RCAF NURSE POSTING

[Dionysus055]

Hi everyone.

I have a question about the locations for Air Force nurses ( although it’s purple trade). It’s time to choose a location to be posted to after training and there are a lot of option, but not much info about them.

These are the offered options:
Esquimalt, BC
Edmonton, AB
Montreal, QC
Valcartier, QC
Shilo, MB
Winnipeg, MB
Kingston, ON
Petawawa, ON
Ottawa, ON
Borden, ON
Halifax, NS
Gagetown, NB

What do you know about those bases? Which one might be a good choice for a Nurse? Where might be the best clinics ?

Thank you.

 

[dimsum]

I can’t speak to the clinics part, but a lot of that will depend on your family/financial situation, and where in the country you’d like to be.

E.g. Esquimalt is probably the most expensive on that list, but Victoria is beautiful.

 

[OldSolduer]

Winnipeg is a conundrum right now. It used to be hot and mosquitoe infested in summer and "Lets all go and freeze in the snow" in winter. The past few years - not many mosquitoes and its been relatively warm this winter. Housing prices here are pretty stable. Roads suck.

 

[lenaitch]

I don't know first hand but I have told that unless you are fluently bilingual Valcartier can be a difficult area to live in.

If just starting out, I would think the cities would be more expensive. A lot would depend on your personal situation and what you want out of your career.

 

[ModlrMike]

Esquimalt, BC - great place to work and live, but understandably Navy centric. Stupid expensive to live.
Edmonton, AB - great place to work and live, more Army focused, think 1 Fd Amb. Costs not too bad.
Montreal, QC - you will need to speak French, not likely to go to this clinic as a new grad.
Valcartier, QC - you will need to speak French, also Army focused.
Shilo, MB - literally the middle of nowhere - there's even a sign. Army centric. Brandon is OK.
Winnipeg, MB - definitely Air Force. Cost of living OK, roads suck, close to the border.
Kingston, ON - humid AF in the summer, can be quite cold in winter. Good work environment.
Petawawa, ON - Army base, 2 Fd Amb, very rural.
Ottawa, ON - expensive, would likely wind up doing ward nursing.
Borden, ON - expensive, but didn't used to be. Home to the school. MIR/Clinic job.
Halifax, NS - Navy base. Housing in HFX pricy, traffic brutal if outside the city.
Gagetown, NB - Army base, somewhat remote.

Having been to many of these locations, I would say that Edmonton, Winnipeg, Kingston would be a good priority list. As a medical person, your uniform will likely have very little bearing on where you're posted, so don't plan around that.

 

[stoker dave]

A billion years ago we had nurses onboard one of the ships for a while (acknowledging that was a unique circumstance). Just curious: do nurses posted to Halifax and Esquimalt still have the opportunity to be posted to ships and travel the world?

So for the person asking, IF the answer to the above is affirmative THEN you can look forward to serving onboard one of HMC Ships.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

My guess is, based on the fairly robust medical facilities in the new AORs, that the capability to send more than a PA to sea may return.

 

[Happy Guy]

Esquimalt, BC - great place to work and live, but understandably Navy centric. Stupid expensive to live.
Edmonton, AB - great place to work and live, more Army focused, think 1 Fd Amb. Costs not too bad.
Montreal, QC - you will need to speak French, not likely to go to this clinic as a new grad.
Valcartier, QC - you will need to speak French, also Army focused.
Shilo, MB - literally the middle of nowhere - there's even a sign. Army centric. Brandon is OK.
Winnipeg, MB - definitely Air Force. Cost of living OK, roads suck, close to the border.
Kingston, ON - humid AF in the summer, can be quite cold in winter. Good work environment.
Petawawa, ON - Army base, 2 Fd Amb, very rural.
Ottawa, ON - expensive, would likely wind up doing ward nursing.
Borden, ON - expensive, but didn't used to be. Home to the school. MIR/Clinic job.
Halifax, NS - Navy base. Housing in HFX pricy, traffic brutal if outside the city.
Gagetown, NB - Army base, somewhat remote.

Having been to many of these locations, I would say that Edmonton, Winnipeg, Kingston would be a good priority list. As a medical person, your uniform will likely have very little bearing on where you're posted, so don't plan around that.

I've been to Edmonton, Kingston, Petawawa, Ottawa, Borden and Gagetown as an Army guy.

I agree with what ModlrMike said, and I would also add that Gagetown is close to Fredericton (23 min drive or 22 km). Fredericton is nice small city.

Based on my experience, I found that Edmonton, Kingston and Petawawa were good places for my family. There lots of things to do for the wife and kids. The communities where we were, were safe and friendly - we lived in the PMQs in Kingston and Petawawa. I have no idea of what the single quarters and eatng messes are like in the above mentioned places. Ottawa has no single quarters.

It depends on what you want, your priorities and lifestyle.

Good luck