FAA 1rst class Medical Wait time (D/A Division)

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JustinBeeber

Filing Flight Plan
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JustinBeeber
Posting this for those in the Drug & Alcohol Division waiting queue. I have been emailing back and forth with someone who works in the D/A Division in OKC. I usually give her an email once a month to see if I can get an updated time estimate on when I should be hearing back from the FAA (my file has been in the physicians queue since August of 2024). Today I reached out asking for an update and received this response:

“…Unfortunately, we (FAA) are going through so many changes lately, there are so many additional moving parts and I have no idea what current wait times are…”

This comes as no shocker, after seeing the news about the workers being let go at the OKC office, but is definitely a gut punch as it seems now the wait times are only going increase.

I’m starting to realize that the OKC office, the regional office, and even the employees that work for the particular division have no idea how long the wait times are. Anyone else who’s file is in the D/A division that has been waiting longer than 200 days for a response from the FAA? Or maybe we could use this thread as a place for people to post how long they have been waiting, and when they get cleared they can update to give others an idea of how long it should take to hear back.
 
To your one question, Everybody is >240 days now. Folks are getting diverted and those who can are leaving the agency. Apparently so far only the ASIs (Av. Flight safety Inspectors) are protected. There may be other groups. Additionally disorienting everyone is there commonly is no place for a remote Medical officer to "return to onsite work". OMB stopped renting office space if the guy wans't going to be there.

How much work can you get done when you're worried about your "next job" or getting a pad in a different city, and childcare while you're away, or "does that federal tower have a physical office I can get into?" (which isn't the "home office" either so what's the point?.....).

The federal workforce has been upended and is getting lost, which may be part of the CEO's plan....
 
bbchien said:
To your one question, Everybody is >240 days now. Folks are getting diverted and those who can are leaving the agency. Apparently so far only the ASIs (Av. Flight safety Inspectors) are protected. There may be other groups. Additionally disorienting everyone is there commonly is no place for a remote Medical officer to "return to onsite work". OMB stopped renting office space if the guy wans't going to be there.

How much work can you get done when you're worried about your "next job" or getting a pad in a different city, and childcare while you're away, or "does that federal tower have a physical office I can get into?" (which isn't the "home office" either so what's the point?.....).

The federal workforce has been upended and is getting lost, which may be part of the CEO's plan....
Click to expand...
240+ days between each FAA correspondence is mind boggling to me, but then again, I myself have worked at companies where layoffs are looming over your head and it is not a healthy work environment to say the least. Welp, looks like I strap in and expect another 2-3 months before I hear back. Thanks for the response Doctor.

Also, I don’t plan on making one right now, but do congressional inquiries actually do anything? If the waiting queue is set in stone, isn’t the only thing you can do is wait?
 
Relevant thread on congressional inquiries (with a response from Dr. Chien):

www.pilotsofamerica.com

Deferred medical

My medical was deferred this June due to a ADD diagnosis. I went through the process of getting a Cog screen evaluation and all of my stuff has been sent in and received by the FAA. I know the FAA is very unorganised and getting cleared can take months so I am contacting a congressman to help...
www.pilotsofamerica.com www.pilotsofamerica.com
 
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