Congratulations on selecting UAB as your college of choice. UAB’s School of Nursing is consistently ranked in the top 10% in the nation, so you’re off to a good start!
Let me recommend that you consider enhancing that already-valuable degree by becoming an Officer in the Army Nurse Corps. Use your nursing skills to serve your country while serving humanity.
UAB Army ROTC can be your first step to becoming an Army nurse. As a nursing cadet, you combine military science courses with your regular schedule of nursing courses. After graduation, you will be commissioned as an Officer in the Army Nurse Corps of the United States Army. As an Officer, your pay and benefits will be very competitive with what the civilian healthcare industry will offer.
Army ROTC offers nursing students 2yr, 3yr, and 4yr scholarships that provide full tuition, fees, and $1200/yr for books. As a cadet, you also receive an allowance ranging from $300 per month as a freshman to $500 per month as a senior. Once you enter nursing school, ROTC provides you with a Littman stethoscope and pays for your uniforms, any immunizations that are required for school, the NCLEX review course (the nursing licensure exam), and the cost of taking the NCLEX itself.
As an Officer in the Army Nurse Corps, your pay will start out at over $40,000 a year including the housing allowance and subsistence pay. You’ll also have 30 days of paid vacation a year, as well as low-cost or no-cost medical, dental and life insurance. After your first year as an Army nurse, you are allowed to go to a nursing specialty course (Critical Care, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Preoperative, or Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing). Being a nurse in the Army provides opportunities to travel, continue your education, and other experiences you may not receive working in a civilian healthcare setting.
Being a part of UAB Army ROTC is more than just another college course or a way to pay for college. It’s the beginning of a rewarding career as a member of the United States Army Nurse Corps. If you are interested in getting more information about UAB Army ROTC and would like to speak with a real Army nurse, please give us a call at (205)-934-8749 or send us an e-mail at ROO@uab.edu
Sincerely,
Kelly P. Donna
Lieutenant Colonel,
US Army Professor of Military Science