Medical exam experience (Istanbul, Turkey)

[MrsCastro 3]

Hello all,

I just wanted to share my personal experience with medical exam and hopefully it'll help you. Your medical exam will be customized to you in regards of your personal condition & history - so this may not completely apply to everyone.

Place of choice : Istanbul, American Hospital

When to schedule it : Basically, anytime after the consulate schedules you for an appointment. But it's best to do it about a week before your interview. Mine had 9 days apart.

The choice didn't matter all that much since I would have to travel to either place. I went for Istanbul as it would be less cold & I was more familiar with it

Hotel recommendation : I have stayed Istanbul Suite Home (click this to check it out) a few times without a problem & I stayed at their Osmanbey branch comfortably as a female. It's close to the hospital as well. I was fine walking to it & looking around as I had time to kill. You could also take a taxi. / You can alternatively stay at Taksim,Sisli or Nisantasi it's all up to you.

Documents needed : 2 Photos + Consulate interview appointment print-out + passport + national ID card + money (see cost below)

Medical Walkthrough : Enter through the main entrance and take the elevator up to 2nd floor. Check-up department is to your right. You'll be registered by one of the administrators. She'll ask for your documentation and hand you a 2 page document which you'll fill out with your basic information & disclose the result to the US Consulate's use & let them know who'll be picking up your result.

(For females, it's extremely important to know whether you are pregnant or not before going to medical. You will be asked about it countless times that you might start feeling paranoid about the correct answer. The reason why they ask is that some vaccines are not meant to be done when you are pregnant as they are harmful to your unborn, they can cause anomalies as well.)

1. Chest X-Ray : Take the elevator down to floor -1. Hand the paper to the administrator and you'll be called over. Back up to 2nd floor.

2. Sight test, Bloodwork, Blood pressure, Weight & height stats taken

3. Doctor's office visit.

I was actually very proud to see my (Turkish) doctor studied in Harvard Anyhow, he conducts a quick questionaire about your health history and lifestyle. As far as I remember, I was asked :

a)

- Are you pregnant?

- Do you have a vaccination record? Have you done any vaccines lately? How about the influenza?

- What infectious diseases you've had? - Clear this with your family as you might've had some earlier than you can remember. (In my case, this was chicken pox and I almost got that vaccine )

- Major illnesses? Any surgeries?

- Any prominent health problem in the family?

- Your mental health history - have you ever been suicidal?

- What do you do for a living? (He tried to determine if my work caused any particular danger to my health)

- Do you have any tattoos or body modifications?

b) Doc listened to my chest with a stethoscope, felt my abdomen.

c) He decided I needed the Tetanus & diphtheria, measles & mumps and rubella (MMR-II), influenza vaccines and my nurse did them all.

d) Payment.

Everyone has to pay 307 TL during 2012 Check-up Procedure, if you're reading this later, expect a raise.

MMR-II : 17 TL, TD-Vac : 9 TL, Vaxigrip 9 TL, IM/SC enjeksiyon : 24 TL

Total : 397 TL

Next day after medical :

I was told to pick up my results at 4:30 PM, however I was there from 1 PM onwards. I was handed my results at 3 PM - a lucky coincidence. They give a sealed envelope that you are not permitted to open until you hand it to the consulate. But no worries- because they do assure you about your results. You are also given the original X-ray here - that you don't need to take to the consulate. Lastly, they give you a vaccination card & a copy of DS 3025 for you to keep.

Overall :

Everyone working there were very pleasant to me and I had a very relaxed procedure which exceeded my expectations. I also really appreciated the free breakfast service which I didn't make use of, but I was so happy about it

Good luck!