Nurse Corps Officer (66)

• Officer
• Active Duty
• Army Reserve

As an Officer in the Army Nurse Corps, you will lead a nursing team in caring for Soldiers and their families. You will be responsible for all aspects of a patient’s care and see that they are addressed, and initiate the coordination of a patient’s multidisciplinary care.

As a Nurse Corps Officer you will practice in a network that believes in a holistic nursing philosophy. You’ll identify and organize resources for patients and their families to help them with inpatient, outpatient and home care. Because you’re also a professional in the Army, you’ll be able to understand the special concerns and needs of Soldiers, allowing you to better serve them.

As an Army Nurse Corps Officer, you can specialize in one of the following areas; Advanced Practice Nurse, Community Health Nurse, Critical Care Nurse, CRNA, Emergency Room Nurse, Family Nurse Practitioner, Medical-Surgical Nurse, Nurse Anesthetist, Nurse Midwife, OB/GYN Nurse, Operating Room Nurse, Perioperative Nurse, and Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse.

The responsibilities of a Nurse Corps Lieutenant may include:

• Commanding and controlling Nurse Corps units during emergency and non-emergency medical situations
• Coordinating employment of Nurse Corps Soldiers at all levels of command, from platoon to battalion and higher, in U.S. and multi-national operations.

Requirements:

You must have an associate’s degree in nursing or a three-year nursing diploma or a bachelor of science in nursing for the Army Reserve; have a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) from an accredited school of nursing for Active Duty.

Training:

As an Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Officer, you won’t participate in the Basic Training that enlisted Soldiers go through. Instead, you’ll attend an Officer Basic Course (OBC), a basic orientation course to the Army Health Care system and the Army way-of-life.

Officer Basic Course for Active Duty Officers is held four times a year at the AMEDD Center in Fort Sam Houston and lasts from ten to 14 weeks. Officers in the Army Reserve go to OBC for two weeks.

Your training time depends on your chosen specialty and whether or not you have prior military experience. You must also meet height and weight standards, as well as pass the Army Physical Fitness Test.

After completing OBC, AMEDD Officers report to their initial Active Duty assignment. Students return to their academic training following successful completion of OBC.

Helpful Skills:

Being a leader in the Army requires certain qualities. A leader exhibits self-discipline, initiative, confidence and intelligence. They are physically fit and can perform under physical and mental pressures. Leaders make decisions quickly, always focusing on completing the mission successfully, and show respect for their subordinates and other military officers. Leaders lead from the front and adjust to environments that are always changing. They are judged by their ability to make decisions on their own and bear ultimate moral responsibility for those decisions.

Advanced Responsibilities:

Nurse Officers may continue to specialize and serve in the Nurse Corps at ever increasing levels of leadership and responsibility. Nurse Corps Officers in advanced levels can also become managers of hospitals.

Responsibilities of a Nurse Corps Captain may include:

• Commanding and controlling part of a Field Hospital, installation Dental or Medical Activity (DENTAC or MEDDAC), or larger Health Services Command.
• Coordinating employment of Nurse Corps Soldiers at all levels of command, from company to division level and beyond, in U.S. and multi-national operations.
• Developing doctrine, organizations and equipment for unique Nurse and health care missions.
• Instructing medical and nursing skills at service schools and medical training centers.
• Serving as nursing or health care advisor to other units, including Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve organizations.