The three and four year ROTC programs are a series of elective courses designed to be taken along with your regular nursing program. They are divided into the Basic Course and Advanced Course.
If you are a junior or community college graduate, or attending a four-year college but did not take ROTC in your first two years of school, the two-year program has been designed for you. Courses from both the Basic and Advanced Courses are combined to enable you to complete your training within two years.
The ROTC Basic Course is usually taken during the first year or two of college. After you have completed the Basic Course, demonstrated your potential to become an officer and met both physical and scholastic standards, you may enroll in the ROTC Advanced Course.
The Advanced Course, which includes the Nurse Summer Training Program (NSTP), is usually taken during the final two years of college. The NSTP is described below.
The NSTP is a three-week clinical elective for Army ROTC nurse cadets. Attendance is mandatory for Active Duty ROTC nurse cadets. This paid elective is conducted at Army hospitals in the United States and Germany. You may attend NSTP either before or after Advanced Camp, normally between your Junior and Senior year of college. During the NSTP clinical elective you’ll receive “hands-on” experience under the direct supervision of preceptors - Army nurse officers who work with you one-on-one throughout your clinical training. While you follow the same duty schedule as your preceptor, you could receive training in such areas as patient assessment, planning of patient care, nutrition maintenance and feeding techniques, range of motion and mobility, medication administration, emergency procedures, intravenous (IV) therapy, and other special techniques. Regular coaching sessions are designed to monitor your performance and enhance your progress. By summer’s end, NSTP will have shown you a preview of the real world of nursing, developed your professional skills and given you valuable insights into your abilities.
Nursing is a dynamic profession. Skills and professional knowledge must be constantly updated. The Army Nurse Corps recognizes that earning your BSN is an achievement to be proud of and is committed to providing educational opportunities so you may continue to enhance your abilities, interests and knowledge. Once you become an Army Nurse, you may apply for specialty courses such as:
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing - This 22-week course is designed to prepare you with the necessary knowledge of clinical skills to deliver care and treatment to psychiatric patients. Development of the qualities of understanding and compassion are stressed, along with proficiency in communications skills.
Perioperative Nursing - This 16-week course is designed to prepare junior nurse officers to function as first-level staff nurses in the operating room (OR). It also focuses on the OR nurse’s responsibilities in the preparation and sterilization of supplies/equipment; special fields of surgery; and the principles and techniques of supervision and management of the operating room.
Obstetrical and Gynecological Nursing - This 16-week course is designed to provide you the necessary knowledge and clinical skills required to deliver nursing care to pregnant women, newborn infants and patients with gynecological problems.
Critical Care Nursing - This 16-week course is designed to prepare nurses as entry-level critical care staff nurses in intensive care settings. And once you have obtained career status and met eligibility criteria, you may apply for selection to graduate degree programs such as Anesthesia Nursing or Health Care Administration, or graduate education at the school of your choice.
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