At a glance
Lead a team in providing vital occupational mental health support to personnel all over the world and develop as a practitioner in unique environments that are a world away from civilian medicine.
Job Role
Nursing Officer Mental Health
Use your nursing skills where they’re needed most on global operations all around the world.
- £32,000 - £103,000
- Undergraduate Degree
- Surface Fleet
- Medical
- Officer level
£38,700
The minimum you'll earn after training at BRNC
£50,000
Earn at least this amount as you progress
Diploma
in Mental Health Nursing is the minimum qualification needed
6 weeks
Of paid holiday every year
Free
Medical and dental care
Travel
All around the world
The best perk of life in the Royal Navy is the friendships you make, even as you move from place to place, there’s always someone you know.
Role details
What you’ll do
Mental Health Nursing in the Royal Navy offers a unique career unlike what you’ll find in the NHS. Our Mental Health teams are critical to maintaining the psychological health and well-being of our personnel, ensuring they are fit to deploy around the world. Routinely, you’d work in one of our Department of Community Mental Health centres in Plymouth, Portsmouth or Faslane in Scotland. As well as carrying out the initial assessments of your patients, we’ll give you extra training in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, group therapy and many more to enable you to treat your patients too.
We deploy our mental health nurses around the world when required. This could be in support of the Maritime Role 3 capability on board RFA Argus, caring for clinical staff and patients alike. Or you could be part of the Waterfront Logistics Support Group; a network of specialists ready to deploy to ships and units around the world, should the need arise.
Your role
- Help ensure Royal Navy personnel are mentally fit for service, wherever they are in the world
- Use your nursing skills where they’re needed most. That might be offering community care to returning personnel, or providing occupational mental health assessment, treatment and management on missions all over the world
- Gain clinical and management experience while taking responsibility for mentoring junior nurses and medical assistants
- Develop as a practitioner in unique environments that are always challenging and sometimes dangerous
Pay & benefits
- A salary that rises to at least £38,700 following training at Britannia Royal Naval College
- Potential to earn over £55,000 a year as you progress
- Six weeks of paid holiday every year
- Free medical and dental care
Skills for life
Qualifications you'll gain
- An opportunity to study further at degree or masters level, to top up your professional portfolio
- You could gain specialist qualifications in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or addiction and substance misuse
Skills you'll develop
- Unique mental health care, assessment, treatment and management
Eligibility
- Aged 20 to 39
- Registered Mental Health Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
- 5 grades A*-C (9-4) Including grade 6 (B) or above in English Language and Maths
- A BSc/MSc or BA in Mental Health Nursing
- You must be a United Kingdom national, or Commonwealth citizen, or Dual National. Dual Nationality restrictions do apply
- A Body Mass Index (BMI) between 20 and 30 (between 17 and 27 if under 18)
- Pass the Naval Swimming Test
Skills & Interests
- Technical, clinical and interpersonal excellence
- Decisive with strong independent thinking
- A caring and compassionate nature
- Highly organised and able to remain cool under pressure
- Meticulous attention to detail
Joining Process
From picking your role to the first day of training; everything you need to know about joining as an officer.
Step 1
Submit an application
Once you’ve registered your interest and have satisfied the basic eligibility criteria, you will be sent an online application form
Step 2
Defence Aptitude Assessment (DAA)
You’ll be tested on: Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, Work Rate, Spatial Reasoning, Electrical Comprehension and Mechanical Comprehension.
To prepare, you can practise the DAA
Step 3
Interview
A formal interview to talk through your suitability for the role
Step 4
Medical and eye tests
These are quite comprehensive and must be completed by one of our Ministry of Defence-approved doctors
Step 5
Pre-Joining Fitness Test (PJFT)
This involves completing a 2.4km run on a treadmill within a certain time, at a fitness centre near you
Step 6
Admiralty Interview Board (AIB)
This stage is unique to officers and takes place in two parts. A Pre Recorded Interview (PRI) is an online assessment which assesses your motivation to join the Royal Navy as an officer and your awareness of the Royal Navy. The Group Planning Exercise (GPE) is the second stage of the AIB and is an online competency based assessment which will take place on a separate day to the PRI. It will be conducted in a virtual group environment and you will be assessed on your contribution to the team based on your individual performance
Step 7
Nurses Selection Board
Upon passing you AIB, your application will be reviewed by the Nurses Selection Board for final selection
Step 8
Start training
Once you’ve passed a Security Check, you’ll be offered a place at Britannia Royal Naval College
Career Progression
From responsibilities to pay, find out where this role can take you.
Day one
Meet your mentor, join a community-based mental health centre
Year one
Work within a community based clinical environment
First promotion
Become Lieutenant, mentor students, go on deployment
Second promotion
You’ll be chosen on merit for promotion to Lieutenant Commander
Got a question?
Our virtual recruiter is available to answer your questions 24 hours a day