Bad AME

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

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

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

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

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

"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!

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!

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.

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.

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



And then again you never know!