Topic: The "Nursing Officer" Merged Thread

[RNArmy]

Hello,

I have a question for any Nursing Officers or anyone out there, I am currently a Registered Nurse and have been thinking about joining the Canadian Forces part time with my local reserve here in Thunder Bay. However, I dont see any postings at our local reserves that they are hiring and NO's.

My question is, can you apply and complete Nursing officer training, but since there is no availability for NO, can I apply for a different job with my local reserve but still have the opportunity to sign up for or volunteer for any Nursing Officer jobs or overseas missions (as a NO).

So, I would like to be a Nursing Officer, but not have a NO job, but still apply for NO opportunities.

Sorry if that sounds confusing.
I have contacted my local reserve but no response yet, so I thought I'd try and get some info.


Thanks 

[dapaterson]

Search for contact information for 18 Field Ambulance; it's a medical reserve unit in Thunder Bay.  They should be able to assist you and can likely find a way to accommodate you as a NO in the CAF.

[Murse]

Hi,

I am a Nurse but Technically a HCA in the reserves. I have recently transferred from Infantry and at the time I initiated my transfer my unit did not have any NO positions. The training for each trade is similiar up to the BNOC (both do exactly the same BMQ, HSOSOC).

Be careful leaving messages at the unit you wish to belong. Many phone lines and email addresses are "ghosts" and no one will get back to you. It is best to physically go there and figure out who is best to talk to. It is possible they have a position and/or get you in and borrow a position from some other unit. Hope that helps, and good luck

[ArmyDoc]

My question is, can you apply and complete Nursing officer training, but since there is no availability for NO, can I apply for a different job with my local reserve but still have the opportunity to sign up for or volunteer for any Nursing Officer jobs or overseas missions (as a NO).

The short answer to your question is “no, you cannot”. The professional scope of practice that you are allowed within the CF is dependent on your training AND military trade. For example, if you are an RN but have joined the Reserve Force as a Medical Assistant, then your scope of practice will be that of a Med A. You will not be allowed to deploy as a Nursing Officer unless you are enrolled as a NO.

In Murse’s case where s/he is a civilian nurse but enrolled as an HCA, the military scope of practice for his/her clinical duties within the CF does not exist, since HCA is a non-clinical MOSID.

If you want to deploy as an NO, you need to be enrolled as NO. Hope this helps clarify.

[ModlrMike]

I thought I read somewhere that they recently lifted the recruiting caps for the Reserve.

I would recommend that instead of phoning the unit, visit them in person. The recruiters are usually just a single NCO who's very busy and sometimes isn't there to answer the phone.

[BadWolf87]

Hey all!
I'm newly graduated with my Bachelor's of Nursing (Critical Care) and joining the CAF is somewhat a dear dream. I've reached the point where making a final decision to enroll or not is upon me, and as i'd be applying to be a Nursing Officer, i have various questions. Most are basic and probably no-brainers, but i ask nonetheless

1) What is the assignment like? Essentially, i'm aware we get stationed where we are needed, but what are the various task differences versus a civilian hospital?
2) What are the odds of getting the assignment you ask for? Realistically of course, i'm a Montrealer and love it here, i'm curious to know the facts.
3) What is the general attire and hygiene care for a Nursing Officer? We don't usually partake in combat ops, so i doubt our protocols for things like hair, beard, dress and such are the same. No?
4) Big one: How different is MY basic versus the usual basic? I know they are different somehow, as i wouldn't be as combat-trained as, say, infantry. But still, like every newbie, i'm curious.

I do believe these are my biggest questions. I have asked these to recruiters and some people i know in the Navy, but i admit i would love to know various opinions or stories about these. Thanks in advance!!

[Loachman]

Welcome to Army.ca, BadWolf87

I have merged your post with the existing thread.

Most, if not all, of your questions have already been asked and answered in this and other threads. Please take some time and explore this Site, and take the Search Function for a spin. There is a ton of information here ripe for the plucking. You'll also likely find answers to questions before they even occur to you.

[paleomedic]

Hey all!
I'm newly graduated with my Bachelor's of Nursing (Critical Care) and joining the CAF is somewhat a dear dream. I've reached the point where making a final decision to enroll or not is upon me, and as i'd be applying to be a Nursing Officer, i have various questions. Most are basic and probably no-brainers, but i ask nonetheless

1) What is the assignment like? Essentially, i'm aware we get stationed where we are needed, but what are the various task differences versus a civilian hospital?
2) What are the odds of getting the assignment you ask for? Realistically of course, i'm a Montrealer and love it here, i'm curious to know the facts.
3) What is the general attire and hygiene care for a Nursing Officer? We don't usually partake in combat ops, so i doubt our protocols for things like hair, beard, dress and such are the same. No?
4) Big one: How different is MY basic versus the usual basic? I know they are different somehow, as i wouldn't be as combat-trained as, say, infantry. But still, like every newbie, i'm curious.

I do believe these are my biggest questions. I have asked these to recruiters and some people i know in the Navy, but i admit i would love to know various opinions or stories about these. Thanks in advance!!

I can only speak to 3 and 4:
3. everyone has the same standard. The nursing officers in my clinic wear combats in their day to day jobs in the clinic. Hair, beards, jewelry, everything is to the same standard as an infanteer or clerk or whatever.
4. BMOQ will be the same as the infantry officer or Log O or any other officer trade. You will have a special Health Services component after you finish BMOQ. You will still get trained on the gas hut, C7, leading troops, drill, etc. While you won't be AS combat trained as an infantry officer, everyone is a soldier (sailor/airmen/etc) first, trade second.

[Buck_HRA]

Hello,

If you'd like further information on the roles of Nursing Officer in the CAF you can email the Health Services Recruiting Email (this is for Regular Force applicants only):
HealthSvcsRecruiting-RecrutementSvcsdesante@forces.gc.ca

Sometimes it can take a day or two (business days) to get a response but they have a hand out to email you that goes into detail.

[tessa.vanz]

Hello all,

I'm currently finishing up the third year of my BScN in ROTP (at Trent U. in Peterborough, ON), and I was curious if anyone has a more current list of CPT locations?  The last post about it was in 2015 (Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, Barrie, Fredericton), however I know a few people were doing CPT in Kingston last year... Just trying to get an idea of where I may be off to next year!

Thanks!

[babycake21]

You might not be off to anywhere. As long as the CF has some kind of agreement with the local hospitals CPT can be done outside of the 7 regions you mentioned. I did CPT in Gatineau outside of ottawa across the q.c. border. I know others who did CPT in Kingston, others in Halifax. As long as you’re within range of a base you can work from if there are gaps between your clinical rotations and your hospital is an approved one by the CAF, CPT locations can vary

[tessa.vanz]

Thanks for the quick reply! As much as it would be nice to stay here, Trenton is 1.5hrs away so commuting isn’t quite reasonable.  I guess I will just sit tight and talk to the career manager next year.

[BaneVincent]

Hello all,

I'm glad I found this thread, I've read most of what's posted here and they are quite insightful. Thank you to those who keep this thread active.

I am looking in signing up for NO-full-time.

Here's my background:
I graduated BScN 2008, had experience with emerge(E)/critcal care(CC) for about 2 years before going into mental health(MH) for the rest of my practice up to recent because that's what I wanted at the time. Going on 2 years now I've been working as a MH consultant for Northern parts of Canada that serves marginalized communities so in a way I've experienced and seen some things and this has sparked my interest to shift into the E/CC world again but the civy side (being in the hospital all the time) no longer interest me, I know as NO you still have clinicals but in the forces you get deployed from time to time also it's just different than being civ nurse.

Also, I'm 32 fairly gym fit. cardio could use some work but that can be taken cared of. any other 30+ that signed up made it out of BMOQ? do peoeple fail BMOQ? or will I even get a response from recruiters esp that I'm older?
I'm very flexible with moving wherever province they'll send me so CPT is not a problem.
I plan to join as an NO and knowing that my E/CC is rusty is it recommended to take some courses before signing up or is training provided?
I know they have MH staff/ dept as well but that's not why I want to sign up, with my background, training, and various certs in MH and crisis managment any chance that they'll stick me in MH? if so can I leave? I know sounds extreme but I want to be in E/CC.

edit: ok say I was in MH, what are my chances to be deployed?

any information at all can help.

Thank you!

BV

[AbdullahD]

Hey mate, I am not in the armed forces...

But if you do a quick search on this site you will see the short answer is that 32 is not to old. Failure rate at BMOQ is not super horrid and being fit 20 pushups/situps, 8-10 pull ups, 2.4k in 12 m 40s and able to run 5k... makes it easier.

Any rate spend some time googling this site and you will find answers to questions you never even thought of.

Abdullah

P.s
Failing BMQ
https://milnet.ca/forums/index.php?topic=3792.0

Deployments
https://army.ca/forums/index.php/topic,39949.msg338325.html#msg338325

[BaneVincent]

Hey mate, I am not in the armed forces...

But if you do a quick search on this site you will see the short answer is that 32 is not to old. Failure rate at BMOQ is not super horrid and being fit 20 pushups/situps, 8-10 pull ups, 2.4k in 12 m 40s and able to run 5k... makes it easier.

Any rate spend some time googling this site and you will find answers to questions you never even thought of.

Abdullah

P.s
Failing BMQ
https://milnet.ca/forums/index.php?topic=3792.0

Deployments
https://army.ca/forums/index.php/topic,39949.msg338325.html#msg338325

Thanks for the reply, I've read comments I find that are somewhat relevant to me and I guess with the 'fear of unknown' I posted this, as this is a shift in career in a way and pay scale will be greatly different but I've already taken that into consideration.

Just want to know the likelihood of shifting focus from an MH nurse to an Emerge/CC in the force. or is even sticking to MH better?

if you or anyone has a link or some answers would be greatly appreciated.

cheers!

[AbdullahD]

Sorry I can't help you there. I couldn't find anything.

Maybe call a recruiter and ask? I would guess they will have or be able to get the answer for you.

Abdullah

[RubberTree]

BaneVincent...I'll try and answer some of your questions. The best thing you can do is ask a recruiter some questions...at least to find out how the nursing numbers stand and if they are looking for direct entry nurses right now.

Hello all,

I'm glad I found this thread, I've read most of what's posted here and they are quite insightful. Thank you to those who keep this thread active.

I am looking in signing up for NO-full-time.

Here's my background:
I graduated BScN 2008, had experience with emerge(E)/critcal care(CC) for about 2 years before going into mental health(MH) for the rest of my practice up to recent because that's what I wanted at the time. Going on 2 years now I've been working as a MH consultant for Northern parts of Canada that serves marginalized communities so in a way I've experienced and seen some things and this has sparked my interest to shift into the E/CC world again but the civy side (being in the hospital all the time) no longer interest me, I know as NO you still have clinicals but in the forces you get deployed from time to time also it's just different than being civ nurse.

Also, I'm 32 fairly gym fit. cardio could use some work but that can be taken cared of. any other 30+ that signed up made it out of BMOQ? do peoeple fail BMOQ? or will I even get a response from recruiters esp that I'm older?
I'm very flexible with moving wherever province they'll send me so CPT is not a problem.
I plan to join as an NO and knowing that my E/CC is rusty is it recommended to take some courses before signing up or is training provided?
I know they have MH staff/ dept as well but that's not why I want to sign up, with my background, training, and various certs in MH and crisis managment any chance that they'll stick me in MH? if so can I leave? I know sounds extreme but I want to be in E/CC.

edit: ok say I was in MH, what are my chances to be deployed?

any information at all can help.

Thank you!

BV

1) 32...especially a relatively fit 32 is certainly not too old to either be considered as a candidate or pass the training. If you can go into it with a determined mind set and a moderately fit body you should be fine.
 
2) Most NOs join as Generalists and then specialize later. You could try and submit a prior learning assessment to become a Mental Health Nurse right away but you don't have to if you don't want to go into that field. Personally I think you have been out of ER/CC too long to just hop back into that specialty (especially if you have been away from the bedside for awhile) but it is certainly something you could apply for and become trained in after you get in. All that to say I don't think specific ER/ICU courses would really help your chances of getting in unless you have the bedside hours to back it up. Courses like ACLS/PALS/TNCC/BLS etc probably wouldn't hurt though.

3) If you sell yourself as a MH nurse, you may get steered towards that field. If you make it clear that it is a skill that you have but not one that interests you anymore, no one will force you into it.

4) Deployments come and go. There are quite a few nurses deployed right now but next year and 3 years from now that may be different. It is really hard to nail down those types of possibilities. If you really want to deploy and are thinking of making the CAF into a career I would say your chances of going somewhere eventually are probably pretty good. Higher if you are a Critical Care nurse.

Hope that helps a bit.
RT

[BaneVincent]

Thank you both for your help.
I did schedule to take the emerge certs like ACLS/PALS/TNCC/BLS/ and ECG interpreting I know that's integral and have a hospital lined up to take me as casual, would be great for experience while waiting.
Will look further into it and call a recruiter for further down the line. will update as necessary. Cheers!

[cuspborn]

Greetings.

I'm not exactly sure how to post questions on here or if this is the right thread to be posting my question in.
I understand that Nursing is a "Purple Trade" and can therefore serve in all of the elements (sea, land, air). My question is: what are the differences (advantages/disadvantages) for being a Nursing Officer (NO) for the Army vs. Navy vs. Air Force. I'm primarily interested in learning what NO's do when they are not actively deployed in theater.

I'm a relatively new BScN graduate with approximately 1000 hours nursing experience working as an RN in in-patient physical rehab. I understand I may be asked to work at a civilian hospital after Basic Military Officer Qualification to gain acute care experience. This is primarily why I want to join CAF - to gain work experience. I would like to eventually work in critical care nursing after the military.

[RubberTree]

Cuspborn,
Being a purple trade means that despite wearing the uniform of one element, you function in all three. There is absolutely no difference between an army nurse, air force nurse or navy nurse beyond the colour and style of their uniforms. All three will receive the same training and work in the same places. Even very element specific positions like Aeromedical Evacuation (AE) have nurses from the army and navy as well as the air force.
When working on an army base vs an air force base or navy base you will obviously see patients from different trades (sailors vs airmen vs infanteers etc) but beyond that the job is the same.
What nurses do when they are not deployed depends on where they are. Some nurses will work in primary care seeing patients on "sick parade" while others will work in the same building but will handle the administrative side of things including leadership positions or operations and training positions. Other nurses will work in "High Readiness Detachments" and will spend a great deal of time working in a civilian hospital and participating in planned exercises. The idea is that these nurses will be always ready for deployment and will be called upon first when there is a need. Other nurses are more removed from the clinical side and will work in managerial roles, usually in Ottawa and steer the direction of nursing in the CAF as a whole. There are finally a few little pockets of nurses doing things like AE, living overseas in Germany or the US or working as instructors in training centers in places like Borden.
I hope this helps.
RT

[mariomike]

I understand that Nursing is a "Purple Trade" and can therefore serve in all of the elements (sea, land, air). My question is: what are the differences (advantages/disadvantages) for being a Nursing Officer (NO) for the Army vs. Navy vs. Air Force.

To add to the above, see also,

Nursing Officer is a so-called "purple trade", which means that your environmental uniform has no bearing on where you may be employed. You are as likely to end up in Edmonton as Halifax.

Nursing is considered a "purple" trade meaning an army nurse can just as easily be posted to a naval base as an army one.

Nurses do not go on ships. 

[cuspborn]

Nurses do not go on ships.

My classmate is in week 5 of BMOQ. The Royal Canadian Navy offered him a position, will that mean we will most likely be posted in naval bases?

[mariomike]

That was a quote from RubberTree,

Nurses do not go on ships.

The Royal Canadian Navy offered him a position, will that mean we will most likely be posted in naval bases?

Please see Reply #345.

Also Reply #344,

Being a purple trade means that despite wearing the uniform of one element, you function in all three. There is absolutely no difference between an army nurse, air force nurse or navy nurse beyond the colour and style of their uniforms. All three will receive the same training and work in the same places.

This discussion explains "Purple trades",

Purple Trades: Definition & Trg Discussion
https://army.ca/forums/index.php?topic=22558.175
11 pages.

Nursing is considered a "purple" trade.