Medical Review - O'Connell Street Medical Centre (Dr Aldous)

[FutureMerican 10]

Hi everyone,

I never found much in the way of reviews of the Medical Process for the K1 visa pertaining to Sydney Drs so i thought Id write one.

 

I got my K1 Visa Packet 3 on 26/2/18 so i went about booking in for my medical; There were two Drs in Sydney that do the medicals but when i rang the first one (George St) the Dr was actually on leave until the day my interview was scheduled.

I rang OCNLST to arrange my appointment and was told to email the nurse (nurse@ocnlst.com.au) to arrange this.

 

I received an email back around 30min later which asked me when my interview was scheduled and then once i had replied they sent back that i was tentatively booked in for 19th March 2018, 8 days prior to my interview.

Once i confirmed my appointment (they need around a week between appointment & interview).

I had to email to the nurse more than 5 days prior to the appointment:

copy of passport, Case number, personal details, my address in the USA that i will be living and then send a copy of my GP summary, immunisation records, serology results (if done) and then medication list (if applicable). I also had to answer a few other simple question: 1. have i lived overseas for more than 12 months and where i was born.

 

It also explained that i would to bring on the day - valid passport, 6 AUSTRALIAN passport photos (all identical), large express post envelope and your confirmation letter of interview (i printed out my email which was fine).

 

Fast forward to 18/3/18 - i live in Adelaide so i flew into Sydney on the evening before to make sure i didn't get stuck with cancelled flights etc. I stayed the night at Travelodge Martin Place which was more than adequate for the night i actually caught the train from the airport to Martin Place station which was honestly dead easy and I grabbed an Opal card at the airport station and the attendant there gave me clear instructions on how to get to Martin Place which was awesome.

 

My appointment was at 9.30am but was asked to be there at 9am to see the nurse first. I arrived in Sydney quite late in the end so i checked out of the hotel at about 8am so i could walk down and find the medical centre early and then grabbed coffee and some breakfast which was about a 5-7 minute walk mainly downhill. I arrived at the medical centre at about 8.45am and was told the nurse was actually off sick so the receptionist gave me 2 urine sample pots, took my express post envelope and my photos and i waited to see Dr Aldous. Im not going to lie, i was a little nervous lol. I initially couldn't pee which wasn't a huge issue - i drank about 750mls of water sitting there and eventually managed to go .

I got called into the Dr at around 9.40am and we went through all the paperwork initially - i am a nurse so luckily i have extensive vaccination records and i advise that you get your GP to do all your serologies prior to your appointment especially if you don't have your vaccination records. Its not a big deal to get them done there, you just pay for them whereas your GP will bill them on Medicare.

The actually exam took all of 10 minutes lol - height, weight and BP initially, then i had to do a quick eye test. I then changed into a gown and she felt my neck, abdomen and groin lymph nodes and made me cough to check for hernias.  She then listened to my heart and lungs and i hopped up and  had to walk in a straight line, bend over to touch toes and squat to the floor. I was surprised that i didn't need any pelvic exam and the Dr explained that they no longer require an external genitalia check.

i then changed back into my clothes and we sat down and discussed what was next - bloods for syphilis check and then urine samples for gonorrhoea etc and then my chest x-ray which had a TB checklist that you need to have the radiologist fill in. She then explained that assuming results from bloods, urine and chest x-ray are fine then all is good.

 

The bloods was actually the slowest part. The blood nurse took FOREVER lol and there was probably 4 others waiting as well. I paid for the pathology testing on the spot - $70 and they ONLY take card payments. I then had to walk approx 10 minutes to have my chest x-ray done (uphill lol) (City X-Ray on Macquarie Street) and that was really quick. I walked in and within 5minutes was having my xray done, then i went out and paid $80 and waited around another 5minutes and they returned my checklist and gave me a CD which you need to hang onto to give to Immigration when you arrive at your POE in the US so DON'T LOSE IT

I then walked back to the Medical Centre (much quicker as all downhill lol) and then handed the form to the receptionist (might be nurse if they are there) and paid for my medical $335  and they told me the results of the bloods and urine would be back either this afternoon or morning and then they forward everything in the envelope you gave them to the embassy and then will send a copy of it all to me as well that you also need to give over at the POE in the US and you CANNOT OPEN IT.

 

It was all more straightforward than i expected. I was all done by about 12.30pm and so i grabbed some lunch and then headed back to airport which i have to say was a PITA lol - the trains were actually not working so Uber it was....

 

Hope this helps someone

[Nixando 15]

On 19/03/2018 at 7:56 PM, FutureMerican said:

Hi everyone,

I never found much in the way of reviews of the Medical Process for the K1 visa pertaining to Sydney Drs so i thought Id write one.

 

I got my K1 Visa Packet 3 on 26/2/18 so i went about booking in for my medical; There were two Drs in Sydney that do the medicals but when i rang the first one (George St) the Dr was actually on leave until the day my interview was scheduled.

I rang OCNLST to arrange my appointment and was told to email the nurse (nurse@ocnlst.com.au) to arrange this.

 

I received an email back around 30min later which asked me when my interview was scheduled and then once i had replied they sent back that i was tentatively booked in for 19th March 2018, 8 days prior to my interview.

Once i confirmed my appointment (they need around a week between appointment & interview).

I had to email to the nurse more than 5 days prior to the appointment:

copy of passport, Case number, personal details, my address in the USA that i will be living and then send a copy of my GP summary, immunisation records, serology results (if done) and then medication list (if applicable). I also had to answer a few other simple question: 1. have i lived overseas for more than 12 months and where i was born.

 

It also explained that i would to bring on the day - valid passport, 6 AUSTRALIAN passport photos (all identical), large express post envelope and your confirmation letter of interview (i printed out my email which was fine).

 

Fast forward to 18/3/18 - i live in Adelaide so i flew into Sydney on the evening before to make sure i didn't get stuck with cancelled flights etc. I stayed the night at Travelodge Martin Place which was more than adequate for the night i actually caught the train from the airport to Martin Place station which was honestly dead easy and I grabbed an Opal card at the airport station and the attendant there gave me clear instructions on how to get to Martin Place which was awesome.

 

My appointment was at 9.30am but was asked to be there at 9am to see the nurse first. I arrived in Sydney quite late in the end so i checked out of the hotel at about 8am so i could walk down and find the medical centre early and then grabbed coffee and some breakfast which was about a 5-7 minute walk mainly downhill. I arrived at the medical centre at about 8.45am and was told the nurse was actually off sick so the receptionist gave me 2 urine sample pots, took my express post envelope and my photos and i waited to see Dr Aldous. Im not going to lie, i was a little nervous lol. I initially couldn't pee which wasn't a huge issue - i drank about 750mls of water sitting there and eventually managed to go .

I got called into the Dr at around 9.40am and we went through all the paperwork initially - i am a nurse so luckily i have extensive vaccination records and i advise that you get your GP to do all your serologies prior to your appointment especially if you don't have your vaccination records. Its not a big deal to get them done there, you just pay for them whereas your GP will bill them on Medicare.

The actually exam took all of 10 minutes lol - height, weight and BP initially, then i had to do a quick eye test. I then changed into a gown and she felt my neck, abdomen and groin lymph nodes and made me cough to check for hernias.  She then listened to my heart and lungs and i hopped up and  had to walk in a straight line, bend over to touch toes and squat to the floor. I was surprised that i didn't need any pelvic exam and the Dr explained that they no longer require an external genitalia check.

i then changed back into my clothes and we sat down and discussed what was next - bloods for syphilis check and then urine samples for gonorrhoea etc and then my chest x-ray which had a TB checklist that you need to have the radiologist fill in. She then explained that assuming results from bloods, urine and chest x-ray are fine then all is good.

 

The bloods was actually the slowest part. The blood nurse took FOREVER lol and there was probably 4 others waiting as well. I paid for the pathology testing on the spot - $70 and they ONLY take card payments. I then had to walk approx 10 minutes to have my chest x-ray done (uphill lol) (City X-Ray on Macquarie Street) and that was really quick. I walked in and within 5minutes was having my xray done, then i went out and paid $80 and waited around another 5minutes and they returned my checklist and gave me a CD which you need to hang onto to give to Immigration when you arrive at your POE in the US so DON'T LOSE IT

I then walked back to the Medical Centre (much quicker as all downhill lol) and then handed the form to the receptionist (might be nurse if they are there) and paid for my medical $335  and they told me the results of the bloods and urine would be back either this afternoon or morning and then they forward everything in the envelope you gave them to the embassy and then will send a copy of it all to me as well that you also need to give over at the POE in the US and you CANNOT OPEN IT.

 

It was all more straightforward than i expected. I was all done by about 12.30pm and so i grabbed some lunch and then headed back to airport which i have to say was a PITA lol - the trains were actually not working so Uber it was....

 

Hope this helps someone

Your posts are very helpful and thorough.  Thank you for taking the time!  From another fellow Aussie madly in love with a gorgeous American x 

Edited July 17, 2018 by Nixando
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[FutureMerican 10]

7 hours ago, Nixando said:

Your posts are very helpful and thorough.  Thank you for taking the time!  From another fellow Aussie madly in love with a gorgeous American x 

No worries i read reviews on everything i could so thought it would be helpful

[MinxM 0]

Hello thank you for your review. Can you not do blood and urine test before you go to the medical? Is there anything to make sure you do before the medical? Thank you

[FutureMerican 10]

Hi! No they required me to complete it all in house as they needed to witness that you yourself produced the samples etc. Just drink plenty before you go into the surgery. They give you the urine cup when you check in for the process so you can essentially tell them you need to pee whenever. The blood were taken by the nurse straight after my medical part. The only thing i had to bring with me in terms of bloods was serologies of the vaccinations we couldnt locate records for. As a nurse i had extra vaccinations so i just showed immunity to my Hep B and Chickenpox.

Edited December 5, 2019 by FutureMerican