Review of medical

[Rustbelt 0]

Steve's wife here:

OK. What is the obsession with having medicals/interviews so ridiculously early in the morning? I am so not a morning person . . .

Anyway, here's my review

Drove up to Toronto yesterday and stayed overnight at the Renaissance Hotel (thanks Hotwire! Only $89 with tax + parking of $20 - not bad for downtown). Not the best hotel I've ever stayed at but it was quiet on the 9th floor and only 2km from the doctor's office (though I drove because the weather was horrible today).

Got up in the middle of the night, well alright, it was 5 am, but that IS the middle of the night for me; driving up Front Street by 6:30 a.m.

Location:

Don't remember the cross street, but it's a good half mile past Union and it has a nice big sign that says "145 Front" out front - vertical sign that you can see while driving down the road.

Parking: There is plenty of street parking around providing you get there early. It's metered and the meters will take any Canadian change you've got - $2/hour for a max of 3 hours. Don't put money in until closer to 8am if possible because you could be there quite a while . . .

Detailed review:

Got to the front door by 6:45 a.m. Door was locked. "Dr. Seiden" is not one of the choices in the company directory; it's actually the . . . um . . . Frederick? medical clinic or something like that. Anyway the intercom code is 0001. I could see the lights were on in what I thought was the office, so I dialed the intercom. No answer, but fortunately, just as I was settling down for a 15-20 minute wait a guy came along with a passcard to get into the building & let me in.

It's the first opening/doorway on your left after the entrance way and there's a sign that says "visa medical applicants line up here" or something like that. I was first in, so I lined up

About four more families/individuals came in shortly afterwards and we all stood there feeling slightly foolish until the receptionist came in on the dot of 7. Handed over my interview letter (note - I just printed off the email attachment on a B&W laser printer and that was fine). She took my name and directed me to the waiting room.

Had a bit of a shock as I thought I was first in line and I walked into a room that had 4 familes/groups in it already!!!!! So I settled down for a long wait.

At around 7:30 I was called into an office and the woman there took my money, passport photos, information off my passport and immunization information (more on this later). Then I was directed down the hallway for my X-ray. Had to wait a few minutes in the hallway - there is limited seating there, but the hallways are narrow and the staff seem to spend lots of time running from one room to another: watch your feet/anything you put on the floor.

The x-ray woman was curt, but fine. I had the temerity to shuffle my feet after she'd positioned me JUST SO, so she told me off for that and moved me 2 mm to the right to correct my movement, LOL! Okay, whatever . . .

Then back out into the hallway outside the office for another wait on a different set of chairs outside the office where I paid. Then back into the main waiting room because they needed more space for people who had just finished their x-rays.

By this time it was around 8:30am and I was feeling the lack of sleep (4 hours) and caffeine acutely! I was called in for my blood work (the phlebotomist is pretty good - I get quite a few blood tests done and she was better than average). Then back into the waiting room where I just about got comfortable and it was up again and into the examination room.

Waited for about 10 minutes then the nurse came in and took my blood pressure, pulse & weight. Then after another 10 minutes the coordinator (? - she spent lots of time directing people from room A to room B ) popped in and told me to change into the paper gown. It's pretty cold in there, btw, for just sitting in a flimsy paper gown.

Waited another 10 minutes and then the doctor came in (Dr. Malcolm? I think). Brief interview - major medical history, review of my immunization history and questions about mental health, overuse of alcohol & drug use, and smoking. He grew up in England, so commented that my titers and his were actually very similar and maybe there had been a bum batch of MMR back in the late 60's (I was no longer immune to mumps when I had the titers done, so had the shot done again). Very brief physical exam (basically is your heart beating, are you breathing, any funny lumps in your abdomen; no "are you female" checks).

Last, but not least, after another 10 minutes of waiting around in that paper gown (I was freezing by this time), the nurse came in to to a breast exam. No biggy, ladies - a little more thorough than my doctor does, but nothing unusual.

Couple of comments about what to take:

Immunization records:

I grew up in the UK and my immunization records are long gone. I had titers done for the following:

Measles, mumps, rubella.

Varicella (chickenpox).

Hep. A (my doctor ordered this one - no reason for it, but there it was).

Plus my doctor ordered HIV - no need for this either.

I had the regular TD booster shot, but I didn't have the titer done and didn't have my original series proof for that one.

Also had a flu shot (last year) and MMR redone.

I took a note from my doctor (handwritten) stating what I'd had done, and when, and the titers. This was all just fine, including the TD booster rather than the TDAP shot or proof of original shots or titer (I have one being processed, just in case, but the results weren't back yet).

I explained that the Hep. A positive result was because I'd had a shot for a trip to Kenya a few years back; which was fine despite the lack of proof.

Summary letter from your doctor:

Recommend you take one. It's not necessary but the panel physician really appreciated it and it carries far more weight than my word on my medical history. Doesn't need to be lengthy - mine was just a page outlining major medical history and current treatment (if any). They didn't keep it - I got mine back.

Copy of medical notes from your doctor:

I had planned to take mine but I found a major error in mine, so I just left them at home. I was never asked for them, so no need to take them.

Passport:

This is NOT listed in the documents to take on their website. Anyway, you will need it. So take it.

All in all a non-event and just like the one I had done 12 years ago when I went through the green card process back then (don't ask - long story).

Edited September 28, 2009 by Steve Treible

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Nice review!

I know when I had my medical done (also very early in the morning when they were still being done in Windsor) the doctor's office said they did immigration medicals first thing in the morning before their regular practice patients arrived. Maybe it is the same for Dr. Seidon.

[tysalanna 0]

In Canada, the MMR shot came available in the 70's as part of the immunization program, in the late 60's it was only measles and rubella and if you wanted a shot for mumps, your had to pay for it out of your own pocket. That is what my health nurse told me anyway.