A Medical Support Officer (MSO) is not clinical and is purely a management role. Therefore if you have an interest in being medical and being hands on with patients then it is probably not the right role for you.

This would also mean that any qualifications that you have would not be relevant from the medical field. If interested in the management side of it then maybe consider going for a nursing officer, that way you are experiencing the best of both.

27 June, 2024 15:16

Thank you for this, very useful. Do you know what the day to day responsibilities/working day of a Nursing Officer looks like? I understand they would still take part in clinical care but what is the sort of management part involved?

27 June, 2024 22:30

The management side would be to ensure all personnel are achieving their goals and standards by ensuring correct training is taking place, regardless on if its clinical or military skills. You would also be ensuring you know where all of the troops that you command are and what it is that they are doing. This would also depend on the unit that you are at and the job role that you are in as some are more management roles than they are clinical even if you can still get the time out to maintain your clinical hours. Its possible to achieve management qualifications through university down this pathway too.

28 June, 2024 09:09

I see, very interesting thank you. Do Nursing Officers commission as PQO's? Or would you commission as a Second Lieutenant?

30 June, 2024 19:02

Nursing officers are classed as PQOs so would only be required to do the 10 week course promoting you straight to the rank of captain.

02 July, 2024 06:29