Being a Nurse in the US Military

For nurses who feel a passion to work and serve their country, becoming a military nurse is the perfect job. These nursing jobs are much different than a regular nurse working in a hospital setting. The military nurse is always on the move and must be prepared for anything at any given time. This position is exciting and requires someone with a great ability to work under pressure and make the best use of their available resources.

The responsibilities are much greater for a military nurse versus a regular nurse because they have much more serious wounds to take care of. They typically spend much more time with patients versus regular nurses and they are held responsible for their work and what they do while on the job. Military nurses are responsible for being the ones to continually monitor the patient’s wounds for infections, they totally prepare the patient for surgery, they take care of pre and post surgery procedures and care and as well they monitor the level of pain and are able to add and decrease pain medications. They are responsible for showing and teaching a patient how to take care of their wounds when they are alone and assist with emotional support.

To become a military nurse, you have to be in the military. Experience in nursing beforehand is a must and there are requirements in training and education needed. The courses that are required in this field are Operating Room nursing, Mental Health/Psychiatric nursing, and OB/GYN nursing. After one year of working actively as a military nurse, other courses in Army Public Health and Emergency Room nursing are both required. Being a U.S. citizen is required as well as having a Bachelors degree in nursing or Masters in nursing. There are requirements to pass a security background check and one must be between the ages of 21 and 42 years old. Some people enter the military and later decide to become nurses once they are in active duty.

Whether you are on active duty or reserves or guard nurse, your responsibility is still the same. The different branches of the military that you can serve in are the Army, Navy and Air Force. In any of these branches your function as a nurse will have you caring for that the military people residing on that base, along with their families, retired medical personnel and their dependents, and others that are around the area where you are stationed. In a combat scenario the military nurse will be assigned to a particular troop of soldiers, but might be called upon to provide assistance outside on their assigned group as well.

A great advantage of being a military nurse is that you can develop a good relationship with your patient as you are directly in contact with them most of the time. Saving the life or helping a soldier that stood up for the country shows a mutual respect between them and you. A disadvantage to being a military nurse is that you may have to be away from your family for a long time if a war is in progress and you are called to active duty overseas.