Army ROTC and Undergraduate Nursing

Army ROTC can offer you unique nursing opportunities while receiving financial assistance for college. You will gain valuable leadership experience and management training that can benefit you in either a military or private-sector nursing career.

Nurse Program

If you're considering an undergraduate Nursing degree, joining Army ROTC can enhance your leadership skills and critical-thinking abilities while providing financial support to help make your professional goals a reality.

Being a Nurse in the Army provides you with opportunities not found in the civilian world. As an Army Nurse and Officer, you will have the respect of your peers and coworkers, as well as opportunities to train and serve in a variety of specialties.

Loewenberg School of Nursing: University of Memphis

Army ROTC Nursing Video

Nurse Scholarships

The Army ROTC program offers two-, three- or four-year scholarships for undergraduate Nursing students. Contact your high school academic advisor or campus Military Science department for more information.

Nurse Corps Officer

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 and address all aspects of patient care, including initiating and coordinating 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 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 beyond Medical- Surgical nursing in one of the following areas: Critical Care, Operating Room, OB/GYN, Psychiatric/Mental Health, Army Public Health or Emergency Room. There are also opportunities to attend graduate school and become an Advanced Practice Nurse such as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist , Family Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Midwife and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner to name a few.

Responsibilities

Commanding and controlling one shift on a nursing unit that is part of a Field Hospital or installation Medical Activity (MEDDAC). At large Medical Centers (MEDCEN) you may be a team leader on a large nursing unit.

Coordinating and supervising all nursing care during your shift to provide care for patients at all levels of command, from company to division level and beyond, 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

There is also a summer training program available to nurse cadets which provide opportunities for clinical practices.

Nurse Summer Training Course

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 Leader Course (OBLC), a basic orientation course to the Army Health Care System and the Army way-of-life. Although, you must also meet height and weight standards and pass the same Army Physical Fitness Test that enlisted soldiers take in Basic Training.

Officer Basic Leader Course for Active Duty Officers is held four times a year at the AMEDD Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas and lasts from 10 to 14 weeks. Officers in the Army Reserve go to OBLC for 2 weeks.

After completing OBLC, Active Duty Officers will report to their initial Active Duty assignment. Reserve and National Guard Officers will return to their home station.

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.