I understand that waiting for the FAA’s Medical could be a bit stressing, you are on the right track.
Having a positive attitude and working on written exams would be the best use of your time.
Please make sure to check in with ATP Admissions to manage expectations on start dates and let us know if you have further questions. Feel free to give us a call at your convenience so that we may better assist you. ATP Admissions is available M-F 8am-7pm EST and our phone number is 904-595-7950.
Everything seemed to come together this week; finally received my medical copy, and financing went through. Deposit is down and start date is May 20th. Seems like a perfect way to celebrate my birthday haha.
Thanks again everyone for all of the insights and advice. This group has been incredibly helpful!
I can imagine just how excited you are to finally get going. Make sure you prepare accordingly but also take the time to appreciate these last few weeks before hitting the grindstone!
I’m back with a quite frustrating and disappointing update:
The past few months have been spent preparing for my start date on the 20th. Unfortunately on the 11th I received a letter from the FAA stating my medical is no longer current. This stems from an ER visit a few years back. Long story short, I had a form of meningitus (I’m all good now) but in the pursuit of a diagnosis, notes were made of a possible PE from an unclear CT scan. Because of this, the FAA has revoked my medical because of a history of PE and blood thinner medications. I was never diagnosed with PE nor took any medications and have a letter from my primary care doctor stating so.
It’s frustrating as it took the FAA nearly 6 months after I had received my med cert, and a week before I start school to inform me of this. Also annoyed this wasn’t seen by my AME at my initial appointment. I am in my last week of work and won’t have health insurance to cover any future medical costs to clear this. Had I been made aware initially, this could have been taken care of months ago. The past few days have been spent on the phone contacting anyone and everyone to try and figure out how to get this resolved in an efficient manner. I’ve contacted my AME, Primary care Dr., local FAA field office, FAA Great Lakes Medical office and Oklahoma City Med Office, unfortunately every call lands to a voicemail and haven’t received any call backs. My AME is only available 2 days a month, and apparently I can not see a different AME, I have to follow through with my current doc.
My start date has been delayed until this gets resolved, but I do not see this being a quick ordeal. I’m not upset with ATP as I understand and expected the delayed start, but very frustrated with the FAA medical devision (who refuses to answer any calls) and my AME.
On the bright side (trying to be optimistic) this will give me more time to finish up the last few written exams and save up more money if I can find new employment in the interim.
Sorry for the vent session and I hope the next update is a more positive one.
On the plus side, at least you got the FAA to look at your medical. My case has been going on since july of last year, last time I sent them paperwork was over 6 months ago and I’m still waiting on their response. Every time I call to check, its the same “it’s in review”
It sounds like you need to step this up a notch, Highly recommend this company. It will cost you some money, but they are great at handling medical situations:
I recommend speaking with them on the phone, not just email.
I’m sorry to be hearing this, but better and brighter days are coming. I would do what you can to get ahold of your AME and get things scheduled. Like Chris mentioned, I’d recommend into a pilot medical division/company to assist if it’s prolonging.
