Alternatives to military nursing

Fiona59 · Jul 3, 2019

18 hours ago, viewerindepth said:
Hello all,
I’m graduating from my BSCN program this April and I’m looking for advice. A while ago I considered applying to the CAF as a direct-entry nursing officer; however I didn’t like the pay. I have student loans and other financial obligations, and I can’t afford to live off their measly salary. So I had to drop the idea.
Any suggestions of alternative pathways that are similar to military nursing? Government/diplomacy/law-enforcement-wise? I couldn’t find any hard info on forensic nursing, or whether nurses can upgrade to a CSI, for example.

Wow. A military spouse, you have no idea of how offensive your first paragraph is. Many raise families and pay mortgages on the "measly salary".

Forensic nursing is a specialty that requires additional education and jobs are not plentiful. I believe CSI is an American term and Canadian law enforcement would use a different term for that particular job.

Diplomatic Service? They usually use military nurses or the local medical system.

Have you considered the French Foreign Legion? They have a nursing sector.

viewerindepth · Jul 6, 2019

Thanks! I didn't mean to offend when I said "measly" btw; I honestly find military nurses underpaid and for a new grad, direct-entry with student loans, there is no incentive to join. I wish the situation were different cause I'm very passionate about the military and I would have loved to serve.

Fiona59 · Jul 6, 2019

18 minutes ago, viewerindepth said:
Thanks! I didn't mean to offend when I said "measly" btw; I honestly find military nurses underpaid and for a new grad, direct-entry with student loans, there is no incentive to join. I wish the situation were different cause I'm very passionate about the military and I would have loved to serve.

If you think the RN wage is paltry, try living on a Cpls wage when you have children.

Why should there be an incentive to join? The CF doesn't really offer incentives to those who obtained their education prior to enlisting. If you had managed to get in while in Uni, it would have been a very different story.

Locally, many military nurses pick up side gigs in the local hospitals making union wages and building seniority in case they decide not to resign their contracts. I personally know two RNs and medics who work in our health authority.

Passionate about the military? Why? It's a job like any other despite what the recruiting ads claim. My spouse is a "lifer", one of our children enlisted because he likes heavy equipment. Passionate? No, practical. Regular wage, benefits, pension. Have they looked forward to their deployments? Not really, it's part of the job. For many from the East Coast it is a job, not a burning desire. Heck, the chance to travel is even restricted now, not like back in the 80s and 90s when NATO postings were fairly regular. Now you can enlist and spend a huge chunk of your career in one posting depending on your unit. I know people who have been in Edmonton 15+years.

Good luck in your job search.