing going on in the ANC right now. They should also tell you that it is year groups ahead of you and it should not affect you or your promotion (we over recruited in the late 2000s).
Feed that flame of desire and move towards that 4 year degree. Good luck.
Serving to heal, honored to serve.

Response by 1LT Susan Bailey made Jun 20 at 2016 12:08 AM

1LT Susan Bailey — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 00:08:11 -0400

I am not the best to tell you what currently exists to get you into the ANC, but I can tell you that when I was looking to go in, they would not accept anything less than a BSN degree in order to be Commissioned.

There is much debate about what level RNs should be at, but my opinion is that if you can get a BSN, get it. The American Nurse's Association and many hospital systems are now pushing for the BSN degree to be the entry point into nursing. So you would be smart and planning ahead to get that if you can. Take every opportunity to train and acquire knowledge.

A great nurse never knows what tool they will need to help a patient reach their goals or understand their perspective. It's important to be as prepared as possible, and yet, in my experience there will always be a situation you could not have possibly prepared for specifically! LOL But, hopefully having an open mind to learning, problem-solving, and creative use of your brain, you will find a good solution.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 23 at 2017 4:11 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 23 Apr 2017 16:11:09 -0400

im eager to see some of the answers on here maybe they can help me out as well. im looking to switch from AG to AN

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 27 at 2020 4:17 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 16:17:18 -0400

The last I heard the Army would only consider commissioning BSNs

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made May 8 at 2020 6:28 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 08 May 2020 06:28:25 -0400

Your profile says you are in the Reserve. If you want to enter active duty as an Army Nurse Corps officer you must have a BSN from an accredited school. This is very is important since if the school does not meet the Army's accreditation requirement your application cannot be accepted (not qualified). To obtain a reserve commission you must an associate degree, diploma (3 year) or BSN from an accredited school. Non-BSN applicants must have one year experience after graduation plus valid license in the USA. For financial assistance look into ROTC which may have scholarships targeted to nursing students. Got to your schools ROTC office for this. The AMEDD Enlisted Commissioning program is for active duty soldiers, or at least used to be. For exact details on all programs talk to an AMEDD Recruiter who will have current details. The regular recruiters in your local recruiting office will probably not know current details on these programs, and should refer you to an AMEDD Recruiter who has up to date regulations and messages from DA. See also goarmy.com/amedd.html where you can find current information and sign up for a contact with a recruiter.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made May 8 at 2020 10:03 AM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Fri, 08 May 2020 10:03:27 -0400

Finish your BSN and pass RN test for license. Talk with Army, Navy, and Air Force recruiters. Also Active, Reserve, and National Guard. Pick the offer that most closely matches your near- and mid-term life goals. (My daughter is a Navy Reserve Nurse. Works as Nurse Practitioner for VA.)

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made May 8 at 2020 11:36 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 08 May 2020 11:36:19 -0400

I just noticed your post is five years old. What have you done since then?