CAF Occupational Standard/MMTP

[AwesomeUser11111]

I'm interested in potentially joining the CAF as a Medical Officer. One of the routes is through the MMTP. One of the requirements is to be at the occupational standard in your trade for one year before applying. Is anyone familiar with trades that have the ability to be able to finish all the courses quickly and shortly? Preferably officer trades.

 

[dangerboy]

Not an answer to your question, but just be aware that MMTP is very competitive and hard to do, there is no guarantee that you will be successful so picking a trade that will be the easiest to get into MMTP might not be the wisest choice. You want to pick a trade that if you don't get selected for you will be happy being in for the duration of your contract.

 

[Blackadder1916]

I'm interested in potentially joining the CAF as a Medical Officer. One of the routes is through the MMTP. One of the requirements is to be at the occupational standard in your trade for one year before applying. Is anyone familiar with trades that have the ability to be able to finish all the courses quickly and shortly? Preferably officer trades.

The number one criteria for MMTP is that the applicant (an already serving member whose "entire" military record will be weighed in comparison to all the other military applicants) will have been unconditionally accepted into an MD program. Applying to med school is completely on the individual, the military has no part in the process. The same hold true for MOTP (civilians already accepted to or in med school). It's probably harder to get into med school than the CAF. It's (or used to be) relatively easy for already licensed doctors, or med students who were in good standing in their program, to join.

 

[sarahsmom]

I'm interested in potentially joining the CAF as a Medical Officer. One of the routes is through the MMTP. One of the requirements is to be at the occupational standard in your trade for one year before applying. Is anyone familiar with trades that have the ability to be able to finish all the courses quickly and shortly? Preferably officer trades.

You can apply to MMTP as an NCM as well. I know a few people that have done it. They have shorter contracts to begin with so that could be a route to explore.

 

[AwesomeUser11111]

The number one criteria for MMTP is that the applicant (an already serving member whose "entire" military record will be weighed in comparison to all the other military applicants) will have been unconditionally accepted into an MD program. Applying to med school is completely on the individual, the military has no part in the process. The same hold true for MOTP (civilians already accepted to or in med school). It's probably harder to get into med school than the CAF. It's (or used to be) relatively easy for already licensed doctors, or med students who were in good standing in their program, to join.

Yes, but doesn't the MMTP put me in a different pool of applicants? Right now if I were to apply to medical school, I would apply in the civilian pool with 5k+ applicants whereas with the MMTP it would be less, correct?

 

[AwesomeUser11111]

Not an answer to your question, but just be aware that MMTP is very competitive and hard to do, there is no guarantee that you will be successful so picking a trade that will be the easiest to get into MMTP might not be the wisest choice. You want to pick a trade that if you don't get selected for you will be happy being in for the duration of your contract.

Do you happen to know how competitive it is? Do you think it would take a while to qualify in logistics or signals officer? Do you know which trades would keep me in the city? And which ones would get me deployed?

 

[PuckChaser]

I really think you need to understand how you're attitude appears right now. Looking for the easy route to a highly competitive program and also an easy route to highly competitive med school applications process doesn't scream "Officer-like Qualities". A lot of folks in the training system, including your subordinates afterwards if you become an officer will resent you for treating their chosen careers as a stepping stone.

If you want to be a doctor, go do that and then join the CAF if you want. There is (or was) a sizeable signing bonus for medical doctors joining the CAF to compensate you for the training you paid for.

 

[AmmoTech90]

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[Navy_Pete]

Yes, but doesn't the MMTP put me in a different pool of applicants? Right now if I were to apply to medical school, I would apply in the civilian pool with 5k+ applicants whereas with the MMTP it would be less, correct?

You apply to the school directly; the CAF doesn't have reserved spots or anything. You can get into a sponsored PG program and get rejected by the school or vice versa, and when you do get in you are still expected to sink or swim on your own merits.

Even the quick trade qualifications though can take 3-4 years and then another year or so to jump through the hoops for an MMTP; in that same time you can do your med school and get your residency done.

Like puckchaser said, if you want to go to med school, do that. You are pretty unlikely to get a chain of command recommendation for the program if you join a trade just to do something else, which is pretty mercenary. I know a few people that did the MMTP or lawyer equivalent, but they had 10-15 years in before they switched over and applied. They will be a lot more competitive that someone that just finished their training and doesn't even have a performance evaluation under their belt yet.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Yes, but doesn't the MMTP put me in a different pool of applicants? Right now if I were to apply to medical school, I would apply in the civilian pool with 5k+ applicants whereas with the MMTP it would be less, correct?

Others have have already answered this somewhat, however I think they may be incorrect about extra spots for MMTPs. But that doesn't mean that your concept of how it works would then be correct.

DND has subsidized additional medical school positions above the provincially funded quotas in recent years (and not so recent - but I'm an old fart so even 'not so recent' is since I retired from the CAF). But that still isn't a guarantee that a MMTP applicant would get a spot or that it would even be filled in a particular year.

Let's take Alberta as an example:

Military Medical Training Program | Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry

www.ualberta.ca

MMTP applicants will identify themselves as applying as part of the MMTP on the Application for Admission and in doing so consent to the sharing of their name and contact information with DND. Once MMTP status is confirmed with DND, MMTP applicants are considered in the Albertan pool, and as such, must only meet the Albertan minimum requirements. Applicants must meet all minimum Albertan requirements and be competitive within the entire pool of applicants to be considered for selection for admission.

I don't know what province/school you would be applying to, but you'll probably find a similar policy everywhere. If you're not competitive for med school when you're a civilian, it's unlikely that you would be competitive as military. Or at least not as you suggest, doing the bare minimum service to become eligible. I'm not a doctor, but over the course of my military career I've known and worked with several, served under a few and count as friends a couple of individuals who became military physicians through MMTP, including at least three who went on to become Surgeon General.

While there isn't a cookie cutter profile of their pre-med school service, they are/were generally highly motivated, intelligent individuals. A lot of them started by going to mil col then spending several years as pilots (jet and helicopter), infantry officers, engineers (construction, electrical, mechanical, computer) or naval officers before applying to med school. At least one I knew started in the ranks, became a pharmacist through UTPM and then a doctor through MMTP. There were others who came through the route of either ROTP (civvy u) or DEO before MMTP but they did the same as all the others, spending years in another military occupation where they were always top performers and if they hadn't gone to med school would have been promoted into senior officer ranks (actually, there were a couple who had been promoted but gave up the extra half stripe to do medicine).

 

[da1root]

Others have have already answered this somewhat, however I think they may be incorrect about extra spots for MMTPs. But that doesn't mean that your concept of how it works would then be correct.

DND has subsidized additional medical school positions above the provincially funded quotas in recent years (and not so recent - but I'm an old fart so even 'not so recent' is since I retired from the CAF). But that still isn't a guarantee that a MMTP applicant would get a spot or that it would even be filled in a particular year.

Let's take Alberta as an example:

Military Medical Training Program | Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry

www.ualberta.ca

I don't know what province/school you would be applying to, but you'll probably find a similar policy everywhere. If you're not competitive for med school when you're a civilian, it's unlikely that you would be competitive as military. Or at least not as you suggest, doing the bare minimum service to become eligible. I'm not a doctor, but over the course of my military career I've known and worked with several, served under a few and count as friends a couple of individuals who became military physicians through MMTP, including at least three who went on to become Surgeon General.

While there isn't a cookie cutter profile of their pre-med school service, they are/were generally highly motivated, intelligent individuals. A lot of them started by going to mil col then spending several years as pilots (jet and helicopter), infantry officers, engineers (construction, electrical, mechanical, computer) or naval officers before applying to med school. At least one I knew started in the ranks, became a pharmacist through UTPM and then a doctor through MMTP. There were others who came through the route of either ROTP (civvy u) or DEO before MMTP but they did the same as all the others, spending years in another military occupation where they were always top performers and if they hadn't gone to med school would have been promoted into senior officer ranks (actually, there were a couple who had been promoted but gave up the extra half stripe to do medicine).

Just to clarify this, there isn't an MMTP pool to do the UGME (undergraduate medical degree) - applying to certain schools as an MMTP applicant they will put you in the "within province" applicants. Many universities have a max amount of out of province students they allow into their programs. So for University of Alberta (I believe NOSM and Western do this as well but it's been a few years since I handled MOTP/MMTP info) they allow you to apply as an "in province" application.

As per previous posts, acceptance into Medical School is the required piece for both MOTP and MMTP. There are no "guaranteed" seats at any Medical School for MOTP/MMTP applicants - you have to get into the school on your own merit. Does CAF service help your application? It could with some schools depending on what occupation you join; however it's not a promise that you'll get in.

Also as per previous posts, if you're using CAF service to help you get into Medical School, pick an occupation that you'll enjoy doing should you not get accepted for Medical School or the MMTP programme.