Can I spend a few years as a qualified adult nurse within normal NHS UK Hospitals and then apply for Army Nursing?

Hello,

You can definitely spend a few years working for the NHS before joining the Army. In terms of newly trained nurses having more of an advantage, I don't believe that is the case, or it is certainly not something any of the military nurses I have met have ever mentioned. It is worth starting an application so you can discuss your concerns with someone from the QARANC team in more detail, but I can't imagine it makes much difference, if anything, having more clinical experience prior to commissioning may be a good thing.

I worked for the NHS first before joining the Army, as a doctor rather than a nurse, but the benefits were choosing which hospital I wanted to work in (the choice for military doctors and nurses is more limited and while you can express a preference, you may not get it) and it means that I now have an idea of what it is like to work for both organisations, so I can plan my career with a bit more insight. The downside is primarily financial as military personnel tend to be paid more than NHS staff.

I hope that helps, and as I said above, I would consider starting an application so that you can discuss this is more detail with the QARANC team.