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.

The responsibilities of a Nurse Corps Lieutenant may include:

• Command and control 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.
• Coordinate and supervise 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Responsibilities of a Nurse Corps Captain may include:

• Commanding and controlling one medium size nursing unit that is part of a Field Hospital or installation Medical Activity (MEDDAC). At large Medical Centers (MEDCEN) you may be a shift leader on a large nursing unit.
• Coordinate employment of all nursing assets on their nursing unit to provide care for patients at all levels of command, from company to division level and beyond, in U.S. and multi-national operations.
• Provide feedback that facilitates changing doctrine and equipment for unique Nurse and health care missions.
• Serve as a mentor to new graduate nurses.
• Instruct medical-surgical nursing skills at medical training centers.
• Serve as nursing or health care advisor to other units, including Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve organizations.

Being an Officer in the Army Nurse Corps, you will have the same qualifications to be a nurse in the civilian world.