2nd Lieutenant Nurse Katherine?

  Today I woke up from a nap (after my typical morning energy crash from studying too late the night before and refraining from caffeine until my nap occurs) (So college) to grab my salad and head to my Student Nursing Association meeting run by my University. Little did I know that I would later on be giving an Army Recruiter my information for more details.
   I was never an Army girl, but I did consider it, and like many, had decided it was not for me. While my infinite respect was with the soldiers, my heart was back home in a hospital taking care of children. Army Nursing was a thought- but never quite an option. My grandparents had both been an Army Doctor and Nurse during the Korean War era, but that is about all the family relation I had to it. But being so much like my grandmother (In so many ways), naturally once this option was presented....I just couldn't quite ignore it.
   I watched a presentation that outlined Health Care within he US Army (which is pretty stupendous) and describing how well-rounded the system was. Despite what I had thought before, the AMEDD contains all of the fields a normal hospital would have- including pediatrics (as of now my specialty). Ok, so that's kindof neat, I don't know how many Army children there are though if I were on Active Duty. I was also presented with the option of going on Active Duty vs. Reserve, which essentially means AD is full time, overseas nursing in whatever country I would be stationed in (Germany-Kuwait- Afghanistan, you never know) and doing lots of humanitarian type work with a shift similar to that of a regular hospital, just overseas full time. Reserve is when you only serve when you are needed locally on weekends typically- so it would be like having a second job. The only position I would be given is Nurse, so I would never have to physically step into battle. That's good, it's not scary pow-pow Army. The training I would have would just be leadership courses and a 15 day course which would just be a bit of prep in addition to Army protocol (how to march, etc.). Wow, so I wouldn't even have to leave the country..
The benefits are fantastic. Aside from the reward service gives, there are travel opportunities, low cost insurance, starting as an officer, low-no cost benefits, No-cost/housing allowance, amazing retirement benefits, and here's the kicker- if I want to pursue more education goals (such as move up to Nurse Practitioner) they cover it. The Army promotes education and having the highest quality medical staff they can have, so they are firm believers in pursuing education/career goals. That's BIG.
   So you can understand why this caught my attention. This choice could take care of me for the rest of my life in addition to the satisfaction of travel via humanitarian work. How could you ignore something that offered that much?
   I can apply after I've had 2 years of hospital work here, so this would not be an impulse- I have time. I can make sure to establish myself before I apply and make that decision. Otherwise if I graduate with my BSN in addition to obtaining my license (duh), I am eligible.

  Thinking of my future, it certainly has it's benefits, but I have to take everything into consideration. What if I have a family? What if this delay me from having a family? What if my family dynamic does not mesh with this? What if future husband has problems with it? What happens if it's not what I think it is? What happens if I'm not cut out for it but signed the contract? What happens if something happens to my family at home and I can't come back? There are certainly several considerations to take in about this for sure..
  So there's that. For the first time in my life, I am considering joining the Army. Maybe it is for me, maybe it's not. I have lots of time and prayer to figure that out, so for now, I'm just taking life one step at a time and basking in the idea that I have so many options.