Medical Officer for Canadian Forces

[MorganFree-man]

Hey guys,

 

I was wondering if any of you know any information about being a medical officer for the Canadian forces?

 

From what I understand, they pay for your tuition and you have to serve for a certain time in the forces. Does any one know when/how you should apply? How competitive it is and so on.Any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about,

http://www.forces.ca/en/job/medicalofficer-50

[NLengr]

Hey guys,

 

I was wondering if any of you know any information about being a medical officer for the Canadian forces?

 

From what I understand, they pay for your tuition and you have to serve for a certain time in the forces. Does any one know when/how you should apply? How competitive it is and so on.Any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about,

http://www.forces.ca/en/job/medicalofficer-50

 

Search MOTP. There's lots of threads.

 

Don't get excited. The program is pretty hard to get into and it limits your residency to family medicine only.

[cookiemonster99]

Hey guys,

 

I was wondering if any of you know any information about being a medical officer for the Canadian forces?

 

From what I understand, they pay for your tuition and you have to serve for a certain time in the forces. Does any one know when/how you should apply? How competitive it is and so on.Any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about,

http://www.forces.ca/en/job/medicalofficer-50

 

As someone who's in the military right now I do know some information in regards to it.

 

Yes the army limits you to FM only but after your mandatory service you can go on and specialize with the army paying for your specialization. Usually there is always a catch with this(i.e signing on for another 4 or 5 years)

 

You do NOT get any summers off, how it works is that your tuition and books are paid for and you are paid to go to med school. Salary ~ 50k a year and you'll be under the MOTP program as a 2LT with $4163 a month before taxes in your first year as a salary.

 

http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/caf-community-pay/reg-force-class-c-officer-rates.page?

 

Talking about no summers, you'll likely be in St. Jean Quebec doing your BMOQ which is 14 weeks for reg force members. Those 14 weeks are gonna be "fun" because they absolutely destroy you in terms of army skills. You'll get barely any sleep and you'll learn a lot of army stuff(i.e CBNR(chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological warefare). You'll fire the c7 rifle, live in the mud for about a week with barely any sleep and no showers. You'll be constantly under stress from the training and the instructors because you will be an OFFICER.

 

I'm not sure as to what you do during your second summer but likely somewhere remote so you'll spend 4 month in the middle of no where like gagetown or wainwright or you could be in bordon.

 

BTW if you're someone that isn't wiling to face "danger" then this definitely is NOT an option for you. After you graduate, you'll likely be attached to a combat unit such as RCR or PPCLI or RCD and you'll be their doctor for the next couple of years. IF they deploy, you'll DEFINITELY be going with them.

Hence the "danger"

 

I'm not sure how competitive this program is but from what I've heard quite a few people do apply for it. From last year I believe there was more applicants than spots.

 

GL

[NLengr]

As someone who's in the military right now I do know some information in regards to it.

 

Yes the army limits you to FM only but after your mandatory service you can go on and specialize with the army paying for your specialization. Usually there is always a catch with this(i.e signing on for another 4 or 5 years)

 

You do NOT get any summers off, how it works is that your tuition and books are paid for and you are paid to go to med school. Salary ~ 50k a year and you'll be under the MOTP program as a 2LT with $4163 a month before taxes in your first year as a salary.

 

http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/caf-community-pay/reg-force-class-c-officer-rates.page?

 

Talking about no summers, you'll likely be in St. Jean Quebec doing your BMOQ which is 14 weeks for reg force members. Those 14 weeks are gonna be "fun" because they absolutely destroy you in terms of army skills. You'll get barely any sleep and you'll learn a lot of army stuff(i.e CBNR(chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological warefare). You'll fire the c7 rifle, live in the mud for about a week with barely any sleep and no showers. You'll be constantly under stress from the training and the instructors because you will be an OFFICER.

 

I'm not sure as to what you do during your second summer but likely somewhere remote so you'll spend 4 month in the middle of no where like gagetown or wainwright or you could be in bordon.

 

BTW if you're someone that isn't wiling to face "danger" then this definitely is NOT an option for you. After you graduate, you'll likely be attached to a combat unit such as RCR or PPCLI or RCD and you'll be their doctor for the next couple of years. IF they deploy, you'll DEFINITELY be going with them.

Hence the "danger"

 

I'm not sure how competitive this program is but from what I've heard quite a few people do apply for it. From last year I believe there was more applicants than spots.

 

GL

 

If you decide to continue on after your family medicine time is done and do a specialty in the army, you should be aware that you are limited in what you can do. Acute Care (no idea what that is since its not a royal college specialty/subspecialty, maybe they mean critical care), Gen. Surg, Ortho, Rads, IM, anesthesia, Emerg and psych are all. Even then, they could restrict you from some of them depending on manpower I would imagine. They say "may apply for the opportunity", which to me means they don't have to give you specialty training if they don't have an anticipated need for that area when you would be done residency.

 

Also, I'm not exactly sure how you get a training spot for a specialist. Do they have a prearranged spot in your choice of specialty for everyone or do you have to compete for one with on military or civilian people. Additionally, do they restrict entry to a specialty to only certain years (for example only rads spots are open every third year).

 

The bottom line here is if you want to be a family doc in the military, do MOTP. If you want to specialize, MOTP may/probably not be a good choice for you.

[cookiemonster99]

If you decide to continue on after your family medicine time is done and do a specialty in the army, you should be aware that you are limited in what you can do. Acute Care (no idea what that is since its not a royal college specialty/subspecialty, maybe they mean critical care), Gen. Surg, Ortho, Rads, IM, anesthesia, Emerg and psych are all. Even then, they could restrict you from some of them depending on manpower I would imagine. They say "may apply for the opportunity", which to me means they don't have to give you specialty training if they don't have an anticipated need for that area when you would be done residency.

 

Also, I'm not exactly sure how you get a training spot for a specialist. Do they have a prearranged spot in your choice of specialty for everyone or do you have to compete for one with on military or civilian people. Additionally, do they restrict entry to a specialty to only certain years (for example only rads spots are open every third year).

 

The bottom line here is if you want to be a family doc in the military, do MOTP. If you want to specialize, MOTP may/probably not be a good choice for you.

 

It might be at an army base in the states or something for specialized training.

 

If you do want to specialize further it might be to your advantage to have military experience

[MorganFree-man]

Thanks so much for the responses!

 

I didn't know the program was called MOTP, much appreciated!

[California MD]

Hi Cookie

 

I was wondering if you knew about being a Medical Officer in the Army Reserve?

 

I'm a GP doing Hospital work in the Vancouver area.

 

I noticed that the CF has medical officers as an "In demand" career on the CF recruiting website Forces.ca.

Why is that? Are there a lot of physicians in the CF quitting or not many in the pipeline? Are they cutting back salaries?

 

What would it be like being a Medical officer in the Reserve forces in Vancouver or Victoria? Would you have to attend the unit a couple of times a month? What would the training be like? What would the expectations be? Do you get paid?

 

I noticed on the website that the pay scale in something like $300 for a 6 hour day? As a GP I earn about $300 an hour so obviously joining the Army Reserve is not a way to get rich.

 

How do you see the Army reserve for physicians in the next couple of years in Vancouver? Will they close down the units or just expect people to volunteer their time for free?

[JohnDakota]

Last year I spoke to a number of recruiters, both in Hamilton and in Ottawa, and they all told me that the MOTP program was being cut back because the Canadian Forces aren't deploying like they were in the early 2000s. Therefore they don't need as many new medical officers when compared to the early Afghanistan era.

 

If your'e ok with having no personal freedom, and feel a sense of duty to serve - then there are so many up-sides to being an MD with the CF.

 

The financial realities of CF MDs are excellent, which is pretty nice also;

 

First off, you'll come out with no debt. That's huge. Furthermore, you get paid to go to school - and your book salary is so generous that you can buy all the required and suggested texts. You have full health/dental benefits and life insurance that all CF members have of course. And each year you're in school, and the years that you have to 'pay back' count towards your service. So by the time you're finished school and your initial owed years, you're already almost at a service length that would entitle you to a 50% pension.

 

If you make a career of it, then 25 years service gets you access to 'full pension.' Which is ((years of service)/50) * (average of your top 5 grossing years). By the time you serve 25 years as an MD in the CF, it wouldn't be unreasonable to achieve ~20k per month in compensation (less taxes). So you'll be ~150k per year after taxes. That would put your pension at ~85k per year after taxes.

 

You could easily retire after 25 years (for me that would be 59 years old, assuming I get in 2015), and then still work covering shifts at local hospitals, doing eye tests (after completing a refraction cert.), while having an amazing pension.

[NutritionRunner]

The Reserves will never expect people to "volunteer" for "free." You earn a salary as a reservist although, no, it might not compare favourably with the salary you earn in your civilian life, but you are certainly compensated for your reserve time.

 

Unless the Canadian Forces totally restructures the way it operates, they won't be doing away with reserve units anytime soon. For example, my husband, who is a reservist (engineering officer), is currently preparing for a major exercise that will take place in February, and his unit is actively engaged in succession planning for key positions (such as the CO). I don't know much about the medical reserves, since my husband is an engineer, but if you have specific questions about the reserves that aren't answered on the Canadian Forces website I can try to ask him.

[cookiemonster99]

Hi Cookie

 

I was wondering if you knew about being a Medical Officer in the Army Reserve?

 

I'm a GP doing Hospital work in the Vancouver area.

 

I noticed that the CF has medical officers as an "In demand" career on the CF recruiting website Forces.ca.

Why is that? Are there a lot of physicians in the CF quitting or not many in the pipeline? Are they cutting back salaries?

 

What would it be like being a Medical officer in the Reserve forces in Vancouver or Victoria? Would you have to attend the unit a couple of times a month? What would the training be like? What would the expectations be? Do you get paid?

 

I noticed on the website that the pay scale in something like $300 for a 6 hour day? As a GP I earn about $300 an hour so obviously joining the Army Reserve is not a way to get rich.

 

How do you see the Army reserve for physicians in the next couple of years in Vancouver? Will they close down the units or just expect people to volunteer their time for free?

 

I noticed that the CF has medical officers as an "In demand" career on the CF recruiting website Forces.ca.

Why is that? Are there a lot of physicians in the CF quitting or not many in the pipeline? Are they cutting back salaries?

 

Most people join as a medical officer because the army pays for your schooling and books and you get a salary as you're in school. Approximately 50-60k a year just for going to medical school. Which means you have absolutely NO expenses when you graduate.

As to the "in demand" it's just like a regular job opening it just means there's opening for a medical officer and they are hiring.

As to a lot of them quitting I'm not too sure about but based on my experiences I believe that they usually just get the army to pay for their schooling and serve the mandatory time and leave. You'll definitely make more in the civilian side based on a $300 dollar per hour salary which is why i think a lot of them leave.

 

 

What would it be like being a Medical officer in the Reserve forces in Vancouver or Victoria? Would you have to attend the unit a couple of times a month? What would the training be like? What would the expectations be? Do you get paid?

 

Don't quote me on this but for me as a reservist right now I'm a Non-commissioned member meaning i'm not an officer. I parade once a week and sometimes on weekends. It's days like remembrance day that you're usually required to go and stuff. I have no knowledge as to vancouver or victoria as i'm from ontario. As for the training, you'll go through the same training as every other officer and branch off to your specific training. I'm sure the expectations would be simple for your basic training. Again i'm not too sure about the officer stream. And yes you get paid during your training. Food and accommodation are taken care off for the days you are training. Depending if it's on weekends or summer training they differ a bit.

 

How do you see the Army reserve for physicians in the next couple of years in Vancouver? Will they close down the units or just expect people to volunteer their time for free?

The army would never ask you to "volunteer" your time for free. Nobody would be in the army if they "volunteered" their time for free. How are you gonna survive...? I'm not sure about physicians in the army reserve in the next couple of years tbh as I barely have any contact with the health services portion of the army as I'm not in the branch of the army.

Personally, I think they'll always need doctors but who knows

[California MD]

Thanks Cookie

 

I appreciate all the info!

[cookiemonster99]

Thanks Cookie

 

I appreciate all the info!

 

np

 

10char

[Kylep28]

On 11/6/2013 at 7:50 PM, cookiemonster99 said:

 

np

 

10char

Does anyone know what training is like as a Medical officer? Do you go through rigorous training like other officers?

[RRRAAAWWW]

On 7/31/2021 at 2:40 PM, Kylep28 said:

Does anyone know what training is like as a Medical officer? Do you go through rigorous training like other officers?

Basic Military Officer Qualification (BMOQ) -> Basic Medical Officer Course (BMOC) -> Specialty Training