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Medical Technician

Non-Commissioned Member | Full Time, Part Time

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    • Overview

    Medical Technicians work with a variety of health care professionals including Medical Officers and Nursing Officers to treat the sick and injured in various Canadian Armed Forces' operations and units.

    A Medical Technician has the following primary duties:

    • Provide initial care for patients;
    • Provide basic to advanced life support care independently and as a part of a multidisciplinary team;
    • Administer lifesaving interventions and treatments to trauma casualties;
    • Interview and record patient medical histories;
    • Instruct soldiers on Combat First Aid and Tactical Combat Casualty Care;
    • Manage soldier’s medical readiness, supplies and equipment;
    • Administer intravenous therapy;
    • Take and monitor patients’ vital signs;
    • Administer and dispense some medications in accordance with their scope of practice;
    • Assist patients in accessing various health services resources such as Mental Health services and physiotherapy;
    • Provide medical support during environmental operations;
    • Recover casualties from the point of injury and transport them to a medical facility by wheeled or tracked ambulance, or by air;
    • Participate in rescues from crashed vehicles, tanks, ships, aircraft and damaged buildings;
    • Give basic advice on disease prevention, hygiene and sanitation;
    • Perform specific environmental health and preventive medicine duties;
    • Collect specimens and perform basic laboratory procedures;
    • Operate and maintain medical and life-support equipment;
    • Perform electrocardiograms and audiograms;
    • Initiate, maintain and distribute medical records, documents, reports and returns; and
    • Maintain, replenish and account for general and medical supplies.

    Work environment

    Medical Technicians spend most of their careers working directly with the Canadian Armed Forces within Canada, on ships at sea, and deployed on international missions.  In the field, overseas and on ship, they usually work in shifts and, occasionally, on call.  In Clinics, they generally work regular hours.

    Career Overview

    Transcript

    Canadian Armed Forces Recruiting Videos

     

    MEDICAL TECHNICIAN

     

    Reviewed – 27 Mar 23 


     

    MASTER CORPORAL EMMA GALLOWAY: I'm Master Corporal Emma Galloway from London, Ontario. I’m a Medical Technician currently posted to 2 Field Ambulance in Petawawa, Ontario.

     

    NARRATOR: Whether it’s in the heat of battle in a war-torn nation, or a relief effort in the aftermath of an earthquake, in the Canadian Armed Forces, the role of Medical Technician takes on dimensions never imagined on a city street. 

     

    MASTER CORPORAL EMMA GALLOWAY: Big difference between a civilian paramedic and a military Medical Technician is as a military Medical Technician, we do a lot of different jobs. So one day you're working in a clinic; you can move out to work in the field; you can also work on aircraft, fixed-wing and helicopters, as well as, could be working on ships. So the environment changes and the scope of your job can change as well based on those environments.

     

    NARRATOR: They are a critical part of the Canadian Armed Forces healthcare team, working with doctors, nurses and physician assistants to provide acute and chronic healthcare services to Forces members. 

     

    The job of a Med Tech can be diverse and adventurous.

     

    MASTER CORPORAL EMMA GALLOWAY: The stress and excitement is definitely something that draws me to this job. Knowing that I can be the difference in someone's life is very rewarding. 

     

    NARRATOR: They do everything from patient screening to clinical care or pre-hospital emergency care on a general day-to-day basis. When Medical Technicians deploy, they provide the full spectrum of care to all military members serving on the mission.

     

    MASTER CORPORAL EMMA GALLOWAY: Our training is very trauma-focused and very battlefield trauma-focused. We focus on gunshot wounds, blast injuries, shrapnel injuries versus more car accidents and things that you would see on the civilian street.

     

    NARRATOR: The training, experience, and level of responsibility is equal to or greater than what one would expect in comparable civilian occupations, but the Forces offers paid education and opportunities to travel. 

     

    MASTER CORPORAL EMMA GALLOWAY: A Medical Technician has more responsibility than our civilian paramedic counterparts. We can be pushed out by ourselves. So it's our responsibility to identify what's going on with the member so that we can be on the phone with a clinician – so whether that's a Physician Assistant or a Medical Officer – to be able to make sure that when that patient gets to that next level, the care that they need is already ready to go for them.

     

    NARRATOR: Military medics earn a salary while they are in training and then walk right into their careers. No student loans; no job search.

     

    There are also opportunities for Med Techs in the Primary Reserve, serving part-time in their local community while going to school or working at a civilian job. 

     

    MASTER CORPORAL EMMA GALLOWAY: I was a paramedic before I joined, for three years. And then I decided to join the military to give myself more opportunity to further advance my medical skills.


     


     

     

    MASTER CORPORAL EMMA GALLOWAY: For me, the most exciting part of my job is getting to do my job on the back of a helicopter. They know when there's a helicopter coming in to get someone, it's very, very serious. I fly on the Griffon as well as the Chinook helicopter, and there's nothing better than coming in on a helicopter.




     

    NARRATOR: On completion of their occupational training, new Med Techs will be posted to a healthcare unit on a Canadian Armed Forces base. 

     

    MASTER CORPORAL EMMA GALLOWAY: My biggest advice to anybody coming through those first couple of years is to just absorb all the information that you can, learn every skill that you can, because it'll make your life so much easier down the road.

     

    NARRATOR: Medical Technicians in the Forces have opportunities to train with civilian agencies to maintain and improve their skills. On occasion, military medics will ride along with civilian paramedics in an ambulance.

     

    As their careers progress, Medical Technicians may have the opportunity to pursue a range of specialized qualifications, including working as a secondary Search and Rescue asset with the Combat Support Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force, or in aeromedical evacuation with the Canadian Medical Emergency Response Team, or with the Special Operations Forces.


     


     

     

    MASTER CORPORAL EMMA GALLOWAY: I would definitely say, in my opinion, that our job is a fun job. I get to work with a lot of different people. I get to be doing a lot of different things. I've been up to the Arctic, I've been over in Africa, I've been around Europe with the military.  None of these things I would have been able to do if I hadn't joined the Canadian Armed Forces.

     

    Related Civilian Occupations

    • Primary Care Paramedic
    • Emergency Medical Attendant
    • Ambulance and First Aid Attendant
    • Registered Nursing Assistant
    • Licensed Practical Nurse

    Training

    The first stage of training is the Basic Military Qualification course, or Basic Training, held at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. This training provides the basic core skills and knowledge common to all trades. A goal of this course is to ensure that all recruits maintain the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) physical fitness standard; as a result, the training is physically demanding. 

    Basic military qualification – land course

    After Basic Training, Army recruits go to a Military Training centre for the Basic Military Qualification - Land Course for approximately one month, which covers the following topics:

    • Army Physical Fitness;
    • Dismounted Offensive and Defensive Operations;
    • Reconnaissance Patrolling; and
    • Individual Field Craft.

    Learn more about Basic Training here.

    Medical Technicians complete their basic occupation training at the Canadian Forces Health Services Training Center in Borden, Ontario as well as an off-site civilian training institution.  The course which consists of three modules is completed over 47-48 weeks and covers the following:

    • Maintaining medical supplies and equipment
    • Screening patients and implementing patient care plans
    • Treating medical conditions
    • Administering diagnostic procedures, medications and continuous infusions
    • Managing airways and assisting with minor surgical procedures
    • Setting up deployed medical facilities
    • Treating casualties in an operational and CBRNE environment

    At the off-site civilian training institution Medical Technicians complete a Primary Care Paramedic Course to obtain paramedic training.  This course is tailored to military requirements while meeting performance standards set by the Paramedic Association of Canada and approved by the Canadian Medical Association.  Medical Technicians receive the professional credential of Primary Care Paramedic Level I.

    Medical Technicians may be offered the opportunity to develop specialized skills through formal courses and on-the-job training, including training to work in specialized operational units.  They may also apply for an Occupational Transfer and receive training in one of the following occupations:

    • Operating Room Technician;
    • Preventive Medicine Technician;
    • Biomedical Electronic Technician;
    • Aviation Physiology Technician; and
    • Physician Assistant.

    Entry plans

    The minimum required education to apply for this position is the completion of the provincial requirements for Grade 12 or Secondary 5 in Quebec with Grade 11 applied math or Math 426 in Quebec and any Biology and Chemistry course at the Grade 12 or Secondary 5 level.

    The ideal candidate will already have a college diploma and a Primary Care Paramedic Level I certificate, the Forces may place you directly into an on-the-job training program following basic training.

    Foreign education may be accepted.

    Non-commissioned Member Subsidized Training and Education Plan (NCM STEP)

    Because this position requires specialty training, the CAF will pay successful recruits to attend the diploma program at an approved Canadian college. NCM STEP students attend basic training and on-the-job training during the summer months. They receive a full-time salary including medical and dental care, as well as vacation time with full-pay in exchange for working with the CAF for a period of time. If you choose to apply to this program, you must apply both to the CAF and be accepted at the appropriate accredited College. 

    For further information, please contact a Canadian Forces Health Services Recruiter: HSRecruiting-RecrutementSS@forces.gc.ca

    Learn more about our Paid Education programs here.

    Part time options

    The role of the Canadian Forces Health Services Reserves is to provide trained personnel to support, augment and sustain Canadian Forces Health Services organizations for Canadian Armed Forces operations and training activities, while building and maintaining links between the Forces and the local community.

    This position is available for part-time employment with the Primary Reserve at certain locations across Canada. Reserve Force members usually serve part time with a military unit in their community, and may serve while going to school or working at a civilian job. They are paid during their training. They are not posted or required to do a military move. However, they can volunteer to move to another base. They may also volunteer for deployment on a military mission within or outside Canada.

    Medical Technicians may serve with the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army or the Royal Canadian Air Force as part of the Canadian Forces Health Services Group. They are employed to assist and support Medical Officers and Nursing Officers to treat the sick and injured in Canadian Armed Forces units and operations. When they are employed on a part-time or casual full-time basis they usually serve in a medical unit at a location within Canada.

    Find a Recruiting Centre

    Reserve Force members are trained to the same level as their Regular Force counterparts. They must be licensed to practice as a paramedic in their province. Once enrolled, they usually begin training with their home unit to ensure that they meet the required basic professional military standards. Following basic military training and further training to Soldier Qualification, Medical Technicians attend the Canadian Forces Health Services Training Center in Borden, Ontario to achieve the remainder of their military qualification.

    If you are not a qualified civilian paramedic and do not meet all the qualifications for Medical Technician, you may be interested in a similar career as a Medical Assistant.

    Reserve Force members usually serve part-time with their home unit for scheduled evenings and weekends, although they may also serve in full-time positions at some units for fixed terms, depending on the type of work that they do. They are paid 92.8% of Regular Force rates of pay, receive a reasonable benefits package and may qualify to contribute to a pension plan.