how to be an Army Nurse

The Military have a special place

In American Mythology 

And history - and Nurses helped!

First step is to see an 

Army Recruiter. 

They’re the ones who actually 

Navigate through the maze. 

They’re in shopping malls

And they’re ready to serve! 

Anyone who wants to be an Army Nurse-

Must then take the ASVAB

[Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery]

To see what you’re capable of. 

It’s like an IQ test. 

Perspective Nurses must score 

in the top 1%  of all testers. 

Then comes Basic Training. 

That was like 10 weeks - all told. 

And it’s designed to be hard. 

Push-ups, 2 mile run, gas chamber…

Bivouac, shooting, all the stuff. 

Advance under live fire. 

Obstacle Course. 

I was a Squad Leader (2nd squad) 

During Basic Training.  

Basic can be a lot of fun! 

Then comes AIT. 

Advanced Individual Training. 

You train for your MOS - your job. 

For Nursing, you must first be 

A Combat Medic - which is

An EMT in the civilian world. 

It is a 16 week course. 

The Army Licensed Practical Nursing 

 Program is a 12 month course. 

It’s accredited and licensed 

Just like a university school. 

Clinicals. Classwork. Math tests. 

Every week there were tests. 

Pass/Fail/flunk out. 

We lived on base and ate at the Chow Hall. 

We had very few responsibilities 

Outside of school. 

I trained at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 

It ran like a well- oiled machine. 

With 82nd Airborne and Special Forces. 

 Our barracks were right in between!

Guys would crawl up the walls 

3 flights up - to see their gal-

Then jump way down and run off. 

But I digress! 

Once you pass the program, 

Then comes the State Boards. 

Fly on through that -

With your excellent training 

And winning confidence-

And you will be a Nurse! 

A real Nurse. Let that soak in! 

And then it begins. 

I sat for the Boards in North Carolina. 

But they’re standardized 

For every state. Once you have 

you papers in hand, you can transfer 

To your state of choice by Reciprocity 

Agreement or by Endorsement. 

40+ states are Compact States. 

Your license becomes a passport of sorts- 

So you can work anywhere without any hassle.

Just a few documents to sign. 

Especially with COVID 

Travel Nursing is so hot right now!

We were Deployed about a month 

After the State Boards to the Gulf War. 

The Army spends several 

hundred thousand dollars training Nurses. 

We sometimes go to the Front Lines. 

You *might* get shot at. 

You *might* not! 

But Nurses are Non-Combatants. 

So a Nurse might end up in a MASH unit. 

I was in a General Hospital. 

A Stick and Brick building. 

I wore a white dress Army uniform 

most days during the Gulf War. 

I was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. 

And I drank beer after my shifts!

The only difference between civilian 

And military Nursing School, is that our 

Nursing Cap is made of Kevlar. 

In California and Texas, 

It’s a Vocational title. (LVN)

Everywhere else’s it’s a 

Licensed Practical Nurse. (LPN)

It’s just a name. 

It’s the exact same job. 

Same license. 

In the Army, officers are RNs. 

And enlisted personnel are LVNs. 

The LVN almost went away!

It was being replaced by Vocational RNs. 

(Not 4 year BSN)

The 2 year Associate Degree 

But now thanks to COVID,

LVNs are very much in need! 

If you enroll in civilian RN school

The first 5 years after becoming an LVN,

You can “Bridge” to RN. 

You don’t have to start over 

Completely. Just do clinicals,

Some extra classes, 

And sit for the NCLEX -RN 

Many many many Nurses bridge 

And work as an LVN while in school

For RN. Great experience. 

There are only 2 things an RN

Can do that an LVN can’t. 

1. Hang Blood. 

You need 2 people to verify

And one of them must be an RN. 

2. Initiate a Care Plan. 

I’ve written Care Plans for 

An entire hospital! 

But an RN starts the care plan. 

And I’ve hung blood many times. 

I’ve even Pronounced death,

By RN Delegation. 

Thanks for reading! 

This is part of a series on Nursing. 

From my mouth to your ear. 

My hand to your eye. Lol. 

This is Dorothea Dix,

Army Nurse