Bad AME

[Wiz]

OK - so I was all ready to take my PP-ASEL checkride (in part, thanks
to all
the great posts here), and went to register for IACRA. Couldn't do it.
Called the web folks at FAA. Turns out the number on the
medical/student pilot certificate in my physical posession (the one
with my endorsements on it) has a different number than the the medical
form that the FAA has on file.

What happened? After canceling my checkride last Tuesday and talking
to the AME's office several times, including talking with the
unsympathetic-sounding doctor, I have yet to get a straight answer, let
alone a solution. Here's my educated guess: When I did my exam in
February of this year, I had to get some follow-up from my primary
medical doctor due to a medication I was taking. After submitting that
to the AME's office in person, I still never received my certificate.
I called several times over three weeks and didn't get any explanation.
The office assistant repeatedly told me she would call me back when my
certificate was "ready," but she never did. Eventually, I sort of
insisted that I get my certificate, and she told me to come in and pick
it up. I speculate that she lost it, and to appease me, she just
filled out my part of another one, tore it off, and gave it to me, not
caring that it didn't match the medical exam form she sent to the FAA.

When I spoke to the doctor upon first discovering this, he treated it
like an annoyance (hey, he cashed the check already, right?) and didn't
seem to care that I had to cancel my checkride. By contrast, the FAA
was very helpful - gave me a fax number so the doctor could fax a note
straightening it out (which he hasn't done -- last week the doc said
they would call me the next Monday, I called on Monday when they didn't
and the new office assistant said she would check into it and to call
Tuesday, called today (today) and she isn't in...)

I rescheduled my checkride from December 2 to December 20, my next
available date. May not have the opportunity to fly in the meantime,
so that's 18 days of rust building up...

Contact me off list if you are looking for an AME in the Washington, DC
area, and want to know who to avoid. Sorry to sound so critical, but
under the circumstances, I think I'm justified.

Wiz

[Lakeview Bill]

Have you considered reporting him to the state medical association? Dotting
the "I's" and crossing the "T's" is just as much a part of medicine as
sticking a finger up your arse...



"Wiz" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> OK - so I was all ready to take my PP-ASEL checkride (in part, thanks
> to all
> the great posts here), and went to register for IACRA. Couldn't do it.
> Called the web folks at FAA. Turns out the number on the
> medical/student pilot certificate in my physical posession (the one
> with my endorsements on it) has a different number than the the medical
> form that the FAA has on file.
>
> What happened? After canceling my checkride last Tuesday and talking
> to the AME's office several times, including talking with the
> unsympathetic-sounding doctor, I have yet to get a straight answer, let
> alone a solution. Here's my educated guess: When I did my exam in
> February of this year, I had to get some follow-up from my primary
> medical doctor due to a medication I was taking. After submitting that
> to the AME's office in person, I still never received my certificate.
> I called several times over three weeks and didn't get any explanation.
> The office assistant repeatedly told me she would call me back when my
> certificate was "ready," but she never did. Eventually, I sort of
> insisted that I get my certificate, and she told me to come in and pick
> it up. I speculate that she lost it, and to appease me, she just
> filled out my part of another one, tore it off, and gave it to me, not
> caring that it didn't match the medical exam form she sent to the FAA.
>
> When I spoke to the doctor upon first discovering this, he treated it
> like an annoyance (hey, he cashed the check already, right?) and didn't
> seem to care that I had to cancel my checkride. By contrast, the FAA
> was very helpful - gave me a fax number so the doctor could fax a note
> straightening it out (which he hasn't done -- last week the doc said
> they would call me the next Monday, I called on Monday when they didn't
> and the new office assistant said she would check into it and to call
> Tuesday, called today (today) and she isn't in...)
>
> I rescheduled my checkride from December 2 to December 20, my next
> available date. May not have the opportunity to fly in the meantime,
> so that's 18 days of rust building up...
>
> Contact me off list if you are looking for an AME in the Washington, DC
> area, and want to know who to avoid. Sorry to sound so critical, but
> under the circumstances, I think I'm justified.
>
> Wiz
>

[Bob Gardner]

The Regional Office has a medical division with oversight over AMEs. Report
him to them. Seems to me that if you are in the Washington DC area you have
more options on where to file complaints than folks outside the beltway.

Bob Gardner

"Wiz" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> OK - so I was all ready to take my PP-ASEL checkride (in part, thanks
> to all
> the great posts here), and went to register for IACRA. Couldn't do it.
> Called the web folks at FAA. Turns out the number on the
> medical/student pilot certificate in my physical posession (the one
> with my endorsements on it) has a different number than the the medical
> form that the FAA has on file.
>
> What happened? After canceling my checkride last Tuesday and talking
> to the AME's office several times, including talking with the
> unsympathetic-sounding doctor, I have yet to get a straight answer, let
> alone a solution. Here's my educated guess: When I did my exam in
> February of this year, I had to get some follow-up from my primary
> medical doctor due to a medication I was taking. After submitting that
> to the AME's office in person, I still never received my certificate.
> I called several times over three weeks and didn't get any explanation.
> The office assistant repeatedly told me she would call me back when my
> certificate was "ready," but she never did. Eventually, I sort of
> insisted that I get my certificate, and she told me to come in and pick
> it up. I speculate that she lost it, and to appease me, she just
> filled out my part of another one, tore it off, and gave it to me, not
> caring that it didn't match the medical exam form she sent to the FAA.
>
> When I spoke to the doctor upon first discovering this, he treated it
> like an annoyance (hey, he cashed the check already, right?) and didn't
> seem to care that I had to cancel my checkride. By contrast, the FAA
> was very helpful - gave me a fax number so the doctor could fax a note
> straightening it out (which he hasn't done -- last week the doc said
> they would call me the next Monday, I called on Monday when they didn't
> and the new office assistant said she would check into it and to call
> Tuesday, called today (today) and she isn't in...)
>
> I rescheduled my checkride from December 2 to December 20, my next
> available date. May not have the opportunity to fly in the meantime,
> so that's 18 days of rust building up...
>
> Contact me off list if you are looking for an AME in the Washington, DC
> area, and want to know who to avoid. Sorry to sound so critical, but
> under the circumstances, I think I'm justified.
>
> Wiz
>

[NW_PILOT]

Why don't you contact FAA & request a copy of your medical from the FAA?
Have your Instructor copy everything over!

"Wiz" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> OK - so I was all ready to take my PP-ASEL checkride (in part, thanks
> to all
> the great posts here), and went to register for IACRA. Couldn't do it.
> Called the web folks at FAA. Turns out the number on the
> medical/student pilot certificate in my physical posession (the one
> with my endorsements on it) has a different number than the the medical
> form that the FAA has on file.
>
> What happened? After canceling my checkride last Tuesday and talking
> to the AME's office several times, including talking with the
> unsympathetic-sounding doctor, I have yet to get a straight answer, let
> alone a solution. Here's my educated guess: When I did my exam in
> February of this year, I had to get some follow-up from my primary
> medical doctor due to a medication I was taking. After submitting that
> to the AME's office in person, I still never received my certificate.
> I called several times over three weeks and didn't get any explanation.
> The office assistant repeatedly told me she would call me back when my
> certificate was "ready," but she never did. Eventually, I sort of
> insisted that I get my certificate, and she told me to come in and pick
> it up. I speculate that she lost it, and to appease me, she just
> filled out my part of another one, tore it off, and gave it to me, not
> caring that it didn't match the medical exam form she sent to the FAA.
>
> When I spoke to the doctor upon first discovering this, he treated it
> like an annoyance (hey, he cashed the check already, right?) and didn't
> seem to care that I had to cancel my checkride. By contrast, the FAA
> was very helpful - gave me a fax number so the doctor could fax a note
> straightening it out (which he hasn't done -- last week the doc said
> they would call me the next Monday, I called on Monday when they didn't
> and the new office assistant said she would check into it and to call
> Tuesday, called today (today) and she isn't in...)
>
> I rescheduled my checkride from December 2 to December 20, my next
> available date. May not have the opportunity to fly in the meantime,
> so that's 18 days of rust building up...
>
> Contact me off list if you are looking for an AME in the Washington, DC
> area, and want to know who to avoid. Sorry to sound so critical, but
> under the circumstances, I think I'm justified.
>
> Wiz
>

[Wiz]

Interestingly, that's just what I decided to do. I'm calling them now.

[NW_PILOT]

"Wiz" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Interestingly, that's just what I decided to do. I'm calling them now.
>

Much better than ****ing off an doctor and having him deny your next medical
or having his friends deny it. Probably was not the doctors fault they hire
secretaries to do all their paperwork they just sign it. Just don't go back
to that AME!

[Michael Ware]

I really don't think would use this particular AME in the future, if I were
in his shoes. I would report him to anybody I thought would listen.

"NW_PILOT" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Wiz" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > Interestingly, that's just what I decided to do. I'm calling them now.
> >
>
> Much better than ****ing off an doctor and having him deny your next
medical
> or having his friends deny it. Probably was not the doctors fault they
hire
> secretaries to do all their paperwork they just sign it. Just don't go
back
> to that AME!
>
>

[Ron Natalie]

Bob Gardner wrote:
> The Regional Office has a medical division with oversight over AMEs. Report
> him to them. Seems to me that if you are in the Washington DC area you have
> more options on where to file complaints than folks outside the beltway.
>
And what might those be?? I've lived in the DC Area all my life.
The Regional Flight surgeon for this area is on Long Island.

[Ron Natalie]

NW_PILOT wrote:
> "Wiz" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>> Interestingly, that's just what I decided to do. I'm calling them now.
>>
>
> Much better than ****ing off an doctor and having him deny your next medical
> or having his friends deny it. Probably was not the doctors fault they hire
> secretaries to do all their paperwork they just sign it. Just don't go back
> to that AME!
>
>
How is it not the doctor's fault? The doctor is who SIGNS the medical
and attests to the FAA and the public he has done the examination. It's
up to him to oversee any delegation of that duty he does to his staff?

I'd doubt seriously that this clown has any friends among the other
AME's in the area.

[NW_PILOT]

> I'd doubt seriously that this clown has any friends among the other
> AME's in the area.
>


And then again you never know!

[Stubby]

Throw money at the problem: go to a different AME and get checked out
and a certificate issued. There's one in the Boston area that will see
you within a few hours.



Wiz wrote:
> OK - so I was all ready to take my PP-ASEL checkride (in part, thanks
> to all
> the great posts here), and went to register for IACRA. Couldn't do it.
> Called the web folks at FAA. Turns out the number on the
> medical/student pilot certificate in my physical posession (the one
> with my endorsements on it) has a different number than the the medical
> form that the FAA has on file.
>
> What happened? After canceling my checkride last Tuesday and talking
> to the AME's office several times, including talking with the
> unsympathetic-sounding doctor, I have yet to get a straight answer, let
> alone a solution. Here's my educated guess: When I did my exam in
> February of this year, I had to get some follow-up from my primary
> medical doctor due to a medication I was taking. After submitting that
> to the AME's office in person, I still never received my certificate.
> I called several times over three weeks and didn't get any explanation.
> The office assistant repeatedly told me she would call me back when my
> certificate was "ready," but she never did. Eventually, I sort of
> insisted that I get my certificate, and she told me to come in and pick
> it up. I speculate that she lost it, and to appease me, she just
> filled out my part of another one, tore it off, and gave it to me, not
> caring that it didn't match the medical exam form she sent to the FAA.
>
> When I spoke to the doctor upon first discovering this, he treated it
> like an annoyance (hey, he cashed the check already, right?) and didn't
> seem to care that I had to cancel my checkride. By contrast, the FAA
> was very helpful - gave me a fax number so the doctor could fax a note
> straightening it out (which he hasn't done -- last week the doc said
> they would call me the next Monday, I called on Monday when they didn't
> and the new office assistant said she would check into it and to call
> Tuesday, called today (today) and she isn't in...)
>
> I rescheduled my checkride from December 2 to December 20, my next
> available date. May not have the opportunity to fly in the meantime,
> so that's 18 days of rust building up...
>
> Contact me off list if you are looking for an AME in the Washington, DC
> area, and want to know who to avoid. Sorry to sound so critical, but
> under the circumstances, I think I'm justified.
>
> Wiz
>

[Doug]

Welcome to the FAA bureaucracy.

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

NW_PILOT" <NW_PILOT@"(nospammeok) wrote:
>> I'd doubt seriously that this clown has any friends among the other
>> AME's in the area.
>>
>
>
> And then again you never know!


I think it's safe to assume, if I were the AME's best friend and he told me he
got screwed over by one of his patients, that I would promptly forget the name
of the offender. I might remember what happened to my friend but not who did it
to him. Doctors have enough crap to remember as it is without having to worry
about some other doctor's disgruntled patients.

I wouldn't worry about his friends. Remember, these AME's are competitors.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

[Flyingmonk]

Wiz :
>Contact me off list if you are looking for an AME in the Washington, DC area, and want to know who to avoid.

Who's good 'n cheap near DC? I'm in Sterling, VA. Thanks in advance.

[Ron Natalie]

Flyingmonk wrote:
> Wiz :
>> Contact me off list if you are looking for an AME in the Washington, DC area, and want to know who to avoid.
>
> Who's good 'n cheap near DC? I'm in Sterling, VA. Thanks in advance.
>
We have been using RA Comanale in McLean ever since Frank Austin closed
up his office in Sterling. I would avoid Shapiro in Reston (I have my
own horror stories with him). I've seen Sager in Reston as well, but
Margy and I have both have had minor issues with him (but he is OK).

[Ron Natalie]

Ron Natalie wrote:
> Flyingmonk wrote:
>> Wiz :
>>> Contact me off list if you are looking for an AME in the Washington,
>>> DC area, and want to know who to avoid.
>>
>> Who's good 'n cheap near DC? I'm in Sterling, VA. Thanks in advance.
>>
> We have been using RA Comanale in McLean ever since Frank Austin closed
> up his office in Sterling. I would avoid Shapiro in Reston (I have my
> own horror stories with him). I've seen Sager in Reston as well, but
> Margy and I have both have had minor issues with him (but he is OK).
Ack...typo...the name is Dr. R.A. Comunale.

[Wiz]

Ron Natalie wrote:

> How is it not the doctor's fault? The doctor is who SIGNS the medical
> and attests to the FAA and the public he has done the examination. It's
> up to him to oversee any delegation of that duty he does to his staff?

I agree with Ron here, not only because he has an ethical responsibiity
and his office staff's mistakes are his, too, but because he didn't
seem to give a damn when I informed him of it. Granted, my having to
cancel my checkride is a big deal to me and probably no one else, but
my contacting him about this seemed just to be an annoyance to him. He
clearly didn't want to have to follow up on it (and didn't, by the
way...)

Wiz

[Wiz]

Possible solution -- called the FAA again today, and a very helpful
person in Medical Certification Customer Service told me if I faxed the
certificate in my possession to them, with a note of explanation, she
would change the number on my record to match the certificate I have.
Still no contact from the AME's office.

By the way, I neglected to mention that the AME's office also changed a
digit in my social security number. The FAA fixed that for me once
they found my record.

[Wiz]

OK - hopefully the last chapter. AME actually called me today,
admitted the office mistake, and had faxed info to the FAA who just
changed the number to the number of the certificate I was given.
Thanks for the support/suggestions...

[Flyingmonk]

Thanks Ron, got his number?

[Ron Natalie]

Flyingmonk wrote:
> Thanks Ron, got his number?
>
http://www.flightdoctor.com/

[Flyingmonk]

Thank you Ron. You're very prompt. :<)

[Hilton]

A guy called "Wiz" talks about Bad AME... :)

[Wiz]

Uhm... why exactly are you making fun of me for this?

[Hilton]

Wiz wrote:
> Uhm... why exactly are you making fun of me for this?

I'm not - and it wasn't my intention - I just though it was a funny
combination of words. My name is Hilton, sometimes Marriot, and when people
really don't like me, it's Motel 6. :)

Have a great weekend!

Hilton

[Margy]

Wiz wrote:

> Contact me off list if you are looking for an AME in the Washington, DC
> area, and want to know who to avoid. Sorry to sound so critical, but
> under the circumstances, I think I'm justified.
>
> Wiz
>

Next time you need an AME get on the DCPilots.org list and ask around.
There are a few real nightmares and then a few REALLY good ones.

Margy