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Medical Officer Training Plan – Canadian Armed Forces

For the following information in French, please see this document.

MOTP Surge

Over the past several years, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has partnered with the CFMS to advertise the Medical Officer Training Plan Surge (MOTP Surge), which is a collaborative initiative between participating Family Medicine Residency Programs across Canada and the CAF. The initiative provides the opportunity for medical students who remain unmatched after the second round in the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) to apply for a residency position in Family Medicine and subsidization through the CAF.

The CAF will not be holding an MOTP Surge for a third year in a row (2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-23) as a result of the pandemic, which has significantly impacted their processing operations. With the decreased capacity to process applicants at their Recruiting Centers, along with the shift in CaRMS timelines, there is not currently enough time and resources to process, enroll, and post MOTP applicants within the limited timeframe associated with the MOTP Surge.

The CAF will continue to reassess the situation to determine whether they will hold a 2024 MOTP Surge.

"Regular" MOTP

The “regular” MOTP program offers medical students in any year of their undergraduate medical education program at any of the 17 Canadian medical schools to apply for enrolment in the CAF and subsidization under the MOTP.

What are the benefits of enrolling in the CAF under the MOTP?

  • Regardless of what year of medical school you are in, should you screen successfully for enrolment in the CAF, the CAF will subsidize your tuition and textbooks;
  • You will be paid an annual salary while attending medical school in the range of $56,388 - $65,304 and a salary of $69,768 to $74,256 while in residency;
  • You will receive a recruitment allowance, the amount of which is determined by what year of medical school you are attending when you enroll in the CAF:
    • First year – $40K;
    • Second year – $40K;
    • Third year – $75K; and
    • Fourth year - $110K;
  • You will have the opportunity to graduate from medical school debt free;
  • The day you join the CAF, you begin paying into a pension plan. The years you spend in medical school and residency are pensionable years;
  • You will receive comprehensive medical and dental coverage;
  • You will receive 20 working days per year of paid annual leave for the first five years you are in the CAF, followed by 25 working days per year; and
  • The CAF offers excellent parental leave benefits - up to 18 months with generous salary top-up to 93% of full salary for the first 12 months.

What do I have to do in return for having my medical education subsidized by the CAF?

  • Once your medical school is complete, you will be required to apply to a Family Medicine Residency program in CaRMS. This is the only residency currently being subsidized by the CAF;
  • Once you complete your residency, you will have a four-year return of service to the CAF. A return of service is called “obligatory service” in the CAF;
  • You will need to complete Basic Training (“boot camp”) at St. Jean at the earliest opportunity after enrolment, which will be dependent on your medical school schedule. You will not be taken out of medical school to complete Basic Training.
  • Upon completion of your Family Medicine Residency, you could be posted to any military base in Canada;
  • You will be expected to deploy on missions (e.g., conflict, post-conflict, humanitarian, etc.).

What is involved in screening successfully for enrolment in the CAF?

  • There are five components to the screening process:
    • You must write the Canadian Forces Aptitude Test and meet the minimum cut-off score for Officers which is the 30th percentile on the total score;
    • You must write the Trait Self Descriptive Personality Inventory;
    • You must undergo an enrolment medical and be deemed medically fit for service in the CAF;
    • You will be interviewed by a Military Career Counsellor to determine suitability for the Medical Officer occupation; and
    • You have to complete a reliability screening.

Are there opportunities for further medical training once I am a licensed Medical Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces?

  • Once a Medical Officer has served two years after becoming licensed, they can apply for one of the following specialty programs that are subsidized by the CAF:
    • Anesthesiology;
    • Internal Medicine;
    • General Surgery;
    • Orthopedic Surgery;
    • Radiology;
    • Psychiatry;
    • Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; and
    • Emergency Medicine.
  • The following are other PG programs that are subsidized by the CAF:
    • Aerospace Medicine;
    • Hyperbaric Medicine;
    • Occupational Health;
    • Preventive Health and Medicine;
    • CCFP-EM; and
    • Sports Medicine.

To learn more about the Medical Officer occupation, please visit: https://forces.ca/en/career/medical-officer/.

To learn more about how to join the CAF, please visit: https://forces.ca/en/how-to-join/#ht.

For more information on the MOTP, please contact the Health Services Specialist Recruiter assigned to your program:

  • U of M, U of C, U of S, U of A and UBC:
  • Ottawa U, Queen’s U, McMaster, NOSM, U of T and UWO:
  • McGill, U Laval, U Sherbrooke, U Montreal, Dalhousie and MUN: