Medical (weight issues)

[Peggy 1]

You had to get a medical for AOS. Wonder when they started that.

I dont know if the medical for the K1 is the same as the one for the AOS, I assume it must be?

It wasnt bad! Mainly, the doctor asked me a list of questions, and did a really quick physical exam followed by 6 shots (because my mom couldnt find my vaccination records, and even if she did, they'd be in French and I couldnt be bothered with the translation, you probably wont have as many or any, other who did the K1 from Canada can chip in). The only unpleasant thing was the tuberculosis skin test, stung a bit but it was over in seconds.

So all in all, it was fairly easy, so dont worry too much, next thing you know it'll be over

[Inky 1,111]

You had to get a medical for AOS. Wonder when they started that.

Did you look at the person who posted? they filed INSIDE the USA. Not in Canada so yes you have to have a medical in the USA for direct AOS.... read the persons timeline and see what they were filing before answering.

They don't so medicals at AOS unless you are filing AOS inside the USA or they lost your medical from Canada to the USA.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Wow, a little harsh!!

[Inky 1,111]

Wow, a little harsh!!

Not really, theres been tons of incorrect information given to people because they aren't reading the signature or the visa that is being applied for. Quite a bit of it is happening in the Canada section recently.

People need to carefully read stuff before hand.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Peggy has been around since 2004 and used to be 1 of the valued regulars!! And we wonder why people leave VJ!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Did you look at the person who posted? they filed INSIDE the USA. Not in Canada so yes you have to have a medical in the USA for direct AOS.... read the persons timeline and see what they were filing before answering.

They don't so medicals at AOS unless you are filing AOS inside the USA or they lost your medical from Canada to the USA.

Just to be ENTIRELY correct, they also require medicals for AOS if your medical from your home country has expired (more than a year since the medical at the time of filing).

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Peggy has been around since 2004 and used to be 1 of the valued regulars!! And we wonder why people leave VJ!

Length of time on VJ is irrelevant really because some people join but say nothing. You also said that she used to be one of the #1 advise givers so at least you remember that BUT sometimes people who've been around that long haven't kept up with what the current process is and give incorrect advice.

I wasn't here in 2004 so maybe the site is different from then and they didn't have timelines then, or signatures so Inky's advice would be valid.

I should also mention I DO check timelines (and far too many people haven't filled in their timelines) but I rarely check signatures and in fact have them blocked because people post too much ####### in them making the forums hard to read.

Edited August 20, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony

[Flames9_RN 358]

I have no problem with people correcting others. But people can be polite! And no I'm not a touchy feeling person. I just think others can treat people with respect. But I'm funny that way! We have another thread in the CDn forum wondering many no longer stay and post in the Cdn Forum! Not saying Inky is the problem, Just stating that not a lot of respect adds to people leaving!!

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I've noticed it's a problem, not just in the Canada forum. I wish people would just answer questions and be polite. No need to make others feel dumb for a comment/question.

[Inky 1,111]

Theres also no need to add emotion to posts that is NOT there. Nothing harsh about asking someone a question and then stating the fact that it was not read or looked at properly and asking to look and read things through before posting.

Reading emotion into things that is not there is one of the most common problems on the internet.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

It's a "common problem" on the internet because there's no tone to hear with the words. There's just the words themselves. And sometimes, words can come off harsher or ruder than the person intended. That's why I wish people would just stick with answering questions in a polite, simple way. Saying things like "Did you even read this before you posted?" comes off as judgmental and a bit condescending and doesn't really answer anyone or anything.

But anyway, just my opinion.

Edited August 20, 2011 by Coconuts

[Inky 1,111]

Did you look at the person who posted?

I asked if they looked at the person who posted not " did you even read this before you posted " had i said what you quoted that would of been rude but I didn't say that.

[kdlangfan 1]

So getting back to the topic......

I just had my medical today and I was also super concerned I could fail it because of my weight. I have no idea if I passed or failed....do they tell you right then and there? If they don't say I failed, can I just assume I passed?

From the very beginning of the process, I have been most obsessed/worried about the medical. Not just the weight issue, but also, I have the impression from reading various reviews that the things done in the medical are not consistent, which makes me think it's all totally unnecessary and nothing but a cash grab. Not to mention it's humiliating and invasive. I really do not see why we can't provide our own medical records or get our own doctor to fill in the necessary forms.

But anyway, that's just my rant. Now I'll provide a proper review:

I arrived at the clinic in Toronto at 6:20am. There were no open parking spots on Front St in front of the clinic...I saw two staff members park right in front so that could explain why. I parked beside Starbucks just around the corner. Even though the meters don't ask for money until after 8am, I decided to put in a toonie anyway. I thought, wouldn't it suck if it was 8am and I was almost done but I had to go out to put money in the meter and then someone else got to go in front of me just because I was outside and if I had just waited I would have been done on time anyway. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else but it did pay off for me.......I was out of there at 8:10am, so I was very, very happy I had done that. I was the first person there and the doors weren't open yet. By the time the doors did open at around 6:40am, there were about 10 people there. We all chatted about who was going where. After that, everything seemed so fast that I barely saw any of those people again.

The girl at the counter (who was also the same girl who took my blood later on!) took my letter, wrote my name on a little piece of paper that turned out to be a kind of checklist for the appointment and immediately sent me over to another woman in an office who trimmed one of my passport photos and stuck it on the medical forms. Now that I think about it, I have no idea what she did with my other two photos. She took my fee.....$275.00......and gave me a receipt for it. Then she sent me to the x-ray tech with all the documents.

The x-ray tech was all business and very efficient. She gave me a paper gown and told me to take off my shirt and bra and then positioned me where she wanted me and it was over very quickly. Oh - and there is no changing room. You get changed in the actual room where you do the chest x-ray. There's a curtain she pulled over for me and you have a tiny space to change. When it was over, I didn't bother with the curtain because the space behind the curtain was so small but the x=ray tech had left the room so I still had some privacy.

So far...the whole experience was FAST. I had been inside maybe 15 minutes and already had the x-ray done. Then I was sent over to a seating area to wait for the blood test. By that time there were three other people in front of me so honestly, it doesn't matter if you are first in line or fourth....while I was in chest x-ray, someone else was having their blood done and someone else was having their physical. Soon enough I was having my blood taken and I was kind of taken aback that the girl at the front was the one taking my blood. She didn't look at all professional...she was wearing sneakers and a hoodie and the office is kind of old and not set up well as a medical office. There were no sinks to wash hands, etc. So it kind of freaked me out a bit that she was handling so many people's documents and then was drawing my blood and probably not washing her hands! However, she did a great job. No bruising, no excess bleeding afterwards and it didn't hurt at all...probably the best end result of any blood test I've ever had!

After the blood test I was seated in a doctor's office. It was seriously old fashioned. Small Japanese screen to change behind, a height chart pinned to the wall, an old fashioned looking scale.....a nurse came in after I had been sitting there maybe 15 minutes and took my blood pressure, height and weight and noted them. That just made me laugh. The blood pressure sleeve hasn't even fully inflated before she let the pressure go and then it didn't even fully deflate before she said she was done and she had to spend a few minutes getting all the air out. When she did my height, I was suddenly 3 inches taller than I know I am! My overall impression of her was that she was in a hurry, didn't want to be there and didn't take the exam seriously at all. Then she asked me to sign a consent form that says the normal doctor-patient privilege does not apply and i have no right to the information contained within the report, that it belongs to the US government and is for their sole use.

Then I sat in the doctor's office for a good half hour after that. Then the nurse appeared again and told me to put my gown on and take off all my clothes.. I was like, what gown? She had expected me to keep the gown from the x-ray! But she brought some more paper gowns into the office so this time I put on two,,,one in back and front so I would not feel totally exposed. When the doctor did appear, he asked me a bunch of questions about medications, surgeries, vaccinations, psychiatric disorders, etc. Then he looked in my throat, ears, listened to my heart and lungs and examined my abdomen very quickly. In order to access my body, just ripped the gown. He told me the nurse would come back in and do a breast exam and stay on the table. She came back after about 10mins and don't think what she did could be considered a breast exam. There is no way she could have felt any lumps or bumps and the whole time I was thinking, are you kidding me? Why is this necessary? Even if there was a legitimate reason for doing it, the way it was done would not have given any good insight into my health. Again, I went to take my arms out of the gown for the breast exam and she just ripped it off me! When she was done, she said she needed to take a quick peak under my gown. Humiliation complete.

Finally I was able to leave...in total I was there almost 2 hours. Hoping I do not need to do that again.

[ralyse 31]

But she brought some more paper gowns into the office so this time I put on two,,,one in back and front so I would not feel totally exposed.

Oh man, genius! Hands down, ignoring some one-off issues related to my personal doctor, the tiny-sized gowns were easily the most uncomfortable part of the entire medical. My entire back was exposed, it was so awkward!

[Inky 1,111]

No they don't tell you if you pass or failed, if you fail you get a call saying you have to get a follow up with your PCM or specialist if they found something wrong. If you pass you just go pick up your medical.