Day to day life as a NO is dependent on where you are posted. Posting are currently on a 3-5 year cycle it seems. It is common in one posting to do 2 different jobs while in the same posting, especially if it is a 4 or 5 year posting.
There are five main employment areas for General Duty Nursing Officers:
1) Clinics, mostly as Primary Care Nurses in the Care Delivery Units (CDU) or as the Operations and Training Officer in the clinics,
2) Staff positions, largely administrative in the headquarters (Ottawa, Edmonton, Montreal),
3) Teaching, mostly at the Training Centre in Borden,
4) Field units, generally as a Platoon Commander, or Clinical Training Officer,
5) Embedded in civilian hospitals, this is a new an evolving concept for "high readiness" nursing officers.
This is not all inclusive but I would say 95% of the NO's fit into one of this groups.
As a Lt, you are mostly just trying to get qualified. Basic Nursing Officer Course, Clinical Phase Training, and Basic Field Health Services Course. You will also be in your first posting just getting your feet wet. Most Lt's work in clinics as PCNs or in field units. Some may get embedded as part of this new program, but this waits to be seen. Most Lt's work on their Officer Professional Military Eduction (OPME) courses as well, chipping away at them course after course.
As a Capt, you will take on more responsibilities withing the five areas above. Lead NCMs and other officers. Experience + Competency = Responsibility. You will also have the opportunity to specialize in critical care, OR, mental health or flight. You can also stay a General Duty Nursing Officer. The specialties are more clinically focused, for generally at least a five year stint after the apx. one year qualification period.
Unless you are employed in a CDU or in a embedded civilian hospital position, you are largely looking at only having acute care exposure during time attached to a civilian hospital under the Maintenance of Clinical Skills Program. Most GDNOs are getting between 4-5 weeks a year. Some less, some more, situation and motivation dependent.
Deployments are dependent on the tempo of the day... some decades we are busy as stink, some are slow as sin. In Bosnia / Afghanistan we have deployed many NO's... a number doing multiple tours. We are still deploying NO's (albeit more senior ones) to Afghanistan currently. Who knows what the future holds, but the world seems to be a crazy place.
Some NO's moonlight in local hospitals after they are done clinical phase training. Keeps then more current, especially when MCSP does not seem to work for whatever reason. This is especially important when you are new as a RN and trying to consolidate skills. Most NO's I know who moonlight do about 2 x 12 hour shifts per month, generally on the weekends. Some do considerably more (generally the ones that want the cash and are in a job that allows them nights and weekends off, one I know of does 90-100 hours of moonlighting a month, but they are special) and some do less. Most (if not all) Commanding Officers and senior nurses support the concept of moonlighting as long as it does not get in the way of your regular duties.
I hope that helps,
MC
