Yes/No requirement for Med form

[uncfnp]

Well I'm going to be getting certified within a year for sure and this is a question for after being in a class and passing it. I'll be within that time frame for the class where I'll have an instructor.

My concern is when I go to the Caribbean in 2-3 years after and dive through a company, and they have me fill out that form and I put YES for having asthma. Can I show my old form or in that case will I need another one that is within a year of being signed?

I guess it will depend on the company (dive op?) but if you are talking about recreational pleasure diving and not a class...I have never been required to present a medical form for any dives outside of class including Aruba, Bonaire, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, mainland Mexico...

 

[purbeast]

I guess it will depend on the company (dive op?) but if you are talking about recreational pleasure diving and not a class...I have never been required to present a medical form for any dives outside of class including Aruba, Bonaire, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, mainland Mexico...

Oh okay.

This may be my noobness since I have never dove being certified, but I had just assumed that every time you dive, you have to fill out that form that if you answer YES to anything you need a medical waiver. If that is not the case, then that is where my lack of knowledge has been confusing me.

 

[uncfnp]

Oh okay.

This may be my noobness since I have never dove being certified, but I had just assumed that every time you dive, you have to fill out that form that if you answer YES to anything you need a medical waiver. If that is not the case, then that is where my lack of knowledge has been confusing me.

Nope. While there are a few locales, I know of at least one area that requires one due to the logistics of getting emergency care and a few governments, Australia and now apparantly Egypt, that require medical forms. But in the vast majority of places, including the Caribbean, no medical form is required just to dive. But the dive agencies/instructors do.

 

[tursiops]

Well I'm going to be getting certified within a year for sure and this is a question for after being in a class and passing it. I'll be within that time frame for the class where I'll have an instructor.

My concern is when I go to the Caribbean in 2-3 years after and dive through a company, and they have me fill out that form and I put YES for having asthma. Can I show my old form or in that case will I need another one that is within a year of being signed?

How many times do you need to be told the form is only good for a year?

 

[tursiops]

But dive agencies/instructors do.

For instruction, not for just diving.

 

[tursiops]

I definitely did not misunderstand him, as I asked him about it just to clarify. And he's been doing 10 trips a year to GC with his class for 20 years so I don't think he's making anything up about it.

You may want to do your own check with whatever place you are going in the Caymans. What you are describing is most unusual.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I've had to fill out medical form checklist for liveaboard trips.

 

[tursiops]

I've had to fill out medical form checklist for liveaboard trips.

Yeah the most common form used simply asks if you have any medical conditions that they should be aware of, but not with a specific list nor requiring a doctor's signature if you answered NO.
I'm old enough that sometimes I need (on a liveaboard) to provide a doctor's signature, and no nedical questions were even asked!

 

[chillyinCanada]

Liveaboards that I've been on, where I can recall the forms, they had quite a list of things needing to be checked yes or no. I do not recall whether or not there was going to be a requirement for a doctor's note.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I will amend to say that the form I've filled out for Explorer Ventures trips has one multi-question asking you to confirm you are fit to dive and are taking no prescriptions counter-indicative and ask you to confirm by reviewing the RTSC. If you would be unable to answer No to all of those questions, then they want you to submit the doctors note.
To my mind, this is equal to ticking off the items on the form, yes or no.