questions about becoming a Nursing Officer in Canadian military

[VanIslewoman1181]

Hello,

I'm looking for info on nursing in the CF. today I've read a few threads from past years about CF NOs, but I'm looking to get some more specific info. I'm really hoping for an answer specifically from AirForceRN, if you're still around, since you seem to have the experiential knowledge i'm looking for, or another NO that is currently in the military.

First, a little background about my interest.

I'm 33, live on Vancouver Island with my common-law boyfriend and two dogs, own a house, moved here from Alberta last year. Looking to do something meaningful with my life after years of feeling like i'm not making a difference. I want to do something that really makes a difference in the lives of others, and I want to save lives.

Naturally, I have turned towards nursing. I'm specifically interested in ER nursing, pediatrics, and possibly OR nursing (don't really know what that is).

As well, I'm extremely interested in getting involved with Medicins sans Frontiers. They require BSN, plus 2 years relevant experience according to their website, so I know that's kind of being put off until the future, but that is my ultimate goal. I feel that the forces might be a perfect precursor to MSF.

So, ways for me to get there are civilian route, which I won't ask about here, or military route.

I have some experience with the military world. Worked as a civilian at CFB Edmonton for a couple of years. My common-law was an NCM there. I learned a lot about the negative pressures of military life being the spouse of a soldier.

What I'm looking for now is comprehensive info about the pros and cons of becoming a NO. so here are some q's i can think of, probably in a terribly disjointed order.

1. Any updates/verifications on info from the other threads about whether i do first summer of basic before or after my first year of nursing?

2. Does the nursing training happen at ROTP, or at a university of my choice? I.e. can i stay on the island while I'm going to university (we own our house)?

3. I know basic will be super challenging if i choose this route, and i've been told it can be especially harder for older people. Any recommendations for how you make it through the incredibly hard times?

4. in my understanding, I would owe 2 months of service for every one month of education. At 8 months of school per year for 4 years, that's 32 months of ed, which means 64 months of service, or 5 yrs 4 months. Do i subtract the 2-3 months of summer training each year from that number owed? Making less than 5 yrs service owed? did I do my math right?

5.If my common-law were to re-enlist as an officer in a different trade, or as a nursing officer as well (i have no idea if he'd want to do either of these things, just looking for info) would we go on BMOQ together (he suggested that might be bad)? be in ROTP together (i think this would be great for studying)? Would we be able to stay in a PMQ?

6.Are dogs allowed in PMQs? We have two.

7.What are the odds of getting posted together if we are both officers? (If he were to become an officer, I think his interest lies more in the Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Officer. I'm not sure if that is a purple trade, or which bases have need for that trade.)

8. Are there any NO postings on Vancouver Island? If so, are they pretty sought after?

9. My experience was that Officers stayed at postings between 1-3 years before they were moved to a different place in Canada. Is this true for NOs as well?

10.Are most NO postings simply working in the MIR doing sick parade? If so, which bases have such postings? Where would i most likely be posted once my degree is complete?

11. in the civilian world, you have to take extra courses after your 4 yr degree to specialize in something like ER nursing or pediatrics. is this true in the military (for ER, since there is no pediatrics in the military)?

12.What are the hardest things about being married/common-law and doing this career?

13.I'm really nervous about committing to the military for close to 10 years or more. As i said, my common-law had some very negative experiences (some good ones too) that sort of ate away his soul and I am afraid of that happening. He was in a high readiness troop for 4.5 years (released in 2013), though never deployed because the deployment was cancelled. and i think? he finally got his 5s just before he was finally granted an early release, or maybe was only up to his 3s, i can't remember. His two major complaints were that a) he never really got to do what he joined up to do, never got to do anything that made a difference; and b) experienced some terrible leadership. One person in particular held him and others back from getting ranks and courses (he was about 6 months overdue), and from what we could tell, it was simply because the person was bitter about life and making things miserable for the NCMs. morale was terrible, suicide rates and attrition in the regiment were (still are?) high. my common-law applied for early release and the bitter higher up in question refused to send his request up the chain and wouldn't give a reason. my common-law had no one he could turn to for help, he just had to wait it out for a hellish year until personnel got rearranged. these are the negatives that I'm really scared to go through, but I hope that it will be much different as an officer. The officers I met had a much higher level of job satisfaction than the NCMs. Would you say this high job satisfaction for NOs (and any officer) is true in your experience?

14. And last but not least, is there any way for me to job shadow an NO? i know there are recruitment vids, but I'm looking for a more accurate and realistic representation of the day-to-day duties of the trade. any suggestions? my boyfriend's experience as an NCM was that day-to-day at regiment they sat in the bays and did some cleaning when asked, rearranged equipment, etc, etc, then once every few months went on a field exercise for a month. This ate at his soul, too; the sitting around drove a lot of them crazy. or can you describe your day-to-day experience? Lots of down time and filling time? or do you keep busy with job-related duties?

[Fiona59]

Contact a recruiter. They will answer all of your questions.

Dogs are permitted in PMQs.