Can u work as a government O.R. nurse with no civilian experience as a nurse ? ( I have been a surgical tech for 22) .

Hi there! Currently work in military hospital as a civilian and they do require at least 1-2 years of experience in whatever specialty you applied for.

Hi. There is hope for you. Because of the present nursing shortage, there are many VA medical centers that have specific programs for new grads who want to work in specialty units like OR and ICU. They will hire you for the specialty unit, but will mandate that the new grad work with a preceptor in Med/Surg for 3-6 months before transferring to a permanent position in OR- once transferred, they will orient you to OR.

If you are a new graduate nurse seeking a job as a nurse with the VA in the United States, the short answer is no. There are specific government agencies that provide nurses an unfortunately they have plenty of “recruits” to train & prefer experienced nurses. If you have a specific agency in mind other those I mentioned, I can only say the US government as a whole typically hires “experts” and those with ample experience. Source - I am a new grad nurse seeking a government agency position.

You need to have a valid nursing license to practice as a nurse in the US regardless of it being government or civilian practice.