ugh...getting a training medical form

[tursiops]

You show up at the dive operator to go on the boat and they ask, "Are you certified?" You say yes, and they say, "Prove it." So you show them your OW cert card.
Then they say, "We're going to a deep site. You'll need AOW." You say, I've done a lot of deep dives. They say, "Prove it." You show them your Deep card or AOW card, or logbook.
You say, "Oh yeah, I want to take a class." They say, "Fill out this medical questionnaire." You say, "I'm fine, no problems, heathy as an ox." they say, "Prove it, or no class." You fill out the form with all No's. They look at you, look at your cert card that says you are over 45, look at your 270 pound body, and say, "you need a signature."
Now, maybe you are not over 45, maybe you are not overweight, but....it is not just about YOU. Get over it; it is also about THEM and the other passengers, and the poor instructor who is caught in the middle. Do you not care that your lying about your medical condition also can affect them? Is it so damn hard to get your PCP to sign it? Just likw with your logbook....prove that you are medically fit. We already know we can't believe you; let your PCP convince them.

 

[Doc]

This is a question about the medical industry’s nexus with our litigious society,

Not necessarily a SCUBA ingredient.

Can this be done on-line via Zoom with a sub-continent “doctor”? That’s who signs off on all my imaging scans.

And Viagra scrips.

Must check the Googles.

 

[Litefoot]

High blood pressure flagged my medical form. The PA that did my first physical for OW had no training on risk factors for diving, so I printed off some information from the uhms website that he used to evaluate me. Even though I run in his circle of avid mountain bikers (riding hard an average of 10 hours a week at the time), he also knew that I was well over 60 years old. So he did a very thorough exam, including a blood workup. I was glad he took the eval seriously and didn't rubber-stamp it because it gave me confidence that, at least physically, I would be okay diving a depth.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

I've had students with the reverse situation. The GP won't sign off because they don't know nothing about no ear surgeries. The ENT gladly signed off. Once they found out where he'd retired to....

 

[MidOH]

Technically, if I lie on the form, then theyre off the hook for chumming me.

 

[drrich2]

Do you not care that your lying about your medical condition also can affect them? Is it so damn hard to get your PCP to sign it? Just likw with your logbook....prove that you are medically fit.

Part of what drives these discussions is that many people don't regard getting the PCP to sign the form as proving that. In many cases, they're probably right. What happens in the real world varies widely. Individual situations vary, and what Litefoot described sounds like what you are talking about, but many docs aren't familiar with diving and I suspect a lot of clearances are signed much the way return-to-work excuses are.

 

[mmerriman]

Simple. Be dishonest, don't check the boxes, accept the risk.

Save diving.

while people do this, its not just you accepting the risk - its potentially putting others at risk.

 

[bradlw]

my only beef with it is the form is not asking the surgeon to sign off that I am entirely medically fit for diving... only that there is no issue because of the surgery and that my GERD issue is now 'fixed'.

...it's that the form(s) that are my issue....and others like this for anything non-diving.... are rather complicated and are very non-standard for a doc who is given what, 2 minutes or less, to read understand and sign. Yeah I don't blame the docs a bit.

and no, I aint gonna lie about it even though that would make things oh so much easier. The box says something to the affect of "have you had surgery within the last year?" The only answer is yes. It doesn't matter then, that the surgeon before the surgery and his PA after the surgery both told me there are zero issues with diving after surgery.....

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Technically, if I lie on the form, then theyre off the hook for chumming me.

Maybe. But your family will still sue everyone involved. And the instructor will have to deal with the aftermath of having a student get seriously injured or die. That is devastating and not easy to work through. Some of us never get completely over it.
It's one thing if it's from a previously unknown condition. But to hide something out of pure friggin selfishness? Just because the person wants their way and doesn't give a damn about the people who will be affected? That's ignorant. I haven't been this disgusted by a post for a long time.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Simple. Be dishonest, don't check the boxes, accept the risk.

Save diving.

Disgusting comment.