Nursing Careers

When you search for the word "nursing career" chances are you aren't thinking about military service.  Yet, the most satisfying nursing careers can be found in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard or Public Health Service. 

The U.S. Army Nurse Corps has the largest number of career openings but each of the other military and government branches offers unique opportunities that can only be found in that particular branch of the service or government.

The U.S.Navy Nurse Corps offers the chance to serve a unique military population and their families.  You also have the chance to serve on naval vessels ranging from a Hospital Ship such as the US Naval Ship Comfort. You may also serve as a nurse in the United States or worldwide in places such as Japan or Italy.  If you are interested in being a nurse who cares for Marines then the Navy is for you.  All medical services including nursing are supplied to the marines through the U.S. Navy.

The U.S. Army Nurse Corps has the largest number of nurses in uniform.  The nursing careers they offer range from pediatrics to community health nursing.  Army nurses serve in forward surgical teams caring for soldiers and others injured only minutes before in battle.  They work in the ICU and in Allergy clinics.  If there is a nursing specialty that you are interested in chances are the U.S. Army has it.

The U.S. Air Force Nurse is one of the few who get a chance to become an airborne nurse.  From the medical evacuation (medevac) flight that requires all the skills of an intensive care nurse to routine ambulatory patients Air Force Nurse can enjoy career high in the sky.

Coast Guard Nurses work in similar environments as Navy Nurses. Their career choices are fewer because the coast guard is a much smaller naval force.  Career opportunities do exist however for shipboard service as well as U.S. based locations.

The Public Health Service is a unique branch of U.S. government services.  Medical personnel including nurses are recruited and commissioned in the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) with the same ranks and pay grades as commissioned officers in the armed forces.  However, the USPHS is a department of the U.S. Health & Human Services. Nurses who select this career find themselves serving in underserved areas of the U.S. such as inner cities and Native American populations. 

Each of these careers offers the opportunity to not only be a nurse but you will also learn and acquire unique leadership and educator skills that you may not be able to acquire anywhere else in the private sector