Review: Medical @ Dr. Seiden's Toronto - Sept 26, 2011

[CanadianWife11 0]

My appointment at Dr. Seiden's was on September 26, 2011 at 7am. I received my interview date for Montreal on September 14th and left a voice mail with Dr. Seiden's office requesting an appointment. The secretary called me back the next day and was very nice on the phone.

Vaccination Records:

Before getting into how the actual appointment went I should mention that several weeks prior to the appointment was quite stressful as I realized that I did not have the necessary records for my vaccinations. I went to my family doctor way back in February 2011 with the list of required vaccinations and she told me that "everything was up-to-date". Although I had had a tetanus booster in 2004 she gave me another one in February 2011 anyways. When I was organizing my records a few weeks ago to make sure that I had everything I checked on Dr. Seiden's website again and noticed that I needed to have proof of my childhood tetanus shots along with boosters every 10 years. Since my pediatrician retired years ago I was unable to get these records. I panicked and went back to my current family doctor and she assured me again that the shots I had were sufficient. I wanted to be sure so I called Dr. Seiden's office again to verify. The secretary asked me how old I am and I told her that I'm 33. She said that I need to show that I've had three tetanus shots or else get a titer test done. Running out of time I went back to my family physician who told me that they don't do titer tests for tetanus. I left her office and went straight to a walk-in clinic to see if they would do the test for me. There I met with another doctor who also told me that they don't do titer tests for tetanus. When I explained why I needed it and showed him the print out from Dr. Seiden's website, he agreed to write a requisition for me and told me that it would take 2-3 weeks to get the results. This is because the blood work needs to go to Public Health in Calgary. **What I have learned from this is that even if your doctor thinks that you have all the required vaccinations, double-check with Dr. Seiden's website and secretary but also leave enough time in advance so you aren't rushing like I was**

I knew at this point that I wouldn't have enough time to wait for the titer test results but I did the test anyways and was hoping that the results would come back in 2 weeks. I then looked online for the Public Health Records phone number to see if they might have my childhood records. After being transferred several times I ended up with the Public Health Unit of Toronto. I spoke with a very nice lady on the phone and she told me that under the North York archives they had my childhood health records. I was ecstatic and drove down to Coxwell to pick up the records in person that same day. Sure enough they had records dating back to when I was just born up until I turned 18. She did tell me on the phone that it's "hit or miss" but I guess I got lucky. So for those of you that don't have your childhood records I recommend calling your Public Health Unit. It has been exactly 3 weeks since I took that titer test and I still haven't received the results yet.

Medical Exam:

I got to Dr. Seiden's office at 6am. The secretary told me on the phone that the office opens at 7am but that she opens the doors at around 6:30am. I was the first in line and about 5 minutes later there were 3 more people after me. We waited outside the office for a few minutes and then the secretary let us file into the waiting area by 6:10am. She asked that each of us get our interview letters ready for her.

The secretary called me into her office first and asked for:

--3 passport photos (I only needed 2 because I am pregnant and did not need to do the x-ray)

--passport

--cash

--immunization records

She asked me to sign a few waivers and then showed me into one of the examining rooms. I waited there for about 20 minutes and then another nurse entered the room and led me to a different room where she took my blood. She gave me a baby needle and it was painless. This nurse led me back into the first examining room.

About 10 minutes later another nurse came in and weighed me and took my height, blood pressure and pulse. She asked me to take off all of my clothes and put on their paper gown. I quickly changed and then waited there in my paper gown for another 15 minutes.

Next, a female doctor and nurse came into the room. The doctor went over my medical history and asked if I had any operations and went through a list of questions (stroke, heart disease etc.). She checked over my immunization records and said I had everything in order. She left and the other nurse continued to check my eyes, reflexes and feet. She also checked my breathing and did a breast exam. She also measured my stomach which I am assuming was because I am pregnant?

After that she said I was free to go and I got changed and was the first out of the office by 7:45am.

Overall everyone was friendly but I would say quite rushed. As long as you have your documents in order it's very easy.

**A note on Parking - I read some previous reviews about parking in a P parking lot on the side street for $5. I drove to this lot but found out that it was closed (probably because I was there at 6am). I read reviews about some people getting their cars towed because they were parking on Front St. during rush hour. This is because there are signs on the North side of Front St prohibiting standing or parking from 7am - 9am. You can however park on the South side of Front St. I parked for free since I was there so early and meter parking does not begin until 8am. So you CAN park on the South side of Front St.

I hope this review helps and I want to thank all of you who have posted reviews. All of the reviews that I have read have helped me tremendously. Good luck to everyone!!

[OBX 51]

Great review!

[Neoalissa 1]

Yeh when we went it was pretty easy. Altho we got lost on the way there. Glad i ran into someone going to the same spot, i some how forgot to write down the address to the building..did mapquest with the postal code..ugh that was a scary moment for me. The secretary was super nice. The xray lady seemed to be having a bad day...apparently I wasnt squished enough against the machine so she pushed me right into it...We were out quicker then I thought we would be. Pretty much what CanadianWife11 said is what happened. Nothing to be scared about unless you dont have your Immunization record in check.

[ryanandjen04 1]

If our vaccinations were not up to date would Dr. seiden's office tell us? I had my medical already and they didn't say anything but I don't think I had record of all of my tetanus shots, also only 1 of my 3 Hep B shots was on my child hood record, but then I had 2 twinrix shots recently but did not receive the 3rd shot because I was pregnant at the time, my doctor felt that the 2 would be sufficient since I received them when I a child as well. On my Vaccination Documentation medical worksheet it has two boxes checked, the Application may be eligible for blanket waiver, and Applicant may be eligible for blanket waiver because vaccination not medically appropriate... I really hope it will be okay!! Has anyone had this and received the waiver??

[pocheros 101]

If our vaccinations were not up to date would Dr. seiden's office tell us? I had my medical already and they didn't say anything but I don't think I had record of all of my tetanus shots, also only 1 of my 3 Hep B shots was on my child hood record, but then I had 2 twinrix shots recently but did not receive the 3rd shot because I was pregnant at the time, my doctor felt that the 2 would be sufficient since I received them when I a child as well. On my Vaccination Documentation medical worksheet it has two boxes checked, the Application may be eligible for blanket waiver, and Applicant may be eligible for blanket waiver because vaccination not medically appropriate... I really hope it will be okay!! Has anyone had this and received the waiver??

You should be fine- they would've said something if you needed another vaccine. They don't necessarily need to see all your tetanus shots because what matters is that you've had one in the last ten years, and many of the vaccines listed e.g. rotavirus are meant only for babies or 65+ year olds, hence most people get the "waiver" checked off because the vaccines are not "medically appropriate."