<p>I've been wanting to join the navy after I finish my bachelors in nursing.
I want to be a nurse anesthesiologist.
Should I become a nurse anesthesiologist first or go to the Navy and work and study at the same time.
I'm a bit confused about the navy grants and stuff.</p>
<p>Also can anyone tell me about navy life, working, deployment and stuff like that?</p>
<p>You should try the Internships/Careers forum. This is a forum about graduate studies.</p>
<p>well, I can’t move it or delete the post, so do you actually have any advice?</p>
<p>Let me first say I have general knowledge about nurse anesthesia school but no knowledge whatsoever about the Navy. </p>
<p>Anesthesiologists are doctors and nurses are anesthetists. Almost all nurse anesthesia programs will require you to have at least one year of experience in an ICU setting (excluding NICU and PACU) so going straight out of undergrad isn’t really an option. If you join the Navy directly after graduation you will have the opportunity to get that experience and also be able to apply to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda. It is very competitive but very highly rated and it is free which is fantastic. My understanding is that you just have to commit to additional years of service which it sounds would not be a problem for you. If you would rather be able to choose which school you go to and enlist after becoming a CRNA, there is the possibility that they provide tuition reimbursement upon enlistment. I don’t know about the Navy but a lot of hospitals provide that as an incentive. The disadvantage is that you have to pay out of pocket and may have to take out loans for living costs until you actually enlist.</p>
<p>My personal opinion is that it makes a lot of sense financially to enlist directly after graduation if you’re going to do it eventually anyway.</p>
<p>My advice is that you start a new thread in that other forum, or in the Military Academies forum, because you are likely to get more/better answers about Navy life there. :)</p>
<p>Becoming a nurse anesthetist requires getting a MS in nursing and writing a thesis, so you are in the correct place. The only catch to becoming a nurse anesthetist is that you have to have 1-2 years as a nurse in an ICU, or have time (usually 1-2 years) in some other acute care function within a hospital. Schools are really serious about this particular requirement. I have heard of people going into the Navy before nursing school, so that the Navy can pay their way through; which helps you avoid any debt. If you have debt, try the VA. They will pay a portion, if not all of your loans back if that is a concern. My advice is to just get a job, and make the right connections to get the acute care assignments you will need to apply to programs. You will probably have to start off doing the grunt work, but if you do well, and kiss enough as…, I mean, influence enough people to help you get the assignment you want. Also you will need to take the GRE and score well, as these programs fill up quickly and are quite competitive. </p>
<p>I would talk to a recruiter about the Navy thing, because if you want to become an anesthetist in the Navy, that may mean you will get deployed. This is the quickest way to gain any acute care training. Or you may end up on a military base doing routine nursing duties. It is possible to get the acute care training you need, if you can get a good assignment at say Walter Reed, or some other military hospital.</p>
<p>I have never actually seen a nurse anesthesia program that requires a thesis, even though it is master’s. It’s a practical master’s.</p>
<p>I think you should join the Navy first - you’ll get the acute nursing experience you need to successfully gain admission to a nurse anesthesia program, and there are multiple ways you can get the military to pay for a high-demand field like CRNA.</p>
<p>haha thanks :)</p>