Job Description
The expedited application trial is an initiative where some applicants to the Regular Force in certain occupations will not be required to write the Canadian Forces Aptitude Test (CFAT) and Trait Self Descriptor - Personality Inventory (TSD-PI) before enrolment. Learn More .
As a member of the military, Operating Room Nursing Officers provide nursing care in the operating room domain of practice to ill and injured Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and supported populations in tertiary care and in-patient care environments in Canada and while on operation. They are employed in the Scrub and Circulating Nurse roles and have experience in the Medical Device Reprocessing Department.
Operating Room Nursing Officers work within a collaborative practice model with other members of the health care team and lead the nursing care delivery within their area of practice. Operating Room Nursing Officers have opportunities to work in different domains of nursing practice including:
Policy and program management;
Clinical leadership; and
Training and education
Work environment
Operating Room Nursing Officers usually work in civilian hospitals, Canadian Forces Health Services Centres, Operational CAF units, training and education establishments, and Headquarters. The work schedule may vary form shift work to a regular 40-hour work week, depending on the environment. Operating Room Nursing Officers are called to contribute to exercises and domestic or international emergencies.
During field exercises and deployments to military operations abroad, Operating Room Nursing Officers live and work in the same environment as the CAF members they treat.
If you chose a career in theRegular Force, upon completion of all required training, you will be assigned to your first base. While there is some flexibility with regards to postings (relocations), accommodations can’t always be made, and therefore, you can likely expect to move at some point in your career. However, if you decide to join the Primary Reserve Force, you will do so through a specific Reserve unit. Outside of training, your chosen Reserve unit will be your workplace on a part time basis, and you will not be obligated to relocate to a different base. As part of the Primary Reserve Force, you typically work one night per week and some weekends as a minimum with possibilities of full-time employment.
Career Overview
Transcript
Operating Room Nursing Officer.
I'm Captain Phillip White from Miramichi, New Brunswick, and I'm a nursing officer.
I was attracted to the operating room right in university. You deal with a lot of equipment. You're dealing with a lot of instrumentation. And so that really attracted me
kind of at the beginning.
And as I started learning the role, I think I really fell into it because of the teamwork that's involved. You know, you're working with a very small team for your entire shift. You do get to know people really well and you can kind of feed off each other's energy.
I came to the Canadian Forces off of Civvy Street. I had been there for, you know, around six years. I was a team lead in the O.R. I was working in. So I really felt that at that point in my career, I had kind of reached a bit of a plateau. You know, I didn't want to be working in the same O.R., in the same unit, doing the same surgeries for the rest of my career. I was ready for a change.
I've had the opportunity to still remain clinical. Still work in the O.R., because I am still passionate about that practice environment. But it allows me to also balance that with taking on some administrative tasks, starting to step into the clinical education roles. It really opens a lot of doors to have a diverse career rather than one that's really rooted in one specific area.
I don't think any of us join the military hoping to spend our career being embedded in a civilian facility, working clinical Monday to Friday. I think we all join looking to do something. We want to do those exercises. We want to go on deployment. So we've probably spoken about it so much to our colleagues in the civilian facility that from their end, they're excited to see you go. They're very encouraging for you to take on these opportunities and they just want to hear all about it when you come back.
For us to just leave and go on an exercise or go on a tasking, you're so excited to do that kind of thing that I think it makes it very easy to press pause and start something new for a while.
Pay and Benefits
A competitive compensation and benefits package is available for this medical specialization. Contact a Health Services Specialist Recruiter to learn more: HSRecruiting-RecrutementSS@forces.gc.ca
Training
After completing the Rank Qualification Lieutenant training, Nursing Officers selected for specialisation or who have civilian experience within an operating room environment are required to complete a formal operating room nursing course and a certification to ensure they have the clinical competencies required to deliver nursing care in an operating room setting. The certification is completed in a Canadian civilian tertiary care facility through completion of a designated curriculum. The course completion and length of the certification depends on each Nursing Officer’s level of previous clinical experience.
Nursing Officers who joined the occupation through any entry plan have the opportunity, upon selection, to further specialize as an Operating Room Nursing Officer and progress in jobs and ranks of increasing responsibility.
Direct Entry
If you already have a university degree and license to practice as a Registered Nurse in a Canadian province or territory and civilian nursing experience in an operating room environment, the CAF may place you directly into an Operating Room Nursing Officer job after evaluation of your experience. You may have to complete some education and certification to complement your civilian experience.
Reserve Force Operating Room Nursing Officers are trained to the same level as their Regular Force counterparts. Your civilian experience will have to reflect a varied employment in an operating room environment. If you are unsure about your civilian experience matching the job requirements, please contact a Canadian Forces Health Services Recruiter: HSRecruiting-RecrutementSS@forces.gc.ca.
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