Men Make Their Mark in Military Nursing
The chances of having an all-male team of RNs is more than five times as likely to occur in the military than in the civilian health care world. One of the little known facts of military nursing is the extraordinarily high percentage of men in all three services. In the Army, 35.5% of its 3,381 nurses are men; in the Air Force, 30% of 3,790 nurses are men; and in the Navy, 36% of 3,125 nurses are men. The numbers make the mix of 6% of men in civilian nursing look anemic.
The reasons for military men being in the traditionally female-dominated nursing profession are varied, but not complex. They are factors that appeal to male or female nurses, civilian or military. But they are characteristics few civilian health care settings are willing or able to offer. In a random sampling of male nurses across all three branches of the military, the predominant reasons given for entering the military included —
* Fast and well-defined career tracks
* Generous educational benefits
* Guaranteed roles in leadership, even at the beginning of a military career
* Unparalleled opportunities for travel and adventure
* Camaraderie among
nurses and other members of the healthcare team, including physicians
Many men who choose to be nurses in the military have had previous careers, either in the civilian or military world; were often enlisted soldiers in the military, in particular medics or corpsmen; and have a penchant for adventure and travel.
While they don't list it high on the reasons they became military nurses, men do admit being in the Army, Air Force, or Navy carries less of a stigma than the still-stereotyped image of civilian male nurses. After all, they may be nurses, but they are still soldiers who need to know how to carry and use weapons.
In the first few years of new nurses, careers, the pay in the military tends be less than civilian salaries. But as military nurses careers progress, their salaries can surpass those of their civilian counterparts, depending on the specialty. A July 2000 study completed by the Center for Naval Analysis and sent to Congress reported the average military nurse's salary with 15 years of service is $69,842, compared to an equivalent civilian’s salary of $52,358.
In the Army, the base pay for nurses who are majors with 14 years of service is $61,116. The major also receives $11,064 (nontaxable) for housing, $2,004 for subsistence, and $9,000 in indirect compensation for medical care and benefits for a total of $83,184 in total salary and benefits, says Bester.
RNs who are lieutenant colonels with more than 20 years experience receive base salaries of $72,960, $12,522 for housing, $2,004 for subsistence, and approximately $9,500 for medical care and benefits for a total of $96,986.
There are also critical skill retention bonuses this year in OR nursing and nurse anesthesia. The yearly professional bonus for Army CRNAs is $15,000 once they complete their school obligation. Prior to that, it is $6,000 a year.
The military isn't a lifestyle to which all or even most nurses would be suited. But the Army, Navy, and Air Force must be doing something right when it comes to attracting and keeping men in nursing.
Source: http://community.nursingspectrum.com, Janet Boivin, 10/7/02
