Has anyone trained as a nurse in any of the armed forces?

Question

What are your experiences of it? It it preferable to training as a civilian?

Answer 1

The Walter Reed Institute of Army Nursing or Wrain no longer exist. The Army has the 91C training program for enlisted personnel which entitles them to sit for the LPN/LVN exam. Army RNs are recruited from civilian nurses, and nursing schools. ADN graduates are not accepted in the active duty US military at this time. At one time they could join the reserves, but I'm not sure if that has changed at this point.

All nurses on active duty in the US military are either ROTC graduates or are direct commision reserve officers. That requires a bachelors degree at this time.

Additionally, most active duty nurses have their Masters degree before or soon after they make the rank of Major.

Their are Masters degree programs in anesthesia and for Nurse Practitioners in the military, these programs are very good and are very competitive with the civilian courses.

Answer 2

I was a clinical laboratory officer in the Army Reserve and associated with a lot of military nurses.

The military doesn't train nurses - there's no such thing as a military nursing school. You have to have your BSN and nursing license before you can become commissioned as an officer in the Nurse Corps. The only exception is the Army Reserve, which will commission an ASN nurse but requires the officer to complete a BSN to achieve advanced rank and to be retained in the service.

I recommend military nursing for anyone with a sense of adventure and a willingness to make a serious difference in the lives of sick and injured soldiers and other eligible patients. You would need be an independent-minded person who not afraid to travel and experience new places and people. You would never be bored.

This is a lot of advancement potential in the military and command positions are available to senior nurse officers.