RTC'83
Contributor
It's going to be a year since I stated diving. Do I have to renew my medical form every year?
Medical
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I just get one signed each year at my annual physical. Then I have it if I need it, for example the occasional liveaboard or last-minute class.. I keep a copy on my phone and on Dropbox.
OP
RTC'83
Contributor
stiebs
Contributor
So your diving cert maintains validity? Nope.
For your own peace of mind? Up to you.
Don't know what a dive medical includes in your part of the world, but if it includes anything above and beyond a normal medical (eg, chest xrays, spirometry) there may be some value getting a medical every 2 or 3 years, at the very least to track your lung performance against a baseline, especially if you're 40+.
For me, I've just been through a condition which prevented me from diving, and to get the all clear again, I needed to do a CT scan, spirometry, mannitol challenge and DLCO (gas transfer test). In the latter three, I had never done them before, so did not have any sort of personal baseline to compare against. I will go back once a year for the next 2-3 to check against my (new) baseline, and after that probably every 2 years.
stiebs
Contributor
Did they say why you "needed" a new one?
They (they shop, not PADI) would've wanted one for their own liability reasons during the course. If you continue diving under their supervision (eg, guided dives) they may want you to maintain a current medical, but I've never heard of such a practice before. And certainly it has nothing to do with PADI.
OP, Australian diving rules are quite different from those in the US. We do not need medicals in general except for classes. A particular shop or diver operator or boat might want one, but that is not an agency requirement. Liability waivers, yes, quite common, but medicals, no. The most common requirement, probably as part of a diver operator's waiver, is for you to certify that you have no known medical problems that would prevent you from diving with them. If they want to know your medical history, tell them they have no right to know, that the info is private. Give them page two of the medical form, the signature page, not the front side with all the invasive questions that they do no need to know. They are NOT making a medical judgement from all those Yes No questions; all they are doing is seeing if you need a doctor's clearance. So just give them the doctor's clearance....the signature on page two. If they object or say "it's a PADI rule" or some other BS, go find another shop.
Duplicate of Tursiop’s post.
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I had my Dr. fill out one a few years ago just in case I actually needed it for a charter boat I may have taken within that year. Haven't done it since, as I know the boats I have patronized don't require it. If I were venturing elsewhere, it would be just as easy to ask in advance if they require it, and then get the form done. I do go for bi-annual checkups anyway and my doc knows I dive. He swims.
I have taken several courses with two different shops--can't recall if I had to do the "yes-no" sheet for each course, or just one that was good for a while (I took 4-5 courses in a 3 month period in FL at one point).
I have taken several courses with two different shops--can't recall if I had to do the "yes-no" sheet for each course, or just one that was good for a while (I took 4-5 courses in a 3 month period in FL at one point).
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