IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  5 July 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100021744 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests constructive credit for her professional experience.  

2.  She states she/her:

* has more than 2 years of intensive care experience
* was initially commissioned as an officer in a Reserve status in February 2009
* was boarded in the basic officer leadership course on 18 July 2010 as an active duty officer 
* orders were amended in May 2010 to show her specialty and additional skill identifier as 66H (Medical-Surgical Nurse)/8A (Critical Care Nursing) based on documentation provided by her civilian employer 

3.  She provides a:

* Letter from a Nurse Manager at a Jewish Hospital 
* Curriculum Vitae
* DA Form 7653 (Verification of Clinical Competencies for Critical Care Nursing Skill Identifier (SI 8A))

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  At the time the applicant submitted her application, she was serving on active duty in the rank of second lieutenant (2LT).  

2.  The applicant was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree in 2010.  

3.  In a 26 March 2010 letter, a Nurse Manager at a Jewish Hospital verified the applicant had provided nursing care in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for at least 1,500 hours in the last two consecutive years and 750 hours within a year.  The Nurse Manager also verified the applicant had demonstrated the ability to perform the requisite critical care nursing skills for the skill identifier 8A.  

4.  Her service record does not contain a DA Form 5074-1-R (Record of Award of Entry Grade Credit (Health Services Officers)).  

5.  On 18 July 2010, she was appointed as a Regular Army 2LT in the Army Nurse Corps.  

6.  She completed the Army Medical Department Basic Officer Leadership Course on 20 September 2010.  

7.  She provided a copy of her curriculum vitae which shows she worked as a Registered Nurse (RN) Transplant/Neurological ICU Nurse at the Jewish and St. Mary’s Hospital Downtown, Louisville, KY from 2008 to 2010 and as a Medical Staffing Network Agency Respiratory Therapist/RN in Louisville, KY from 2007 to the present time.  The curriculum vitae shows she received her State licensure in 2008.  

8.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Active Duty Nurse Program Manager, Headquarters, U.S. Army Recruiting Command, The Medical Recruiting Brigade, Fort Knox, KY.  The opinion was not favorable.  The opinion states:

   a.  The applicant was board selected for the Regular Army Nurse Corps on 10 February 2009 in the rank of 2LT with no constructive credit awarded for RN work experience.
   
   b.  She did not meet any of the conditions to receive constructive credit for prior commissioned service.
   
   c.  RN work experience was earned for full-time employment from the date of initial licensure to the board selection date at a ratio of 1 to 2 days to a maximum of 3 years credit.
   
   d.  No constructive credit could be given during the time of academic instruction (schooling) for the qualifying degree.  
   e.  The applicant’s résumé for the boarding process stated ICU experience from 2008 through 2010, but this was the same time she was completing her BSN program.  
   
   f.  The applicant stated she had 2 years of ICU RN experience; however, she could not receive work experience credit after being boarded on 10 February 2009, the date of the board, regardless of how long it took her to enter active duty per Army Regulation 135-101 (Appointment of Reserve Commissioned Officers for Assignment to Army Medical Department Branches).
   
9.  A copy of the advisory opinion was forwarded to the applicant to allow her to provide comments or a rebuttal.  She did not respond within the allotted timeframe.  

10.  References:

	a.  Army Regulation 135-101 prescribes policy, procedures and eligibility criteria for appointment in the Reserve Components of the Army in the six branches of the Army Medical Department.  Table 3-1 of this regulation, paragraph 6, states that additional credit may be granted in unusual cases based on special education or professional experience in the specialty in which assigned when experience is accrued after qualifying degree and licensure, if applicable.  

   b.  Department of Defense Instruction 6000.13 (Medical Manpower and Personnel) is the governing directive in granting constructive service credit.  

   (1)  Paragraph 6.1.2. states that constructive service credit provides a 
person who begins commissioned service after obtaining the additional education, training, or experience required for appointment, designation, or assignment as an officer in a health profession, with a grade and date of rank comparable to that attained by officers who begin commissioned service after getting a baccalaureate degree and serve for the period of time it would take to obtain the additional education.
   
   (2)  Paragraph 6.1.2.2.5. states that credit of one-half year for each year of 
experience, up to a maximum of three years of constructive credit, may be granted for experience in a health profession, if such experience is directly used by the Military Service concerned.  Creditable experience cannot predate the receipt of licensure, registration or certification.




DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contention that she has more than 2 years of intensive care experience is supported by her curriculum vitae that shows she worked as a RN Transplant/Neurological ICU at the Jewish and St. Mary’s Hospital Downtown, Louisville, KY from 2008 to 2010.  

2.  The advisory opinion indicates she was board selected for Regular Army Nurse Corps on 10 February 2009 in the rank of 2LT with no constructive credit awarded for RN work experience.  

3.  She was awarded a BSN in 2010.  She completed her RN work experience during the same period she was attending school for her BSN (qualifying degree).  Therefore, she is not eligible for constructive service credit for her work experience.   

4.  Therefore, there is no basis for granting the requested relief.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__X_____  __X_____  ___X____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.



      _______ _  x _______   ___
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100021744



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100021744



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