Well, I have almost completed all of my necessary appointments for my medical clearance. Needless to say, most of the doctors with whom I met were completely and helplessly confused about what I needed. Despite the efforts of the Peace Corps to provide copious amounts of paperwork and instructions, many of the people filling out the forms ended up asking me tons of questions about what I needed. Word for the wise; read the entire form (even the really boring and tiny-print parts) before your appointment.
The psych evaluation was the first on my list. Not everyone needs to complete this evaluation, but because I had seen a psychologist when my parents got divorced, I needed to go back to the same person for an evaluation. That went fairly well, although my appointment was moved around a couple of times because the office assistants didn't know what type of appointment was best.
Next came a dentists appointment. This one went swimmingly since my dentist and dental hygienist are the parents of my best friend from high school. I highly recommend using family doctors for this process whenever possible.
The optical appointment went similarly to the dentists appointment, but if you have glasses it's best to bring them with you. You will need them for frame measurements, though if they have fitted you for glasses before they will probably be able to get the measurements from your history.
My general physical was the most frustrating part of my application process thus far. Do not just take whatever appointment you are given, especially if you are a student using your school facilities. When I scheduled my physical I explained to the individual scheduling it that I needed more than just an annual since this was for Peace Corps clearance, and I would need additional lab work (this is where reading all the instructions comes in). Despite my efforts they scheduled me for an annual examination with a nurse practitioner. I cannot stress enough; this appointment needs to be made with an M.D. in general medicine! The office assistant the day of my appointment was not at all helpful, but I had a medical assistant that was absolutely wonderful. She re-booked my appointment properly two days after my original appointment (for which I originally waited a month and a half). The only other thing I would suggest is making sure that you bring your vaccination history with you to this appointment, and let them know that you will need a TB test since some places will make you schedule a separate appointment for this instead of just rolling it all up with the lab work.
At this point, this seems to be dragging on forever. I can see why only a third of applicants are placed, especially if the other two thirds includes the people who just give up on the seemingly endless paperwork. Fortunately, I'm no less excited to serve than when I wrote my first essay. Best of luck to all those who are applying!
The psych evaluation was the first on my list. Not everyone needs to complete this evaluation, but because I had seen a psychologist when my parents got divorced, I needed to go back to the same person for an evaluation. That went fairly well, although my appointment was moved around a couple of times because the office assistants didn't know what type of appointment was best.
Next came a dentists appointment. This one went swimmingly since my dentist and dental hygienist are the parents of my best friend from high school. I highly recommend using family doctors for this process whenever possible.
The optical appointment went similarly to the dentists appointment, but if you have glasses it's best to bring them with you. You will need them for frame measurements, though if they have fitted you for glasses before they will probably be able to get the measurements from your history.
My general physical was the most frustrating part of my application process thus far. Do not just take whatever appointment you are given, especially if you are a student using your school facilities. When I scheduled my physical I explained to the individual scheduling it that I needed more than just an annual since this was for Peace Corps clearance, and I would need additional lab work (this is where reading all the instructions comes in). Despite my efforts they scheduled me for an annual examination with a nurse practitioner. I cannot stress enough; this appointment needs to be made with an M.D. in general medicine! The office assistant the day of my appointment was not at all helpful, but I had a medical assistant that was absolutely wonderful. She re-booked my appointment properly two days after my original appointment (for which I originally waited a month and a half). The only other thing I would suggest is making sure that you bring your vaccination history with you to this appointment, and let them know that you will need a TB test since some places will make you schedule a separate appointment for this instead of just rolling it all up with the lab work.
At this point, this seems to be dragging on forever. I can see why only a third of applicants are placed, especially if the other two thirds includes the people who just give up on the seemingly endless paperwork. Fortunately, I'm no less excited to serve than when I wrote my first essay. Best of luck to all those who are applying!
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