IamA Medic in the Canadian Army, AMA!

Do you apologize to the wounded even though you didn't cause their pain? Because Canadian.

Seriously though, are MedTechs required to keep up the same physical and combat training as the 'foot soldiers' (for lack of a better term)?

"Do you apologize to the wounded even though you didn't cause their pain? Because Canadian." -Yes, of course...after I'm done watching the Leafs though.

"are MedTechs required to keep up the same physical and combat training as the 'foot soldiers' (for lack of a better term)?" -technically all military members have to maintain the same fitness standard. That standard is pathetically low and anyone who is passionate about this job will strive to keep themselves in good shape.

When you are atached to an Infantry unit as a medic you sure as shit better keep up or they will punt you out for someone else. You cannot command respect and expect others to listen to you or trust you to take care of them if you cannot even take care of yourself.

Unfortunately there are many out of shape medics ( as well as other military tradesmen ), its not the super fit organization you would assume it to be.

Thanks for the explanation, and finding the word 'infantry' I was looking for (coffee hadn't kicked in).

From the inside, do you feel that Canada's military has its own leadership with its own agenda, or does it act mostly as America's little-brother-in-tow? This is intended as a serious question. From an American's point of view, Canada is always there to support our efforts, regardless of unpopular they are. But I haven't seen any evidence of reciprocity.

Lastly, what are your goals after the military? Do you see yourself in a large hospital facility, working with wounded soldiers, private practice?

Well we generally operate at the discression and popularity of NATO, and were obviously part of ISAF.

Granted I am low man on the pole here and these decisions happen well over my head but the CF is constantly evaluating its priorities and trying to hire and build accordingly.

It just so happens that our interests often are aligned with the States which is why you've seen us so much..... oh and something bout a Ridge that no one else seemed to be able to take some years back ;)

Canada enjoys being part of multi national operations because it gives us the opportunity to play a part in things that we could not handle alone. I personally love working with other militaries, its a great experience. Our biggest issue in the upcomming years will be budget, and how much it has been cut.

Personal plans, I would love to retaire with a military pension and work part time as a Physitian Assistant in the civilian world. This can include going up north to Native communities for two weeks on and off because they are so in need of medical practitioners. Also, with a PA degree you can travel the world and work anywhere, similar to how an RN cert is internationally recognized.

Thanks for the replies and the information. And although I'm unlikely to call upon your skills, thank you for giving back to those who have and will. Best of luck.

Thank you very much Sir.

HI ...WANNA know the worst injury you'eve dealt with????

Injury as in the person was still alive? A woman in Vancouver had fallen down into a glass coffee table and scalped herself from the occipital bone (back of the head) almost all the way to her forehead.

She was under the influence of drugs and was just sitting there with this large flap of skin and long black hair hanging by a thread to her skull. She was ok in the end and the injury itself was not that complicated, but the sight and nature of it made it pretty grusome to me.

How did you get into medic tech? I'm a reservist with the CAF and am going to paramedic training in two months. What path did you go?

I joined the Reg Force at 18 and the military paid for my training and PCP course @ JIBC in Chilliwack BC. It has since been moved to Moncton NB.

So with the route I'm taking, going paramedic, would that training transfer over to medic?

Yes, and you would potentially skip a large portion of the military training system because you already have a PCP cert.

I'm unfamiliar with the Canadian MEDEVAC procedures, but I know that with the USMC, the personnel onboard the (air) ambulances are "only" corpsmen. I serve in the German military, and we have an emergency physician/medical officer on all MEDEVAC vehicles and in every patrol (at least with ISAF). I'm glad we do, but I can understand that we were never deployed in high intensity operations as the CAF or USMC were, and that in such operations it may be unwise to risk such "high value personnel" and that maybe, they can't do much more than a good medic could.

How is this handled in the Canadian military and what are your thought on this? Do you think an emergency physician would be a good addition or do you feel that well trained medical NCO's can do just as well?

This is a great question but I must bow out and say i cannot answer it with any authority.

All i can say is i believe our medical teams are more than capable of handling patients in flight on rout to Role 3 hospitals.

Hey, I'm a civilian with my PCP and there aren't many job openings. As such I've been considering becoming a medtech. I guess I'm wondering how far your medical training is added on to. What sorts of skills and drugs does the army teach outside the PCP directives and what day to day military life is like.

We have your standard emergency drugs. forgive my spelling in advanced

Nitro, ventolin, ASA, Epi, NSAIDS, Morphine, Fentanyl, Halodol, Midazolam, N/S, D5-10, Rescue Flow, and 4 anti biotics for first line TMT in the field.

Your average day will either be employed in a military clinic or at a field unit. This involves seeing patients, maintaining medical kit, field taskings or anything else they feel like having you do.

Its really hard to give an answer that that question because it varies per base and per unit.

Bipass pressure points and elevations and straight to tourniquet use if direct pressure ineffective?

Hell yes. Better to apologize for a TQ then for a dead man.

Have you ever seen any field work, and if you have what was it like and where?

I've done multiple excersises with mock and real patients. A lot of these either happen in Gagetown, Wainwright, Pet, or Meaford.

Usually injuries sustained in training are MSK in nature from falls, or traumatic from misuse of equiptment. Example: a soldier had the hatch in a military vehicle fall and fracture his back.

Hey I'm currently in my graduating year in canada and weighing out career options. I'm planning on becoming some sort of physician. I'm just wondering on how you got to where you are now. Did you join one of the cadet forces at a young age? Did you take a bachelors degree in the general sciences?

I do not have a degree. I will be getting one as part of my PAs course in the years to come.

If you are interested in the miltary then give your local recruiting centre a call or visit the CF website www.forces.ca

If a person were to join the forces for a specific position, say intelligence, public affairs, legal, etc., what are the chances of them attaining that actual position? Is there a possibility of being placed in a different stream against one's personal preference?

Thanks for the AMA!

Great Question.

You will always get employed in the trade you get accepted into. However what you will actually be doing day to day can very for every trade because at the end of the day the Army says "you are a soldier first" before anything else so that means they can make you do whatever they want. I have spend many days as a medic doing a Clerk or a Supply Tech's job. ;)

Whats your favorite wound or condition, how did you treat it. And what where the results. Im speaking about that one case. Not the general ones.

Open Chest Wounds. From say a gun shot or stab wound.

They are very dangerous but also very fixable with needle decompression. It's amazing to see the difference it makes.

Wiki that cause explaining it will take quite a while.

any family? i thought about the army... but i couldnt move to small towns like shilo,mb... and get shuffled around every few years.

i know if i was a kid, i would have hated to move every few years, i refuse to move kids around.. just wouldnt be fair

oh, and when you sign up, is it somewhat like the beginning of 'full metal jacket' where they buzz your hair off?

Girlfriend. No kids. She is in Nursing School for her RN.

Yes they shave your head down to a number 1 when you join.

Does Quebec have it's own French-Canadian army?

No

Does anyone call you "warrior healer"?

Nope. Thats a new one.

What are you thoughts on CSOR (i think thats what its called) I have a buddy whos in it and he isnt aloud to really tell me anything about it or what he does

Canadian Special Operations Reg. (CSOR) are a branch of the Special Forces (yes Canada has that too).

They are bloody machines (the actual door kickers that is) and they do a lot of special work over seas.

How's promotion like in peacetime CF? I intend to work my ass off when I'm in next year, but I'm curious as to how much that affects it. I've heard it can take up to 10 years to make Sgt.

Yes it can. But that is not abnormal. Unlike the USA, we do not have tons of ranks to pass through, so you stay at one rank longer.

Pte>Cpl>MCpl>Sgt>WO>MWO>CMO for NCM ranks.

Even though you were not able to go overseas like you probably expected, did the treatment of the patients paint a picture that made you glad you weren't in active combat? Basically, were you still content with helping people though you were not in the midst of chaos.

If you didn't treat traumatic injuries, did you deal with patients who had psychological after effects of combat? If the following applies, could you describe how, or if, that experience changed you in some way?

Also, how much of your time is devoted to reddit and other entertainment on an average day. Are there any work days where there is very little to do?

Thanks for doing this

Luckily I was able to at least see stabbings and gun shot wounds in Vancouver so I got a little exposure to some traumatic things. Also, high speed MVAs and falls and other things can give you some pretty good trauma calls.

The big difference for me and the bottom line is; yes I would still love to go overseas because I firmly belive that is my duty as a soldier and thats what I signed up to do. However I am very fearful to have to work on close friends. When you work on the street your patients are strangers you don't have any attachement to so you can let things go. I don't know how I would handle it if it were a close friend and person i had worked and trained with for months or years.

When there are patients or administrative things to do I do them, when there is nothing to do I will pop into reddit. This varies greatly but if I'm on base I generally have quite a bit of down time (no different than EMTs or Firefighters on shift work).

You find entertainment where you can. :)

Great questions.

How many lives have you saved?

People who would have undoubtable died if this guy wasn't there to do something?

Two.

My friend was not deployed as well and it was pretty shattering for him especially because you're training specifically for this. How did you deal with that let down?

By understanding that the world is always going to be a busy place. Always with places to go and things to do. You just have to fight through the hard or boring times...like Journey.

Does your username mean what I think it means?

...probably not. lol

What does the Canadian Army do?

What do we dew?

Why have you join the army? Don't you think that help people living while they kill other people is a non-sens?

I have no response for this.

What's the "average" week? What do you do day-to-day?

Work at 07:00, see walk in sick people till approx noon. Work on other random tasks and jobs and stocking and maintenence till 3 then off to the gym.

Other weeks you are deployed to the field to support an excercise or a course and treat any injuries that happen there.

What kind of training do you go through? I'm just curious because I'm a corpsman (basically a medic) in the Navy.

Probably very similar to yourself. Only we go a little more in depth in terms of patient histories and diagnosis because Canada only has one kind of medic so we need to be able to cover a lot of roles. Opposed to the states that has the money train different types of medics. I believe.

How many times a day, on average, do you say sorry? Also, what are the benefits like?

Three to four. And the benefits of saying sorry are you feeling good about yourself and bring rainbow smiles to others.

OH you meant benefits of the Canadian Military??

Very good, 25 days off a year. Medical, Dental, moves to different bases are paid for and usually equate to a profit for you, time off each day to work out, education is paid for depending on your goals and what you are doing, life insurance...I could go on all day here.

Wait, Canada has an actual army, I thought the news anchor was joking about that one...

www.forces.ca

TIL Canada has a army?

www.forces.ca

Canada has an army?

www.forces.ca

Canada has an army ?

Yes, but we only come out of our igloos when you shine a giant spot light into the night sky in the shape of a giant piece of back bacon.