Looks like I may need a new AME next time...

The AME I used for my first US medical was struck off for malpractice/incompetence. After being used to British and New Zealand medicals which take about an hour and are extremely thorough, I could not believe how easy it was to get a medical in the US. I walked into ths guy's office and after ten minutes walked out with my medical (and five of those were waiting, talking to his very pretty receptionist). Two years later I went to go back and found that he was not able to do medicals anymore.
I honestly don't know which I prefer. A pencil whipped medical - nice but not a lot of confidence - or a thorough medical so I KNOW that I am in good shape.
Stephen.
 
Ouch! What I can't believe is that there are three stories like this among us. Hm.

Judy
 
Bonanza said:
The AME I used for my first US medical was struck off for malpractice/incompetence. After being used to British and New Zealand medicals which take about an hour and are extremely thorough, I could not believe how easy it was to get a medical in the US. I walked into ths guy's office and after ten minutes walked out with my medical (and five of those were waiting, talking to his very pretty receptionist). Two years later I went to go back and found that he was not able to do medicals anymore.
I honestly don't know which I prefer. A pencil whipped medical - nice but not a lot of confidence - or a thorough medical so I KNOW that I am in good shape.
Stephen.
Click to expand...


Maybe it's just me but to me a medical for flying is a different animal from the annual physicals I get from my internist and my gynecologist. The AME has a list of criteria s/he must be satisfied that you meet. However long it takes or does not take for that person to make the determination is, I suppose, an individual thing. I go to my AME with information in hand regarding anything that might raise questions in his mind. He and his nurse determine that I can walk, talk, see, hear, respond, and appropriately do whatever else it is he needs to evaluate.

I am sad to see there are AMEs with lower standards.

I am not an AME, a physician, didn't stay in a Holiday Inn (it was a Marriott), and make no claim to know any more about what I am talking about than what you read above :)
 
Carol said:
I am sad to see there are AMEs with lower standards.
Click to expand...
Sadly, the weakest link in the entire system is the AME. The average AME does six to ten physicals for FAA per year. It's like flying 4 hours a quarter. It just doesn't cut it.
 
bbchien said:
Sadly, the weakest link in the entire system is the AME. The average AME does six to ten physicals for FAA per year. It's like flying 4 hours a quarter. It just doesn't cut it.
Click to expand...

Really! Wow, my AME in Tucson must have been unusual, because he was swamped with pilots. His examinations of me were sometimes seemingly cursory, but he also knew me for several years (and several years of 2nd class, so he saw me every year), and I was always upfront on my applications about doc visits, etc. As short as they were, I thought his exams were pretty thorough.

Judy
 
Bonanza said:
I honestly don't know which I prefer. A pencil whipped medical - nice but not a lot of confidence - or a thorough medical so I KNOW that I am in good shape.
Stephen.
Click to expand...

Since when was a FAA medical to determine that I'm in GOOD shape? That physical should say "Yep, he can see and hear and probably won't suddenly drop dead while flying in the next 6 months, year, 2or3 years." That's about it. Far from "Being in shape" Besides, as the rule stated, "Round is a shape".:rolleyes:
 
Henning said:
Since when was a FAA medical to determine that I'm in GOOD shape? That physical should say "Yep, he can see and hear and probably won't suddenly drop dead while flying in the next 6 months, year, 2or3 years." That's about it. Far from "Being in shape" Besides, as the rule stated, "Round is a shape".:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
For the money I pay for a medical I want some value. Yes, I want to pass and keep flying, but I also want to know if anything is beginning to go wrong that might affect this in one or two years to come. The kind of medicals that we get in the UK or in New Zealand, we come away from feeling that at least someone who is more knowledgeable than we are has assessed our physical state and made some sort of assessment that we are not going to be a danger to ourselves or the general public for a while at least. My experience of a class 3 US medical is that it is a total waste of time and money and I resent having to pay for something that is of virtually zero value and is purely an administrative exercise to keep the beurocrats happy. Either have a medical exam that is reasonable or dispense with it altogether.
Stephen.
 
My first AME was really good but some distance form the house, the last one I decided to pick one of the 3 local guys. WOW ! What a big mistake that was, he was a real jerk about most everything and after he killed my medical it took almost a year and thousands of dollars for additional testing to prove, what I had told him, to the FAA just to get it back. He is one of those never again guys. I have another one in mind whom I have heard good things about. I am trying him next.

Just something about the AME trying to kill your medical, goes against the idea that its supposed to be a good thing!

John
 
bbchien said:
Sadly, the weakest link in the entire system is the AME. The average AME does six to ten physicals for FAA per year. It's like flying 4 hours a quarter. It just doesn't cut it.
Click to expand...

My AME used to be a eye surgeon with I first started going to him. Now he is a full time AME. He does a good job as far as I can tell. Some here seem to believe that the Medical we do is a general physical. I don't look at it that way. The AME is checking area's that concern if we can continue to fly. Most of us have a general practice doctor who checks our overall health. I do agree that if someone fails a Medical from an AME it is crazy what you have to go through to correct it with the FAA. My dad had that problem and it took a Senator to get the FAA to pull there head out.
 
sere said:
My AME used to be a eye surgeon with I first started going to him. Now he is a full time AME.
Click to expand...

I'll bet we use the same AME. That would explain the short rant I heard him start in on when another patient asked him what he thought of Optometrists. I didn't realize at the time that he was an Ophthalmologist. NOW I understand. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top