Medical Technician

Canadian Armed Forces | Forces armées canadiennes; Fredericton; On-site; CAD 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

The Canadian Armed Forces is seeking Medical Technicians to provide critical healthcare services, including patient care and emergency medical treatment. Ideal candidates will hold a high school diploma and ideally possess a college diploma along with paramedic training. Technicians serve in various capacities including in clinical settings or during deployments, ensuring readiness and effective medical response in military operations.

Benefits

Full-time salary with medical and dental care

Paid education programs for training

Qualifications

• Completion of Grade 12 or Secondary 5 with relevant biology and chemistry courses.
• College diploma preferred, along with paramedic certification.
• Training includes military and civilian medical courses.

Responsibilities

• Provide initial care and life support to patients.
• Administer treatments and manage medical supplies.
• Work with various health professionals in military contexts.

Skills

Initial patient care

Life support care

Treatment administration

Medical history recording

Instructing Combat First Aid

Medical readiness management

Intravenous therapy

Vital signs monitoring

Medication administration

Rescue participation

Education

Grade 12 or Secondary 5

College diploma in a relevant field

Primary Care Paramedic Level I certificate

Job description

Overview

As a member of the military, 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.

The Medical Technician occupation is undergoing an occupation analysis, therefore, applicants enrolling into this occupation will be required to choose between one of two new occupations sometime in late 2025 – Combat Medic or Paramedic. The new occupations will see a change in training and career requirements. To learn about the changes and impacts to enrolment into this occupation please contact the Health Services Attraction team at: [e-mail] .

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.

If you chose a career in the Regular Force, upon completion of all required training, you will be assigned to your first base. While there is some flexibility with regards to postings (relocations), accommodations can’t always be made, and therefore, you can likely expect to move at some point in your career. However, if you decide to join the Primary Reserve Force, you will do so through a specific Reserve unit. Outside of training, your chosen Reserve unit will be your workplace on a part time basis, and you will not be obligated to relocate to a different base. As part of the Primary Reserve Force, you typically work one night per week and some weekends as a minimum with possibilities of full-time employment.

Entry plans

• Direct Entry Options
• Paid Education Options
  
  

The Medical Technician occupation is undergoing an occupation analysis, therefore, applicants enrolling into this occupation will be required to choose between one of two new occupations in 2025 – Combat Medic or Paramedic. The new occupations will see a change in training and career requirements. To learn about the changes and impacts to enrolment into this occupation please contact the Health Services Attraction team at: [e-mail] .

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: [e-mail]

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.

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.

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.

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