As a member of the military, Critical Care Nursing Officers provide care in the critical care domain of practice to ill and injured Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and supported populations in in-patient care and medical evacuation environments while on operation. They are specialized in intensive care, emergency room and trauma resuscitation.
Critical Care 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. Critical Care Nursing Officers have the opportunity to work in different domains of nursing practice including:
- Patient care delivery;
- Policy and program management;
- Clinical leadership; and
- Training and education
Critical Care Nursing Officers usually work in civilian hospitals, Aeromedical Evacuation units, Operational CAF units, training and education establishments, and Headquarters. The work schedule may vary from shift work to a regular 40-hour work week, depending on the environment. Critical Care Nursing Officers are called to contribute to exercises, medical evacuation flights, and domestic or international emergencies.
During field exercises and deployments to military operations abroad, Critical Care Nursing Officers live and work in the same environment as the CAF members they treat.
If you chose a career in the Regular 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.
Training
Basic Occupational Qualification Training
After completing the Rank Qualification Lieutenant training, Nursing Officers selected for specialization or who have civilian experience within a critical care environment are required to complete a formal critical care nursing course and a certification to ensure they have the clinical competencies required to deliver nursing care in a critical care 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.
Available Specialty Training
Critical Care Nursing Officer may be offered the opportunity to develop specialized skills through formal courses and certification, including:
Critical Care Aeromedical Evacuation Specialist;
Strategic Tactical & Forward Aeromedical Evacuation;
Mobile Surgical Resuscitation Team;
Canadian Medical Emergency Response Team;
Certified Clinical Anesthesia Assistant;
Nurse Practitioner; and
Special Forces support.
Available Advanced Training
As members of the military, Critical Care Nursing Officer–Certified Clinical Anesthesia Assistants (CCNO-AAs) provide advanced nursing and anesthesia support to ill and injured Canadian Armed Forces members and supported populations in acute, complex, and remote environments. They are critical care nurses who have completed additional education and certification in anesthesia assistance and are employed under the supervision and medical direction of an anesthetist.
CCNO-AAs contribute to the delivery of anesthesia care across the perioperative continuum in support of surgery, trauma resuscitation, procedural sedation, and critical care. Their role enhances the capacity, flexibility, and resilience of anesthesia services in operational and clinical settings. CCNO-AAs may participate in:
Preoperative assessment and preparation;
Anesthesia-focused patient monitoring;
Airway and ventilation support;
Assistance with induction, maintenance, and emergence from anesthesia;
Regional and neuraxial anesthesia support;
Hemodynamic monitoring and management;
Perioperative crisis management and resuscitation;
Vascular access, fluid, and blood replacement support;
Procedural sedation delivery and monitoring;
Post-anesthesia care and patient handover; and
Equipment quality assurance, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
CCNO-AAs in the Canadian Armed Forces maintain their clinical readiness by being embedded as staff in tertiary care civilian hospitals across Canada, working alongside their civilian colleagues.
They belong to CFHS and maintain their operational readiness by participating in annual military skills training and field exercises. Their employment may include operating rooms, post-anesthesia care units, critical care environments, trauma resuscitation settings, and prolonged casualty care or expeditionary surgical environments.
The work schedule may vary from shift work to a regular 40-hour work week, depending on the environment. CCNO-AAs may be called upon to support exercises, domestic response operations, medical evacuation missions, and international deployments.
During field exercises and deployments to military operations abroad, CCNO-AAs live and work in the same environment as the CAF members they support. In these settings, they may contribute to anesthesia and resuscitative care in austere conditions where flexibility, teamwork, and advanced clinical judgment are essential.
In-Service Selection
Nursing Officers who joined the occupation through any entry plan have the opportunity, upon selection, to further specialize as a Critical Care Nursing Officer and progress in jobs, domains of practice 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 a critical care environment, the CAF may place you directly into a Critical Care Nursing Officer job after evaluation of your experience. You may have to complete some education and certification to complement your civilian experience.
For further information, please contact a Canadian Forces Health Services Recruiter: [email protected].
Part time options
Serve with the Reserve Force
Reserve Force Critical Care Nursing Officers are trained to the same level as their Regular Force counterparts. Your civilian experience will have to reflect an employment in a critical care environment (i.e., intensive care unit, emergency room and resuscitation). If you are unsure about your civilian experience matching the job requirements, please contact a Canadian Forces Health Services Recruiter:
[email protected].
