Nursing ROTC

nurse dad

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Jun 19, 2019
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My DD is a high school junior and extremely interested in a nursing rotc program. I would really love some general advice and information about the experience before, during and after (graduation).
Much appreciated.
 
I can speak to the Army scholarship process and general differences for nurses. I cannot speak to the after as my daughter is a rising junior and actually transferred from a nursing scholarship to a line scholarship (that is a whole other story).

*When applying for Army nursing, the scholarship process is the same. She will just select nursing as her major and that makes it a nursing application.
*Once nursing is selected as a major, only schools with ROTC nursing slots will be options to select.
*Some schools guarantee a nursing spot (at junior year) for ROTC scholarship recipients, without competing for a spot, but this varies by school. My daughter selected a school that enrolls students in nursing as a freshman. One of the schools she visited required ROTC cadets to compete for a nursing school slot. Reaching out to schools of interest and contacting their ROO is appropriate to ask how nursing works with ROTC at their school.
*Nurses are expected to be nurses, it is a different pot of money than the line scholarships. My daughter being able to transfer wasn’t easy, it does happen, but not a given. Ideally going in with the confidence she wants to be a nurse is best. Although my daughter had been confident, so we all know that changes, but there are consequences, even if allowed.
*At my daughter’s school, nurses take the MS3 class as sophomores to prepare for advanced camp between sophomore and junior year instead of rising senior summer. This is to allow for clinicals and another training specifically for nurses the summer before senior year. But this can change from school to school as well.
 
Current Army Nurse here I’ll speak to what happens when you graduate and commission as an active duty nurse. Once you graduate and pass the NCLEX you will submit all your paperwork and make your “wish-list” of assignments. You will be assigned to a MEDCEN which are the “larger” Army hospitals in the DoD. Before you go the hospital you will attend AMEDD BOLC at Ft Sam in San Antonio. I believe they just made it 3 months but it’s a cake walk of a course. BOLC teaches you about military healthcare and how to be an officer. When you get to your hospital you will go through Clinical Nurse Transition Program (CNTP). This is a 6-month residency were you are paired up with a preceptor and learn to be a nurse. It’s a great program because it will most likely be 3-8 months since you have touched a patient. You will be a 66H (Med-Surg) nurse and work on a med-surg floor for 2-3 years. You will most likely stay at your first hospital for 3 years. About 3-6 months after CNTP you will be getting charge nurse experience and around the 2 year mark you’ll be precepting new nurses. Around the 2-2.5 year mark you can apply for the AOC courses ie. OR, ED, ICU,Public Health, Psych (no OB and no peds). A few things to add; if you decide to stay in around the 8 year mark in your career you’ll get pulled from the beside and do more leadership/admin/nurse manager stuff. Currently military medicine is getting restructured so there are tons of stafffing/budget changes happening now so we’ll see where this all ends up. If you have specific questions I’m happy to answer them! Good luck!
 
Current Army Nurse here I’ll speak to what happens when you graduate and commission as an active duty nurse. Once you graduate and pass the NCLEX you will submit all your paperwork and make your “wish-list” of assignments. You will be assigned to a MEDCEN which are the “larger” Army hospitals in the DoD. Before you go the hospital you will attend AMEDD BOLC at Ft Sam in San Antonio. I believe they just made it 3 months but it’s a cake walk of a course. BOLC teaches you about military healthcare and how to be an officer. When you get to your hospital you will go through Clinical Nurse Transition Program (CNTP). This is a 6-month residency were you are paired up with a preceptor and learn to be a nurse. It’s a great program because it will most likely be 3-8 months since you have touched a patient. You will be a 66H (Med-Surg) nurse and work on a med-surg floor for 2-3 years. You will most likely stay at your first hospital for 3 years. About 3-6 months after CNTP you will be getting charge nurse experience and around the 2 year mark you’ll be precepting new nurses. Around the 2-2.5 year mark you can apply for the AOC courses ie. OR, ED, ICU,Public Health, Psych (no OB and no peds). A few things to add; if you decide to stay in around the 8 year mark in your career you’ll get pulled from the beside and do more leadership/admin/nurse manager stuff. Currently military medicine is getting restructured so there are tons of stafffing/budget changes happening now so we’ll see where this all ends up. If you have specific questions I’m happy to answer them! Good luck!


Thanks for this information! Question: How long did you wait after graduation before you went to AMEDD BOLC? Daughter is graduating next spring, and I had mentioned it could be some time before she reported to BOLC.
Her friend (Navy ROTC) just graduated, will be going to flight school but not until the fall.
 
Get all the info you can on the nursing schools your daughter wants to apply to so as to know the specifics. Some don't have students apply until after their sophomore year and they must meet a min. GPA in some cases. Some have you working in a hospital and getting paid, which is a nice benefit.
 
My daughter did not apply for a scholarship while in high school; she started taking ROTC courses the fall of her sophomore year, was given a scholarship beginning the second semester of her sophomore year.
Between the summer of soph and junior year, she attended Basic Camp at Fort Knox to get up to speed; she is again at Fort Knox for Advanced Camp.

She decided upon ROTC on her own near the end of her freshman year of college. I had mentioned it a few times prior, but it wasn't until she talked to one of her sorority sisters that she decided to check it out...Went and talked to the ROO and some of the instructors, interviewed, paperwork...all on her own.

The nursing program at her school is direct entry at Freshman year. A few of the other colleges she applied to, the program did not (does not) start until junior year. She has been participating in clinicals at local hospitals as a part of the curriculum and balancing that with the AROTC events. Fortunately, the program has a nursing option/group, so they are aware of and allow the students to miss regularly scheduled PT if they are in this program. She does have to PT on her own, or with a group to stay up to speed.

Immediately after Advanced Camp she will participate in Nurses Summer Training Program at an Army hospital: The Nurse Corps cadets provide a list of their desired locations (note, she did not get any of them :) --- I told her to get used to it--the military sends you where they need you at the end of the day) for NSTP, which also takes place between the junior and senior year. This will be about a month long duty for her, so essentially she will be gone for the entire summer, first at Advanced Camp, then at summer training. As soon as she gets back home in August, she has to turn around and drive back to school.

Bonus, at least at her school: ROTC Cadets are provided rooms at the dorms. Not all schools provide this (there is a thread in this forum on the schools that provide room and board).
 
Current Army Nurse here I’ll speak to what happens when you graduate and commission as an active duty nurse. Once you graduate and pass the NCLEX you will submit all your paperwork and make your “wish-list” of assignments. You will be assigned to a MEDCEN which are the “larger” Army hospitals in the DoD. Before you go the hospital you will attend AMEDD BOLC at Ft Sam in San Antonio. I believe they just made it 3 months but it’s a cake walk of a course. BOLC teaches you about military healthcare and how to be an officer. When you get to your hospital you will go through Clinical Nurse Transition Program (CNTP). This is a 6-month residency were you are paired up with a preceptor and learn to be a nurse. It’s a great program because it will most likely be 3-8 months since you have touched a patient. You will be a 66H (Med-Surg) nurse and work on a med-surg floor for 2-3 years. You will most likely stay at your first hospital for 3 years. About 3-6 months after CNTP you will be getting charge nurse experience and around the 2 year mark you’ll be precepting new nurses. Around the 2-2.5 year mark you can apply for the AOC courses ie. OR, ED, ICU,Public Health, Psych (no OB and no peds). A few things to add; if you decide to stay in around the 8 year mark in your career you’ll get pulled from the beside and do more leadership/admin/nurse manager stuff. Currently military medicine is getting restructured so there are tons of stafffing/budget changes happening now so we’ll see where this all ends up. If you have specific questions I’m happy to answer them! Good luck!


Thanks for this information! Question: How long did you wait after graduation before you went to AMEDD BOLC? Daughter is graduating next spring, and I had mentioned it could be some time before she reported to BOLC.
Her friend (Navy ROTC) just graduated, will be going to flight school but not until the fall.
Current Army Nurse here I’ll speak to what happens when you graduate and commission as an active duty nurse. Once you graduate and pass the NCLEX you will submit all your paperwork and make your “wish-list” of assignments. You will be assigned to a MEDCEN which are the “larger” Army hospitals in the DoD. Before you go the hospital you will attend AMEDD BOLC at Ft Sam in San Antonio. I believe they just made it 3 months but it’s a cake walk of a course. BOLC teaches you about military healthcare and how to be an officer. When you get to your hospital you will go through Clinical Nurse Transition Program (CNTP). This is a 6-month residency were you are paired up with a preceptor and learn to be a nurse. It’s a great program because it will most likely be 3-8 months since you have touched a patient. You will be a 66H (Med-Surg) nurse and work on a med-surg floor for 2-3 years. You will most likely stay at your first hospital for 3 years. About 3-6 months after CNTP you will be getting charge nurse experience and around the 2 year mark you’ll be precepting new nurses. Around the 2-2.5 year mark you can apply for the AOC courses ie. OR, ED, ICU,Public Health, Psych (no OB and no peds). A few things to add; if you decide to stay in around the 8 year mark in your career you’ll get pulled from the beside and do more leadership/admin/nurse manager stuff. Currently military medicine is getting restructured so there are tons of stafffing/budget changes happening now so we’ll see where this all ends up. If you have specific questions I’m happy to answer them! Good luck!


Thanks for this information! Question: How long did you wait after graduation before you went to AMEDD BOLC? Daughter is graduating next spring, and I had mentioned it could be some time before she reported to BOLC.
Her friend (Navy ROTC) just graduated, will be going to flight school but not until the fall.
There are usually x3 BOLC dates per summer; Mid-July, End of August, beginning of October. It’s first come first serve for BOLC/Duty station so take the NCLEX ASAP!! Also duty station availability corresponds with BOLC dates so Hawaii could be only offered in October etc.
 
There are usually x3 BOLC dates per summer; Mid-July, End of August, beginning of October. It’s first come first serve for BOLC/Duty station so take the NCLEX ASAP!! Also duty station availability corresponds with BOLC dates so Hawaii could be only offered in October etc.

thank you!
 
I'll add a bit to USN16x....my DD graduated on May 7th, took the NCLEX less than two weeks later and was called by someone in the Army over Memorial Day weekend to tell her that she had to report to BOLC on July 1st. They also told her at that time that she'll be assigned to Fort Sam (San Antonio) as her 1st assignment...which was on a Med-Surg floor as USN16x mentioned. She was training people herself after less than 18 months. She did all 4.5 years at San Antonio and they were so busy, her floor would never let her leave. She was offered positions at two other units but never could "escape". After about 3 years, she was placed on a transfer list and over a 30 day period, told her she would be going to Germany, then potentially Kuwait I believe and finally Fort Knox. She never ended up going anywhere.
 
DS is a Navy nurse corp scholarship recipient. Best advice if your DD does Navy--apply to every school that is a nurse option school when she is a senior in HS. Most of those schools are direct entry nursing programs (start as a freshman). She would not be able to activate a Navy nurse corp scholarship until she is actually admitted into the school of nursing--not just the university--two separate entities.
Pre-nursing major and working toward a nursing degree in the traditional path (2 yrs of pre reqs, then apply to school of nursing as a junior) will not suffice for the Navy nurse corp 4 year scholarship. If she gets selected, she better be also admitted to the university's SON for the Fall semester or she may not be able to activate that scholarship.
 
My daughter's pathway to Army ROTC was a little less typical, but ended up being successful for her, nonetheless. She currently attends her university on a 3-year Army ROTC Nurse scholarship obtained through her university. She decided late in her senior year of high school that she wanted to become a nurse, and to pursue an ROTC scholarship. She applied as a high school senior for a national Army ROTC scholarship but unfortunately did not receive one (Plan A), most likely due to her not performing well on her physical test. Her Plan B was to attend our local community college taking the freshman classes corresponding to the freshman nursing curriculum she would have taken at the 4-year university she desired to attend. While at community college, she stayed in regular contact with the Army ROTC recruiting officer via email at the 4-year university to let him know she was still interested in nursing and the Army ROTC program. She also engaged in a rigorous physical training program to improve herself physically and to prepare her to pass the APFT. As a college sophomore, she was finally able to obtain a 3-year Army ROTC scholarship through her desired university, and also qualified for an ROTC room & board scholarship administered through that university (obtained by having a transfer GPA of 3.5 or greater, and/or meeting a required minimum SAT/ACT score). She is now a rising senior, currently attending Advanced Camp.
 
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