[Brendenb]

Is anyone here a nurse in the military? I'd like to pick your brain if you are; Air Force especially.

I'm looking at the offer of up to a $20,000 bonus, full tuition coverage, a monthly stipend around $1100 on a 1 year paid to 1 year service obligation ratio and thinking it's a very good deal.

I've just been accepted into an accelerated BSN program and I'm exploring funding/financial aid options.

Thanks,
Brenden

[maggiedanurse]

there are other ways to fund your education. unless of course you have nothing going for you. cuz those are the ones in the military. and i can't stand working with prior service nurses cuz they don't function in society or play well with others.

[Brendenb]

That message is very negative in tone. Not to pick on you, but I think you may have had a bad experience that colors your opinion. I've worked with at least a dozen prior service nurses and haven't had any problems.

Yes they do tend to have stronger personalities, but they have (in my experience, which is 10+ years in healthcare) less procedural problems than "most" civilian-trained nurses. I've found my best experiences (from the technician point of view) have been with nurses with a military background (or anyone that was previously in the military in a technical field).

The implication that everyone in the military, or anyone considering military funding for their education, has nothing going for them is ... ill informed, to say the least.

[maggiedanurse]

thank you i am prior service. army nurse corp. i think i have what it takes to make a decision. when you get what i get then you too can say what i say, until then when experience talks you should consider listening. even donald trump said the same thing as i " they function fine in their own environment, but outside that..." that is what he said to kelly preston before he hired him and he hired kelly cuz no one told him to hire jennifer the lawyer and he stated pretty much that he was hiring the lessor of two evils. and if you are so determined why are you asking for opinions of others?

[soldier]

I am a prior service veteran also. I am glad to know that not everyone hates us. I work alongside the Michigan health dept in a group called the Volunteer defense force. It is mostly veterans but allows non-prior service people also. All training is done in state to prepare for bird flu and stuff like that. If activated we get paid the same as regular soldiers, but best of all we are non-deployable outside of state borders since we are a state only program and if there is a draft we are nondraftable. Its also a skip to the front of the vacine line since dead soldiers and nurses cant hand out medicine to others. Most people dont know about it since it was only created in 2004. Their website is http://mi.gov/dmva and click on the lowerleft hand link "volunteer defense force".

[Brendenb]

I'm asking because I want to hear stories of peoples' experience with nursing in the military. Since you said you are prior service (at the age of 22 according to your profile, so that's what, 1 year of experience assuming you entered at 21, which is the minimum age to be in the Army Nurse Corps?) and you have such strong negative opinions about the military, I'd like to hear them. You said experience talks and I should listen; well start talking then. Up until now you haven't said anything except a couple of bold generalizations and some retelling of an episode of The Apprentice.

What happened (generally if you don't want to go into specifics) that was so bad you left after 1 year? (Assuming you graduated with an associates and you were commissioned and entered service right after graduation/21st birthday.) Since it doesn't make sense that you are 22 with prior service and are already released from your service obligation (unless you weren't a RN in the Army, but a 91C or W. The Army Nurse Corps is officer only and takes associates, and BSN) if you could please explain what you did in the Army and why it was so horrible, it would be appreciated. (Reference http://www.goarmy.com/amedd/nurse/co...ies_requir.jsp) (I was looking at the Army too)

I was in the Army Reserves for 8 years in the healthcare field as an enlisted person. I know that the officer corps is a different environment from the enlisted corp and nursing is different from a technical field. Because of the differences, I'd like to hear someone else's experience. If you can do that, great, if not I'd just assume you didn't post anymore. This isn't supposed to be a flame-fest.

[maggiedanurse]

i am 43, son. if you have 8 years then you know what to expect. why are you looking to anyone for opinions, which are ours, since your mind is made up. it is only a flame fest when one person continues. i have stopped. your mind is made up. you wanted opinions i gave them. that's another reason why i shunn you away from the military cuz they don't stop and they love to fight. not to mention doctors who have not completed their residency and nurses who cannot function in society for the above said reasons.

[Brendenb]

I told you why I wanted the opinions of others, because my own experiences are not necessarily those of people in Nursing, in the officer corps, or in other branches of the military.

As it turns out, the point is moot though. I accepted a full ride scholarship from one of the local hospitals. I now have school and related expenses paid for, and a job when I graduate.

I don't know who you are referring to when you say (ex)military nurses cannot function in society, nor do I want to meet them, but labeling an entire group of people like that is just wrong.

[maggiedanurse]

i am so happy for you. i'm sure you will do great!!!! there are alot of scholarships nationally, locally and thru private organizations as well as through your school also to assist you!!! when you finish school you will also have real experience.

[medi]

Maggiedanurse...

You must have had some awfully negative experiences in your Army Nurse Corps career to sound so embittered. Might I ask you how long you were in and what your MTF or duty area was?

It strikes me as particularly sad to hear a prior military officer such as yourself telling people such untruths as "the only people in the military are those with nothing going for them". How very far from the truth that is and how very interesting that it should come from an educated professional such as yourself.

Surely you did not really mean to imply that you had nothing going for you and that's why you voluntarily decided to accept a commission in the army rather than practicing at a civilian hospital? Some of the world's finest physicians and nurses serve in the military or have served -- do they all have "nothing going for them" as well?

I'm sorry to know that you apparently feel former military nurses are hard for you to work with. It must have been very difficult indeed when you were one yourself then... or ...... were you one?

I suppose I was more fortunate in that I met outstanding co-workers as well as dedicated and very motivated paraprofessionals (LPN's and other technicians for you civilians reading this), and I had opportunities I would never have been able to experience had I not been a military nurse.

Outstanding leadership development, the opportunity to lead in both the hospital setting as well as in the field, unsurpassed educational programs and opportunities all at Army expense-- when's the last time you got to intubate, code, or suture a patient in full MOPP4?? Oh wait-- that's right, civilian nurses don't get to suture do they! Mabey it's just me but I've had experiences others couldn't even begin to dream about and I for one will always miss certain aspects such as the widely expanded scope of practice, the close friendships that are built, and last but not at all least... looking down to the earth from the back of an open bay Blackhawk during evacs.....

How could civilian practice ever..... ever.... compare?

Did you even make it through the Academy of Health Sciences? Camp Bullis?
Somehow.... I doubt it...