The responsibility of a military nurse includes caring for personnel and dependents that need medical treatment. They have varied responsibilities and include providing medications, charting statistics and carrying out assessments of patients. They work along with other professionals in the same field to help in providing direct care to patients.
Military nurses may belong to the categories of reserve military or active duty or civilians. The requirements for each of the categories are different.
Requirements
Academic
Candidates with an undergraduate degree in nursing would be given employment in the military. Post-graduate degree in the field would surely be an added advantage to get military nurse jobs. They should obtain a license prior to getting employed in the military. Some nursing branches offer specialized careers in nursing. For instance, the Air Force employs flight nurses for attending to patients during flights and air evacuations. An active duty nurse needs a nursing degree along with an R.N. Their entry into the service would be as an officer. However, this is not applicable to nurses of reserve duty and civilian nurses.
Skills
Military nurses should be totally committed to the job and should have a thorough knowledge on trauma management, operation theater and theater care. As mentioned above, they have to work on the field and should be capable of doing this.
Training
Army Nurse Corps members need not take part in the basic training. But they need to pass in the physical fitness tests like military soldiers. Army nurses belonging to the category of active duty nurses should complete a course that is of fourteen weeks duration. Reserve duty nurses need not undergo this training. Their training is comparatively of a shorter duration of two weeks.
Prior Experience
It would be a great advantage if you have prior experience in the fields critical, operation theatre and trauma care since as a Military nurse you will be working mainly in these sections.
Employment Outlook
Career Prospects
Military nurses can look forward to an interesting and challenging career if they have the right aptitude and genuine interest in the field.
Salaries
Active duty nurses enter the Army as officers and they get a higher salary and benefits on comparison with their civilian counterparts. The pay for military nurses is determined by various factors. The basic pay is rank based. Stipends and other allowances are determined by housing, living cost and the requirement of nurses. They are entitled to several benefits like life, dental and health insurance, tuition assistance, paid vacation and repayment facility of student loans.
If you are looking forward to a career as a nurse, try to find out whether you have the right skills and interest to become a military nurse. The job can be highly interesting and rewarding to the right candidates.
