Vancouver Medical

[spar-kee 0]

I just had my medical exam in Vancouver on the 4th of July. Here's how it went for me:

I arrived at 6 am with only one other woman there with her two kids. The "doctor's office" is located in the far right corner of the room as you come out of the elevator. The nurses started to arrive around 6:10am and other people began to trickle in too. The nurse called us up one at a time to get our medical form to fill in. She did a good job of making sure to call up people in order of how they arrived and everyone there was pretty respectful of the unspoken order. I got my papers filled in first so I got a small piece of paper with the number 1 on it. The doors to the blood clinic were supposed to open at like 6:45 am but they didn't open until 7am or so. People were getting antsy and were waiting right by the door but the numbers we were given earlier held our places so there's no need to be anxious about your place in line. They called us up in groups of 4 and the nurse I had was great about taking my blood. I told her I had never done this before and she talked me through it. She was excellent and was done taking two small vials in less than a minute. I waited for the lady with the kids and we walked back to the first waiting room to wait for our x-rays. The x-ray clinic is right beside the doctor's office and they called up people in groups of 6. Just like others have said, you will be told to strip from the waist up and put on a very stylish gown. Then you wait in line for your x-ray, which is done in like a minute. From there, it's back to the waiting room. I was done everything but the doctor's exam by 7:30 am and was told by the friendly nurse that I could go get a coffee but be back by 8 am for the doctor's exam. I was a little nervous but it all turned out ok. Oh, for the doctor's exam they will ask you to strip to your undies so keep that in mind (if you even care). The doctor was a woman and she was very nice but businesslike. She checked my breathing and all of that, made me touch my toes and walk to the corner to make sure my legs worked properly. The exam took like 5 minutes tops. I got dressed and then went out to be weighed and have my height measured. After that I was free until 1:45 when they would give me my results. Oh, a side note, as I was finishing my exam they were handing out #16 so it pays to be on the early side. My results were not ready until just after 2 because the bloodwork wasn't back yet. I had hoped to get out of there early and beat the traffic but it didn't happen. Oh well. I was given a sealed envelope that goes with me to the interview and I was given an unsealed on for me. I was also given my chest x-ray and was told by the nurse that it didn't need to come to the interview with me but that I had to keep it for 2 years (either rolled or kept flat). All in all, a very painless process. Now, it's on to the interview, which I'm so glad my fiance will be able to attend with me - it'll be great to have him to talk to while we wait.

If you get a chance, go down to the water (at the end of Bute street or even Thurlow). It was so calming to sit in the cool ocean breeze and watch all of the activity going on. Also, there's lots of shopping on Robson street - it crosses Burrard.

Hope this helps

[~Nini~ 2]

Glad that it went well! Good luck on your interview.

[spar-kee 0]

Thanks! I see that you are going to be going just before me. Good luck to you too! I scoped out the consulate when I was down there. It's very non-descript like others have said but there is a small sign facing the street right by the door.

[~Nini~ 2]

Hehe, yeah. I'll let you know how my interview goes. My fiance is going to be there too, which makes me happy.

[Melyssa 0]

The x-ray clinic is right beside the doctor's office and they called up people in groups of 6. Just like others have said, you will be told to strip from the waist up and put on a very stylish gown.

Ha ha! A very stylish gown... I don't know what yours looked like, but ours were very plain! ;>

[spar-kee 0]

too true...very plain - saying they were stylish was just wishful thinking - lol. It's always tricky with those things...the ties and all of that. Luckily there were no mishaps! Phew!