WEBVTT 00:00:03.294 --> 00:00:05.255 align:middle line:85% position:50% size:113% My name is Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Beckett, 00:00:05.255 --> 00:00:07.799 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:105% I am the Chief of General Surgery for the Canadian Forces 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:09.634 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:58% and the Trauma Advisor to the Surgeon General. 00:00:11.136 --> 00:00:14.973 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:115% I dropped out of high school when I was 18 years old, from Stouffville, Ontario, 00:00:14.973 --> 00:00:19.352 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:98% and I joined the Canadian Forces out of Toronto as a Medical Technician. 00:00:19.352 --> 00:00:24.065 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:100% I had no idea that I was going to become a physician, and then surgeon, 00:00:24.065 --> 00:00:27.277 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:83% then the Chief of General Surgery for the Canadian Forces - 00:00:27.277 --> 00:00:29.696 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:100% and the only person that's more surprised than me is my dad. 00:00:30.447 --> 00:00:33.366 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:80% The most rewarding experience I had was looking after Canadian 00:00:33.366 --> 00:00:36.619 align:middle line:85% position:50% size:118% and allied casualties in Kandahar, Afghanistan. 00:00:36.619 --> 00:00:40.832 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:118% This was at the height of the Afghan involvement and we were seeing about 00:00:40.832 --> 00:00:44.127 align:middle line:85% position:50% size:125% 8 to 10 critically injured patients per afternoon. 00:00:44.127 --> 00:00:48.256 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:118% And these type of injuries, from high-explosive and high-velocity gunshot wounds 00:00:48.256 --> 00:00:52.594 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:113% were, you know, injuries that we never ever see in the civilian world, 00:00:52.594 --> 00:00:57.682 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:120% and I learned how to manage those injuries on a routine basis. 00:00:57.682 --> 00:01:01.478 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:103% And that's why, you know, I can see any trauma patient in a Canadian hospital 00:01:01.478 --> 00:01:03.563 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:73% and I know how to manage it, because I've seen war trauma. 00:01:03.563 --> 00:01:07.942 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:108% And that's a rare skill that many civilians will never ever come in contact with. 00:01:09.068 --> 00:01:12.864 align:middle line:85% position:50% size:115% Many of the surgeons that were in Afghanistan, 00:01:12.864 --> 00:01:16.493 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:95% they've all gone on to being directors of trauma programs, 00:01:16.493 --> 00:01:19.245 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:83% or taking on leadership positions in the civilian world, 00:01:19.245 --> 00:01:21.748 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:98% so it's a very elite group of people that you'll be joining. 00:01:22.081 --> 00:01:23.917 align:middle line:85% position:50% size:125% You're going to have the experience of a lifetime. 00:01:23.917 --> 00:01:27.128 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:110% You're going to travel, you're going to serve your country overseas, 00:01:27.128 --> 00:01:30.757 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:95% you're going to be at the peak of your surgical training, 00:01:30.757 --> 00:01:34.010 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:118% and you're going to be able to sell those skills in the civilian world 00:01:34.010 --> 00:01:37.055 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:70% and join a very elite group of Canadian Forces surgeons. 00:01:38.223 --> 00:01:41.392 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:100% You never know what the Canadian Forces can do for you. 00:01:41.392 --> 00:01:44.813 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:103% So if they can turn a high school dropout into a trauma surgeon 00:01:44.813 --> 00:01:49.484 align:middle line:79% position:50% size:113% working at a Level 1 trauma centre in Toronto and the Chief of General Surgery, 00:01:49.484 --> 00:01:51.402 align:middle line:85% position:50% size:100% just think about what it can do for you.