HI JonZ, As a commissioned officer, I can tell you recruiters are having a bad time overall. There are some that doing very well. In the Guard, we have what's called G-RAP, where "normal" Guard soldiers get 2K for every enlistment they get through the recruiter. Military nursing is a special calling: there are traumas, and then there are combat traumas. PBS had a great show once about a Combat Support Hospital ( a la MASH 4077) unit and how they dealt with things. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the show. I was also a combat lifesaver--I could do more than just first aid. And when I recertified in combat, the ABCs became MATCH(massive hemmorhage, airway, trauma, circulatory, head; if I remember correctly). In combat, an airway does you no good if your patient is bleeding from a severed artery (and there are plenty of those). We were required to carry one-person tourniquets in case we were hit, then we could apply it and stop the bleeding ourselves.

So, my short answer is a nurse has to make the decision to join. If he or she joins, they will probably go to Iraq or Afghanistan, or serve on a hospital ship. The good thing about military nursing is you will see/do things you won't see/do on the civilian side, you will learn to deal with alot more stress, you will become more organized, and when you resign from the service, you will be a much better well rounded person and better nurse in the civilian side.

If anybody wants more info, give me shout.

Hi Jon. I wanted to let you know there are actually quite a few incentives the military is offering. One in particular is a 75K sign-on bonus. Up front one receives 25k then I believe after a year another 25 K etc... Talk w/ a reserve recruiter for details. For the most part you will deploy as you request while in the Air force Reserve. Also there is a school loan pay off for AD (Active Duty) nurses and other incentives however not as big of a sign on bonus. I hope this helps?!

I'll post more info later on. (I'm at work right now). :) Tried sending a friend invite, but says invalid email, probably because of the public computer at work. I'll do it at home.

Beth, it worked from my home computer. Weird. But then again, employers do weird things to computers.

JonZ: The 2K bonus applies to any gain a soldier helps put in the Guard; nurses, docs, chaplains, privates, and everywhere in between. With a medical or chaplain gain, the soldier might get a few more bucks, but I have seen nothing in writing, only heard it thorugh the grapevine. And as Marie said, there are bonuses/loan pay backsfor the medical professionals who join, and the numbers sound right but they change constantly. There are also bonuses offered by individual states. I know a nurse in Florida was offered 10K a year for every year she signed on for. There is no doubt the military needs good compassionate nurses in a lot of different capacities, just like the civilian side. And it takes a special kind of person to deal with all the intricities of being a military nurse. For the sake of our men and women doing the fighting, I hope we find a few more.

OK, it's time for a new thread: Becoming a Nurse in the Officer Corps. I'll start...

Hi there, I actually found this site on military.com and its funny b/c I just joined the Air Force as a critical care nurse. I leave next month and I am just thrilled about my new career ! I grew up as a military child and becomming an Air Force nurse has always been my dream. They are offering great incentives as mentioned above. However great those incentives are though, "service before self", (one of the military mottos) is a truly good way of thinking when considering the military.
If anyone is interested in Air Force nursing I would love to help answer any questions up to where I stand now - as I have finished the selection process, oath, and am just awaiting my commisioned officer training next month.

Welcome to the military AFnurse! I'm an active duty Navy Nurse (I love it!). I did work as a civilian nurse before joining the military, so I've experienced both sides of the fence. But, since I saw postings for both Army & Air Force, I thought I would chime in with the Navy side.

There are so many opportunities you can take advantage of being a military nurse - training, travel, meeting new people, responsibility, independence, pride.... In 10 years I've been stationed on both coasts; worked overseas; deployed with the Marines, the Army, Navy & Joint Forces; stationed on a hospital ship; and ran the operating room on an amphibious assault ship in the Gulf. I used my GI Bill benefits to go to massage school. Right now the Navy is sending me to graduate school for my MBA, full-time. So many opportunities!

The Navy has many programs available to nurses. The education, sign-on & retention bonuses routinely change, so I recommend taking a look at this website - http://www.navy.com/careers/healthcare/ - and if anyone has any questions about Navy nursing just email me.

Good luck with your officer training, AFnurse, and enjoy your new career!

medic17usa -
If you are close to a Naval or Air Force medical facility, contact them and ask to speak to the Director of Nursing. Tell them you are considering changing service & you would like to come visit their facility to get an idea of what working there would be like. Or, you could contact a nurse recruiter for the Navy. Lots of times they take candidates on a free trip to a Naval Hospital like Balboa (San Diego) or Jacksonville, FL! I'm not sure if the Air Force does the same.

Medic17usa--Where in MA? I was born in Bah-stun. Anyway, Naval Station Newport in RI is an active base. Their hospital is basically now an outpatient clinic, but I'm sure they still have a myriad of services that you should be able to tour. At 14 years in you might as well get the 20; as an Army officer, I hope you stay with the Army, but the NAvy and Air Force have great opportunities to serve. If you go Navy, you will spend some time in Newport, so go pay them a visit.

I was trained to be a nurse in the Army National Guard in 1984. I served in Saudi Arabia in Desert Storm and wil be deployed again next year. Yes, it is a bit scary but nursing is caring for the sick and injured wherever you are needed. I am a naturalized citizen of the US and I am a proud patriot. I have 15 years of service in the Guard already and will stay until they tell me I am too old. I love caring for our soldiers wherever they are.

At Travis Air Force Base, in northern California, the 349th AES (Aero Medivac Squadron), which is a reserve unit, is recruiting non prior military nurses with a 75K sign on bonus. The bonus payment is split up into three years with the first 25K paid after completing basic training and processing into the unit. There is an officer course that you also have to attend. I'm not sure but I believe it is 8 weeks long. Since this is a deployable position you have to go through Chemical Warfare training, get a commissioning medical exam and have to do firearms training. I'm not sure what else you have to do since I'm not a military nurse and my requirements to transfer over to the officer corp is different from someone straight off the "street". Any recruiter would be glad to spend time explaining all that you have to go through.

There are three other medical units at Travis AFB and none of them pay an enlistment bonus.

Here's 2 websites to go searching through for the Army: http://www.goarmy.com/amedd/nurse/corps_specialties_requir.jsp
http://armynursecorps.amedd.army.mil/
GO ARMY!!!

I would love to be a military nurse, but I have a little pre-existing thing (called too old to join), to be able too. That is why I am thinking the VA/USPHS when I finish nursing school. (IF I get accepted to nursing school).