Nursing Officers in the Canadian Forces

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hi everyone! New here!

I am an RN in NB, Canada. I am really hoping to find a couple of NOs out there whose brains I can pick about the position. My concerns are that the job is widely administrative more than it is hands-on. Presently I'm an Emergency Nurse, and before that I worked in ICU, so I enjoy the "excitement" of traumas and sick individuals (I know, it's awful to say). I've done a lot of research about the process and the position, but I would really like to speak with some actual Nursing Officers to get their perspectives and points of view, if possible.

It's a big decision and I'm trying to do as much research as possible. If you're an NO or have a close friend or family who is, I'd love to talk to you if you'd be willing. Here or over email!

Thanks in advance!

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AirforceRN is serving but has been MIA for the last little while due to sandbox activities.

I've known some medics over the years.

You can't PM members until you've had over 15 posts.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Okay thanks anyway! I suppose I'll continue my search elsewhere! ;)

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I spent 5 years in the Canadian Forces. (Non nursing trade). Being somewhat accident prone, I found myself meeting quite a few health related trades. In my experience though, most were medics, a few doctors, and the nurses were a lot more rare. Not to say there aren't any, but medics (who make much less than a NO) in my cases did most of the assessments before handing me off to the doctors.

This probably isn't very helpful to you, but your post got me thinking about how few NOs I actually met. I wish you good luck in the CF!

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I spent 5 years in the Canadian Forces. (Non nursing trade). Being somewhat accident prone, I found myself meeting quite a few health related trades. In my experience though, most were medics, a few doctors, and the nurses were a lot more rare. Not to say there aren't any, but medics (who make much less than a NO) in my cases did most of the assessments before handing me off to the doctors.

This probably isn't very helpful to you, but your post got me thinking about how few NOs I actually met. I wish you good luck in the CF!

Yup, the Medic is the workhorse. I know they certify in as LPNs, so they can get the advanced training in Orthopedics and OR Techs through Norquest here in Edmonton. One Medic, I met worked more as a first assist in the OR during his engagement. He retired and went to work for AHS.

I'm going to stress that the Medics have a much broader skill set than LPNs, they just had to go through Norquest for some education that theirs didn't include (LTC, Maternity) to be able to write CPNRE and be able to enroll in the post grad specialties. Prior to this you used to find Forces Medics picking up casual lines in Alberta Hospital as Psych aides, not a few are rumoured to working as casual LPNs in the region.

About seven years ago, Capital Health (pre AHS days) used to have some sort of agreement where the CFB staff would work shifts in area hospitals (RNs, Pharmacists, etc). One RN I worked with said the competition for the university funding for the RN officer was intense, some years only five were accepted nationally. Not sure if this is still true.

With the deployment years, all the Medics and RNs were pretty much overseas and the CFB health centre was staffed with civilian LPNs. They have been eliminated since the deployment ended. My husband is in the Forces and is usually seen by Medics, he nagged at me for a while to apply for the civilian jobs but I'm glad I didn't. I've met a couple of LPNs who worked there and they miss what they described "as the best job I've ever had".

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Hi dpcRN! Sorry it took so long to answer this. I still cruise these forums but don't post nearly as much as I used to. Also, although I'm not overseas anymore, I still seem to be constantly roaming about and internet access isn't always stellar. Anyway I'd be happy to try and answer any questions you might have. I've been an NO with the CF for about 9 years now so I've got a pretty good handle on how things work within this trade and I'm always happy to share what I know and how I feel about things. So feel free to ask anything and I'll try and answer as best as I can. If you want to pm me (if you can) that would work too.

Cheers,

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Hi dpcRN! Sorry it took so long to answer this. I still cruise these forums but don't post nearly as much as I used to. Also, although I'm not overseas anymore, I still seem to be constantly roaming about and internet access isn't always stellar. Anyway I'd be happy to try and answer any questions you might have. I've been an NO with the CF for about 9 years now so I've got a pretty good handle on how things work within this trade and I'm always happy to share what I know and how I feel about things. So feel free to ask anything and I'll try and answer as best as I can. If you want to pm me (if you can) that would work too.

Cheers,

Hi! That's no problem at all!

I don't know if I can pm yet, and if I can I don't know how! I was able to ask a lot of MedTechs (they do training in our Trauma room) about who has worked with NOs and whatnot, their thoughts... sometimes it was helpful, other times I took their info with a grain of salt (some seemed a tad bitter).

My main questions are focused more on the job itself. I hear conflicting stories about how it's all admin work with no patient contact, and then other times I hear that you can still work in a civi hospital part-time, etc. I imagine it depends what base you're at (I think the bigger bases allow you to work in the civi hospitals?) I'm just concerned, because it's such a big step and a big commitment... I love critical care, and worry I would be bored if it's just office/clinic/sick parade/hang IV meds, etc. (I'm not trying to sound naive, I'm just trying to make sense of everyone's opinions on this trade, but have yet to speak with an actual NO!)

Thank you so very much in advance!!

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Hey dpcRN...I'm sure there was a question in there somewhere :)

Alright....so...in the past (before Afghanistan) there were many nursing officers that spent years and years behind a desk and never saw a patient. They did administration stuff, operations and training stuff, leadership stuff, but had little or no patient contact. Once we spooled up for Afghanistan we realized that the nurses we had weren't clinically current and were having trouble jumping back into the clinical role. It took a couple of years but now, after a bunch of pushing from the trade, we have managed to secure certain requirements for nurses to maintain their clinical skills. This, in its simplest form, works out to about 3 months (I think...can't remember off the top of my head) per year working full time in a civilian hospital. During the rest of the year you can expect to be working in a clinic, teaching, doing administration work or training. Some people do spend more and even most of their time in hospitals but they are the minority. I know this sounds like you don't get to do a lot of nursing work and to a certain extend this is true. It comes down to this...we work for an organization with about 68'000 full time employees. Most of these are relatively young and healthy individuals. Sure, they require health care but by and large they are healthier than your average person. This is one of the reasons we don't actually have military hospitals anymore.

So, the down side...you will not be working full time in a hospital during your entire career (if that is what you wish to do). You will be doing some administration, some teaching, lots of training as well as clinical work.

The up side...you get to do a job you can be proud of. You can travel the world, go to some pretty wild places and work in some pretty harsh and austere environments. In my time in the military I have worked in both humanitarian and combat environments. I have been trained in both Critical Care and Air Evacuation and have loved every minute of it.

I hope this helps a little. If you have any other questions...even specific ones...please just let me know and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

PS dpcRN...where are you located? I might know an NO in the area that would be willing to get together with you for a coffee or something if you want.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hi again!

Well, yes... My question was basically about the job in a very general respect, even though I didn't put a question mark anywhere!

Your reply helps already. I'm trying to get a truthful general idea about the job, expectations and what it entails. As I mentioned I had a couple of conflicting ideas but no NO to clear it up, haha.

As an RN with critical care training, what training (other than day BMOQ and the other basic military courses non-nursing related) would I be expected to do?

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You'll have to go through the Basic Nursing Officer Course (BNOC) where you are introduced to the military medical system and how everything works, as well as the Basic Field Health Services Course (BFHSC) where you learn to work in the field. These two courses are usually back to back and last 3 months total. They take place in Borden, Ontario. This is in addition to BMOQ which is 14 weeks long and located in Quebec. Once those are done you will be considered trade qualified and ready to work. Usually there is a period of clinical consolidation for new nurses but if you are experienced that will probably be waived. There will of course be the usual nursing courses to complete too...ACLS, TNCC, BLS etc.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hi there!

Thanks a lot for the info. I think I can pm now so I'll pm you my location if that's okay?

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Hi AirForceRN,

I would like to meet with a NO in the Vancouver, BC area. How do I get in touch with one? I intend on applying online as well.

Thanks for posting information on the CF!

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