Today was my final day working as a Staff Nurse on Ward 46. On Wednesday of next week I report to Student Company to begin the Critical Care Course. I will be spending the summer in school specializing as an ICU Nurse. This course is required by the Army Nurse Corps before Army RNs are allowed to be assigned to any of the ICUs (Intensive Care Units). While in the Civilian world it is possible to get a job in the ICU straight out of nursing school, I think the military has the right idea requiring us to spend at least 12 months as Med/Surg nurses before allowing us to specialize. This way we all are secure with the fundamentals of nursing before focusing on specific aspects of nursing.
I am choosing to take the ICU course but there are different options that allow the Army Nurse Corps to have RNs in all specialties. The Nurse Corps offers courses in Emergency Nursing, Ob/Gyn Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing, Operating Room Nursing, Public Health Nursing, and one other that I cannot remember. These courses do not provide us with an advanced degree of any kind, but definitely help us provide the best care possible to our Warriors Past, Present, and Future!
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