For medicine and country: What you need to know about becoming a military doctor

The Canadian Armed Forces sounded the alarm recently about its problem recruiting and retaining soldiers. According to the military’s top soldier, the country is short of about 10,000 regular force members. The military is also in dire need of doctors. In January 2022, it reported that it had less than 50% of the physicians it needed for routine activities and operational deployments. The numbers have improved since then. As of mid-November, the CAF was at about 75% of its physician requirements and was looking to recruit 87 doctors, according to Commander Charles Cross, a family doctor who closed down his British Columbia-based practice 22 years ago to join the military. The Medical Post met recently with Cmdr. Cross and Canadian Forces Health Services recruitment manager Tina Lipcsey, to talk about what it takes to become a military doctor, and what it’s like once you’re in. So what’s the attraction? Whether it’s due to the growing number of burnt-out doctors looking for something new, or to the military’s increased recruitment efforts, the CAF has seen an uptick this year in doctors interested in a military career, said Cmdr. Cross. A desire to serve the country is a big motivator for joining, he said. He pointed to a 2018 study that identified service to country as a top reason for joining the military, along with opportunities for adventure, challenging work, and good pay and benefits. Some doctors who join the armed forces have a family history of military service, noted Lipcsey. For others, it’s a desire to do something different while still staying in medicine. Read: New guide for family docs caring for veterans Good to know: Good pay and good hours As a medical officer, you’ll earn a salary of between $192,444 to $326,700 depending on your experience, and will have no overhead and registration costs—the CAF will reimburse what you pay to colleges. Unless you’re on deployment, you'll work regular office hours with no evening or weekend clinics. Fully licensed doctors who come in through the direct entry program—as opposed to coming in as a regular soldier and then studying medicine while you’re in the army—also get a signing bonus of between $80,000 and $225,000, which comes with a four-year minimum service contract. You'll enjoy comprehensive benefits that include medical and dental coverage, disability insurance, liability and indemnification coverage, paid annual leave of between 20 to 25 days and parental leave of up to 18 months with a 93% top-up of full salary. You don’t need to be a Canadian citizen While exceptions have been made from time to time for physician applicants, the general rule in the past was that you had to be a Canadian citizen to apply to the Canadian Armed Forces. That rule changed in early November 2022, when the military expanded its recruitment guidelines—for all positions—to also include permanent residents. Over 50? Don't let that stop you from applying The CAF accepts applications from physicians as old as 55 years old and as young as 16 (hello, Dooogie Howser). The compulsory retirement age in the military is 60, so coming in at age 55 gives you time to complete basic training and fulfill your four years of obligatory service. Applying takes time—and requires a lot of information To apply as a military doctor, you’ll need to complete an extensive application which is available online. Prepare to answer a lot of detailed questions, including your complete work and residence history, as well as all the countries you’ve visited in the last 10 years (you’ll also need your travel dates). You’ll need to be patient—the website can be slow and buggy—and don’t expect to get it all done in one sitting. Direct entry applicants need four key qualifications Before submitting their applications, medical recruits coming in through the direct entry program should first make sure they meet four basic entry standards: possession of a medical degree from an accredited Canadian university or of a licentiate issued by the Medical Council of Canada, a current unrestricted licence to practice medicine in a Canadian province or territory, a report of good standing from a provincial or territorial college, and a certification in family medicine from the College of Family Physicians of Canada. You’ll need to pass medical and fitness assessments Military doctors are soldiers first, said Cmdr. Cross. This means you’ll need to demonstrate your physical and mental abilities to perform the tasks that would be expected of a soldier. Cmdr. Cross said the minimum physical fitness standard assessment will require the performance of exercises that replicate common military tasks, namely escape to cover, vehicle extrication, picking and digging, stretcher carry, sandbag fortification, and pickets and wire carry. Read: Surgeons work by flashlight as Ukraine power grid battered You’ll also need to pass basic military training Ever seen an officer and a gentleman? Don’t worry, basic training in the military isn’t as tough as that. It’s no walk in the park either, said Cmdr. Cross, but thanks to a recent change medical recruits have to complete only six weeks of basic training compared to 14 weeks for everyone else. As part of this training, you’ll learn how to do combat- and conflict-focused tasks such as weapons handling and putting on a gas mask in low-visibility and rushed conditions. You’ll be part of a multidisciplinary health team As a military doctor, you’ll be working with a team that includes military and civilian doctors, physician assistants, nurses and nurse practitioners and medical technicians. In larger clinics you may also be toiling alongside imaging and lab technicians, pharmacists, psychiatrists and psychologists, said Cmdr. Cross. You'll live in the community—like you do now While CAF bases do include some housing, most medical officers live in the community in their own private homes like civilians, said Cmdr. Cross. In addition to getting help with your moving expenses, you'll also get an additional one months salary once you get posted. "CAF will also fly you in for a house hunting trip two to four months before you're scheduled to start, then you do the move which is reimbursed as well," said Cmdr. Cross. "When you leave the military and relocate back to your new home, you'll also get your moving expenses covered." You’ll be a family doctor but have options to specialize As a military doctor, you’ll have opportunities to train in areas such as avitio aerospace, diving, submarine, public health and sports and undersea medicine—specializations that require knowledge of how the body responds in pressurized conditions, said Cmdr. Cross. For undersea medicine, you’ll train in hyperbaric environment, likely at Duke University in Durham, N.C., or the University of California in San Diego. After three years of working as a general practitioner you can also apply to become a medical specialist officer. There's room for advancement In addition to annual pay increases, you'll also have opportunities to move up through the ranks. Medical officers advance to the rank of captain and are usually promoted to major after four years of satisfactory performance as a captain medical officer. Thereafter you could continue climbing up to the rank of lieutenant commander, commander and colonel. As you move up the ladder, the roles evolve from clinical to executive and, at the colonel level, strategic. Prepare for periods of discomfort, hardship and even danger Being a military doctor means you could be deployed on short notice to areas that are austere, possibly with no organized clinic to work in or a comfy bed to sleep on. Depending on where you'e sent to, you could be living in a tent in the middle of a field or a desert. “We are put in harm’s way, potentially,” said Cmdr. Cross. “There were, for example, medical officials on the flights from Kandahar to repatriate Afghans who supported Canadians. But that’s all part of the job and you need to expect it and accept it.” Read: Military eases vaccine mandate, presses ahead with discipline for unvaccinated troops

For medicine and country: What you need to know about becoming a military doctor

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