Medical Screening By Family Doc

[tomahawk6]

Saw this in this week's Army Times. If its already been posted sorry.

Personal docs to screen recruits?

WHAT’S UP: There aren’t enough doctors in Canada’s military, and that’s causing problems when it comes to signing up enlistees for Canadian forces. Consequently, Canadian defense officials are considering a proposal to allow personal doctors to do initial screening of military recruits as a work-around, according to a story in the Toronto Star newspaper. The story quotes Canadian officials thinking out loud about the proposal, which would effectively leave it to a recruit’s personal physician to make the initial medical assessment as to the candidate’s suitability for military service. The proposal comes as a senior military official there, frustrated at the rate at which candidates are recruited, trained and enter the military, laid out ambitious new recruiting goals.

WHAT’S NEXT: Such a proposal could have a significant impact on the attrition rates of Canadian soldiers because the proposal could remove the baseline standard. Although enlistees would be seen by military doctors later in the process, the initial assessments might allow a variety of unqualified or marginally qualified people in the door who later wash out. Meanwhile, the military is offering $225,000 Canadian ($200,000 U.S.) bonuses, free tuition and increasing salaries to medical school students to get them to enroll in the service.

 

[patrick666]

My grandfather told me about that. First time I've seen anything about it. I wonder if this is meant to begin in October with the rest of the changes.

Would they give the physician a check-list or something, or are they now just looking for people in decent-enough health.

 

[fireguy]

My two Cents

The issues with this type of medical screening are numerous and i think would pose a huge risk to the forces (although it would be good news for me). The lack of continuity amongst the physicians would be astounding. One doctor may see a potential recruit and think that the recruit is "good to go" where as the next doctor might think otherwise.

You may also run into problems where a recruit is allowed into the forces by a doctor because the recruit is a "family friend". I know it is hard to believe that doctors could do such a thing but they are human as well.

Or say for instance in my case I am trying to get into the forces however I am borderline H2-H3. My family physician and specialist see no problems, heck I've already worked at Camp Julien in Kabul as part of Force Protection. However it looks like the military may think otherwise and keep me out. So if it were up to my doctor, I'm in... DND ,I'm out. there is where the problem lies.

Besides if they want to speed up the process of recruiting one of the worst things they could do is involve the Canadian medical system. I think we all know what a bureaucratic mess that is.

Cheers
Fireguy

 

[GAP]

I don't think we are talking great numbers here. The civilian doctors are as equally trained if not more so than the military doctors and good health is good health. If it is borderline, or some other issue that requires it, the military doctors will, at that point, check it out. It would speed up the process in general.

 

[Meridian]

Another issue is the huge porportion of individuals who either no longer have or have never had a family or "personal" physician.

It's one thing to get the opinion of a doctor who knows your personal medical history since birth, and another to hit the local clinic, pay the 100$ form-fill out fee, and get pretend you've never had anything wrong with you.

As someone who does have a family physician (although he works in another province and thus does not like accepting Quebec's dime for seeing me), It would help. But I would think some condiitons would be required.  Ie at least a doctor who has seen you for a couple years.

 

[fireguy]

I just don't see it as a good idea

too many variables that cause inconsistencies with the recruiting process. At least right now there are two docs who look at all of the recruits who want to join and they get the final say as to wether you make the grade or not.

Cheers Fireguy

 

[Meridian]

Lets spin this another way:

How well do you think these docs are able to screen when there are only two of them and they see EVERY file coming through.  I recognize that docs see the same things over and over again during the course of their careers,  but what is written down on paper is often much less of the picture than a complete medical history that  a personal physician would know/remember/have record of that a recruit might have completely and honestly forgotten about on the questionnaire.

I suppose the best people to say would be the MOs doing the screening,  but I know when I do the exact same thing day in day out, same problems day in day out, I sure get bored. I can see that boredome leading to mistakes or over-reliance on policy and less on medical training/keeping up with the latest trends/knowledge in medicine.

Maybe not, but I could see it as a risk.

 

[fireguy]

complacency


NO dont say its so!!!

It doesnt happen in the forces does it lol...

 

[tomahawk6]

I agree with most here that this idea may not be the best course of action. I would suggest hiring contract doctors to expand the number of doc's at the test center. These doctors could be retired medical professionals that could work part time - maybe 30 hours a week.

 

[x-grunt]

Doesn't this happen at some level now?

When I went for my medical, I was screened by a tech then given a form with questions and medical testing instructions to take to my family doc and eye doc. Seems like the civvie docs did most of my med workup. I was also told these were standard for my age group.

Some time ago I posted that the process might be streamlined of all the standard questions and testing that's required, for both medical and vision, be required in the initial application and done by a civvie physician right up front. Then the med tech can red flag potential issues for follow up.

If this is what is happening, it's really just rearranging the existing process. Or did I miss something?

 

[xo31@711ret]

From a board i posted in August:
Cut medicals? Notes from doctors?    Well, after 24+ years I've seen  stranger things  happen...I just retired after doing recruit medicals for 4 years at a CFRC. I've had some people (with good initiative on their part) bring a note from their family physician stating something to the effect of " Johnny So&so has been my patient since his birth, I have completed a physical exam and found him too be physically fit, he is an avid swimmer / baseball player (what have you)...He is fit for the Canadian Forces". I do my medical history, ask 'Johnny' has he / is he on any medications right now? Little 'Johnny' says yes, pulls out for example, paxil (an antidepressant) which he has been taking for ++years, salbutomol and beclamethosone for his cold / exercise induced asthma which he has been taking since age 5 (but he is able to play any sport as long as he has a couple of puffs before the big game -  hospitalized only twice, last time being 2 months last winter because of just one bad asthmatic attack  in which he was hospitalized for a couple of days with an oxygen mask for inhaled meds). I've seen epileptics, bi polars, schizophrenics, manic depressives, 'mild' depressives (only when they experience a 'stressful' situation ,of course), one eye, one arm,  legally blind / deaf etc etc etc..Cut medicals at the CFRC & do the medical on BMQ  ? - wast of money, time, manpower, and voids another BMQ slot for a 'fit' individual. The problem lies with our elected  politicians who over the last 20+years have slashed / deroded / derailed / rusted out our(still) fine & well trained military to save a few dollars in the 'near' future or just before an election is called. Now some politician wants to 'fix' a gushing arterial bleed with a bandaid solution. What's the solution? I really don't know. But cutting the medicals / physicals I believe is NOT the answer. We have enough personnel on PAT - personnel awaiting training, we don't need a 'PAW' platoon / company - personnel awaiting (to go) home.
Just my rant & 2 cents.....

When I went for my medical, I was screened by a tech then given a form with questions and medical testing instructions to take to my family doc and eye doc. Seems like the civvie docs did most of my med workup. I was also told these were standard for my age group.

- I too have given many 'forms' to applicants: take for example the applicant who has 2 migraines a month, requires emetrix med, and a dark room for 6 to 8 hours, but his family doctor states he is fit for the military. Yes, a lot of civilian physician are more qualified than are MO's (ie specialities); but A LOT of civilian physicians (for that matter, civilians in general) DO NOT have a clue to what the military does and what is required in the way of fitness both medically and physically (eg a 275 lb 18 year old 5' 6" with a blood pressure of 150/110; and this person is fit??). What these doctors know of the military depends on their age: old John Wayne war movies or 'Platoon' or 'Full Metal Jacket'. I gave a letter to one applicant who sent back the letter a couple of weeks later: i got kind of suspicious when it was written in PENCIL; too neat (LOL) for a doctor; medical terminology completely misspelled; no signature stamp (which could happen, but rarely) and after looking up the doctor and talking to him about his patient, that the guy had misspelled the doctor's name ( a real well thought out plan - mental genius). I 've had a doctors send me  nasty letters / call demanding who I was to say that so & so was unfit even though " I, Dr. I. M. God says he is fit"; even though it IS the Recruiting Medical Officier who makes the FINAL decision; and these are not isolated incidents.

When I went for my medical, I was screened by a tech then given a form with questions and medical testing instructions to take to my family doc and eye doc. Seems like the civvie docs did most of my med workup. I was also told these were standard for my age group.

- define screening? Did you just do a questionnaire or was there a complete full medical?
Did you do a questionnaire, urine test, hearing test, eye test, height & weight, blood pressure? head to toe exam? This is considered a FULL medical exam where we usually find other abnormalities; for example copious scarring from self-inflicted injuries (?might indicate a possible mental disorder?)

Just my rant from an x CFRC med tech

-gerry

 

[x-grunt]

xo31@711ret,
The red is murder on the eyes. Very tough to read. Can you change it to something less harsh?