Naval Nurse (Qualified)| Royal Navy

Naval Nurse (Qualified)

Put your nursing qualifications to great use in the Royal Navy. Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) provide medical support to Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel on shore and at sea, in the UK and around the world. At sea, you'll be posted to the 100-bed Primary Casualty Receiving Facility on board RFA Argus. You may train as part of a Surgical Team on ships and on land. In peacetime, you will work in MOD hospital units around the UK and overseas. During your career you'll have the opportunity to undertake funded specialist courses in areas such as Intensive Care, Operating Theatres, Emergency Medicine, Orthopaedics, Primary Care and Mental Health. Your will start your career as an Able Rate and if you work hard, you can quickly rise through the ranks. With some experience and training, you could be promoted to Leading Hand and you could even become a Commissioned Officer. Throughout your career, we'll help you succeed with plenty of encouragement and opportunities for training.

Profile

Type Level

Action: 1
Leadership: 5
Hands on: 5
Technical: 3
Admin: 2
Teamwork: 3

Eligibility and qualifications

What are we looking for

You’ll need commitment, enthusiasm, a bright, cheerful personality and plenty of common sense. It’s crucial that you can stay calm, but react quickly in an emergency. Above all, you need to work well as part of a team.

Qualifications

Five GCSCEs, Scottish Standard Grades or equivalent at grade C or above (including Maths and English Language).

BA or BSc in Adult or Mental Health Nursing. You can apply in the final year of completing your Nursing degree to be selected subject to registration.

Registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

You should be aged between 21 and 36.

Skills and interests

You should like

Working as Part of a Team
Helping People
Working in Challenging Environments
Being 'Hands-on'

You should have these skills

Highly Organised
Methodical
Compassionate and Caring Nature
Reliable

Career Progression

Skills for life

Training will be a constant feature of your time with us. We’ll help you gain academic qualifications and vocational awards. As well as helping you develop your Royal Navy career, everything you achieve will be recognised and valued by a future civilian employer.

Find out more about lifelong learning

Promotion

You’ll start your career as an Able Rate. With some experience and further training, you could be promoted to Leading Hand. After that, you may go on to become a Petty Officer, Chief Petty Officer, then a Warrant Officer. If you show the right commitment, skills and academic ability, you may also have the chance to become a Commissioned Officer. You’ll be chosen for promotion on merit, so if you work hard, you can quickly rise through the ranks.

Pay & benefits

Royal Navy pay compares well with similar civilian jobs. As well as your basic pay, you’ll also receive extra money when you’re promoted and when you’re away at sea. We also offer an excellent pension scheme, six weeks’ paid holiday a year and free medical and dental care. You’ll generally join us on an initial commission, which is for 12 years.

You’ll generally join us on a full career, which is 18 years or to age 40, whichever is later. You may have the opportunity to serve beyond this, depending on what you want and the needs of the Royal Navy. If you want to leave, you can send us your request one year before completing your specified return of service. How long this return of service is, will depend on the branch you join. You will need to give 12 months’ notice.

Learn more about pay and benefits

Joining process
Training Process

Joining process

1. Get in Touch by filling out a simple form or calling 08456 07 55 55.
2. attend an Initial Careers Presentation (ICP) at a careers office near you.
3. If you’re still interested, then fill out a short application form.
4.We'll book you in for the Royal Navy Recruitment Test (RT). Find out more.
5. We'll then review the results with you and chat through the most suitable jobs
6.Take the medical tests and the Royal Navy pre-joining fitness test. Take a look at our fitness programme.
7. Once you’ve passed all the tests, we’ll make you a formal job offer.
8. Attend the Specialist Nurse Selection Board.
9. Pass our pre-Royal Navy Course.
10. Join the Royal Navy

Find out more about the joining process

Training Process

Initial Training

Your Royal Navy career begins with 10 weeks’ basic training at HMS Raleigh. It sounds like a ship, but in fact it’s a shore base near Plymouth. The discipline, teamwork, organisational, firefighting and weapon-handling skills you’ll learn here will stay with you right through your Royal Navy career. Find out more about HMS Raleigh.

Aim to get yourself as fit as you can before you arrive. You’ll be doing a lot of physical exercise, and you’ll find it much easier if you’re already in good shape. There’s also a swimming test, so if you can’t swim, make sure you’ve learned by the time you join us.

More about Initial Ratings Training.

Professional Training

If you join us as a student, you’ll study for your degree at university, with extra military training during your holidays. Once you’re NMC registered and you’ve completed your professional qualifying courses, you’ll join a Ministry of Defence hospital unit as a qualified Naval Nurse. You’ll complete a series of courses to help you make the move to military service, before you take up your first post as Acting Leading Naval Nurse.