As pilots, we all value the continued validity of my medical certificates and probably more so when we fly for a living. So it's common to see threads and posts asking for a "pilot friendly" AME. I have fallen into that category just as many of you may have.
However, keep in mind that the FAA medical is truly not a preventive medical exam and will often not catch any major existing or impending health issues. While it is nice to walk out the door in 10 minutes with a Class I medical, don't consider it to be a comprehensive status of good health. There are many things the FAA simply does not require to be checked unless you have issues and many such items can be discovered by a more thorough examination. The FAA medical by far is one of the easiest medical to pass. It's quite the opposite in other countries. They require a lot more testing. Admittedly, in some cases way too much. (China, Japan, Korea, India).

I remember many years ago, we had a foreign student who got all his ratings and went back to his home country only to find that he had a medical anomaly that ended his career, not detected by the standard FAA protocol.

"...that the FAA medical is truly not a preventive medical exam and will often not catch any major existing or impending health issues."

My AME reminds me of this fact during every medical.

Technically speaking the scope and extent of an FAA medical exam is largely determined by Part 67. Some AME's do a little more (i.e. "finger wave" and checking for testicular cancer) but most do not.

Every pilot should also have a regular physical with a non aviation physician and bloodwork panel annually in my honest opinion. Also add annual visit to the dermatologist for skin cancer screening. I've already added years to my life by getting checked for skin cancer. I've had several pre-cancerous moles removed over the past 10 years.

Take good care of yourself!!!

The FAA medical is designed to determine, with a reasonable cost vs. statistical reliability tradeoff, whether you are likely to become significantly incapacitated or impaired over the next 6 months (12 for 2C).

That's it. It's looking out for your health beyond that.

On March 9th, 2016 I got a first class medical AND a call from my oncologist stating I had cancer. Same day. Always do a non-ame physical. Having an FAA medical does you no good if you aren't live to use it.

I question why a FAA physical is needed. Who knows you better, your general practitioner or some person you see every 6 months or a year to check a box?


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Your 6 month "exam" isn't for you. Rather, it is liability insurance for your employer/FAA to mitigate the risk of an catastrophic event. It does nothing more than spread the risk of litigation, among other deep pockets, in the event something happens to you while you are flying.

Trust me, you'd much prefer your FAA medical be with the guy you see every 6 months... not your regular/personal physician.

That's how it's done at the ME3 now and of course all of China. So many fail their medicals there.

I've always had a problem with airlines having their own doctors who give you a FULL ON medical and have no understanding that this is your career you're talking about.

If you feel bad, GO TO YOUR REGULAR DOCTOR!!! I think most are wise enough to not tell the FAA doc "too much info" and the one I go to realises this as well.

His eye exam is, "What line can you read?" I say, "Line 7..." and start reading off the letters albeit much more slowly and carefully these days as I get older. But he then stops me and says, "No, that's not what I said... I said what line can you read".

Vision test complete!

That's the kind of FAA doc you want... one who won't F*ck with your career.

You're all smart enough to know when something major is going on with your own health. THAT is the time to go to your own doctor.

Kinda like church and state.. keep your FAA doc and Personal Physician SEPARATE!

:-)

Kap