I had my medical at Dr. Cheema's office today in Vancouver. It was a pretty straight forward procedure and I wanted to share it here, because I know how stressful this entire process can be. Quick note, I live in Alberta currently, so I had to book a flight to Vancouver. Also booked a rental car, which I highly recommend considering how expensive it is to Uber to/from the airport.
My appointment was for 9:30 AM, I arrived around 9:15. I went to the counter and told them I had a 9:30 appointment and they asked me if it was for a medical. I said yes and they asked me to take a seat. A few minutes later I was called up to the counter and they asked for my interview letter, vaccination record and passport. They photocopied all of them and gave them back to me. I was given three sheets of paper to fill out, all of them were essentially the same thing. Name, birthday, address, phone number etc. One was for the office, one for West Coast Imaging and one for Life Labs.
After I filled those out, I was brought back to the counter and they took my photo, so you don't need to bring passport photos to the medical. She then told me that she had booked an appointment for me at Life Labs (about 2 km down the street) for 11:40, and to go to West Coast Imaging before that for my X-ray. She informed me that everything would be sent to the consulate in Montreal electronically, so I didn't need to expect to pick up anything or wait for anything to come in the mail. I paid the fee ($355 for my age, by debit) and I then sat down again for about 10 minutes. I was then called to the back office by a nurse. She took my height and weight and said it was good that I had all my vaccinations up to date, so I wouldn't need any at the appointment.
A few minutes later Dr. Cheema came in and asked me very standard medical questions. Am I taking any medications, do I have any health problems (physical and mental), do I drink/do drugs, have I had any major surgeries done before. He was very friendly and personable. He asked me what I did for work and what I'm planning on doing once I move to the United States. He said he was happy that I'm going somewhere warmer than I live right now. After those questions he checked my heart rate and laid me down on the table. He felt around my hip area before sitting me up and declaring "Ok, there's nothing wrong with you." (Hilarious). The time spent with Dr. Cheema in the room was probably 5 minutes, maybe not even that.
I left Dr. Cheema's office and went to West Coast Imaging. They have parking in the back of the building, but there aren't many spots. Thankfully there was one open when I went down there. The first hour is free, and that's all you'll need. Just enter your license plate # on the machine. West Coast Imaging was very quick. I gave them the piece of paper that I was given/filled out at Dr. Cheema's office and told to take a seat. 10 minutes later my name was called and I was told to take off my shirt and put on a gown that was provided, because I didn't have an undershirt on.
The X-Ray took 30 seconds once it was all set up and then I was free to head to Life Labs, which is essentially directly across the street from West Coast Imaging. I jumped in the car and parked behind Life Labs. There's no meter there or anything that I saw, but you won't need one anyway since it's also quite quick there. My appointment wasn't until 11:40 but I got there at about 11:10 and went upstairs. I told them I had an appointment and gave them the paper that I was given at Dr. Cheema's office. I sat down for a few minutes before I heard my name called and was instructed to go to a certain chair number.
The nurse came by and asked basic questions (name, address etc) to confirm identity and then drew blood from my arm. And that was it! I was out of there before 11:30. The entire process at all three places was very straight forward. Getting ready to fly home for a few weeks before my interview in Montreal on February 8!