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[piglet]

and ETR my doc is very straight she turned on the computer and looked at our files and wrote what she saw from our last tests ie that everything is hunky dory and that we are healthy, and even insisted on writing that Mr.Piglet's blood sugar is a little high but that he takes medication for it.

[ericthered]

Well, I see...but when I had my medical done my dad, who is a GP, had me do all the tests and x-rays and stuff for the very reason that it was against the rules for him to sign off on a bunch of tests he had not done. But hey, if your doctor can get away with it, less hassle for you, I guess. Unless you need an x-ray stamped by a hospital and then you will have to do the thing anyway.

[The Local Dialect]

With the "certificate" my parents used, their doctor back home didn't actually do any of the tests aside from the blood test, but he didn't claim to either. He just wrote out a nice letter saying they were healthy enough to survive in China and they didn't have any dirty foreign diseases that they were going to contaminate innocent unsuspecting Chinese people with. He also included the results of a blood test. This worked just fine, and this was for a job in Beijing, which tends to be more anal than most places.

[WastedYouth]

Been worrying myself abit.....

Does anyone actually fail the medical in China?

I know I'm in pretty good shape and have none of the nasties (HIV, TB etc)
But I do suffer from "White Coat Syndrome". Basically medicals make me uncomfortable and it causes my blood pressure to go "PING!"

It happened at my medical in the UK earlier this week. So the doc took it again at the end of the inspection and it had come down, not way down, just down. 
Had the same problem with an Army medical years, failed it one year for the same reason, got checked out at the hospital, had an ECG and it was monitored over a period of time and it all came back clear, went back for the army medical a year later and passed it...that was 20 years ago and I haven't dropped dead yet!

But my worry is if I get a crazy BP reading in the China medical, is that curtains for me?
But if the ECG shows no abnormalities can I still be passed fit for work? (I am!)

So I'm basically worried now, that I'll get the Z visa, get on a flight, get to the school and then get refused for the RP!
Or am I just worrying myself about nothing?

I know we're not medical people on here but........

[Just Like Mr Benn]

The only way you'll fail is if you have a serious medical condition, in which case you'd not get a RP, but it might save your life.

I've never heard of anybody failing the medical, and it certainly won't be for anything minor. You can see from the midical forms which are available online what kind of things they're checking for.

On the other hand, no harm in spending the time between now and your medical eating healthily, honing your body to to the peak of fitness and having your 'Donald Trump 2012' tattoo removed.

[The Local Dialect]

I don't think you have anything to worry about. My parents passed their medical and they both have high blood pressure and my dad has diabetes. I know someone who found out he had a heart murmur when he did his medical ekg and they passed him, but wrote it in his little health book. 

I think the only way you're going to fail is if they discover something communicable or immediately life threatening.

[ericthered]

I recently had the medical done in HZ and, as far as I could tell, as long as you don't have an illness that is dangerous for public safety, you are in the clear...I think they are primarily concerned with not letting people in with sypghilis, HIV, AIDS, Tuberculosis, Ebola virus and other such things. Heart murmur, high blood pressure, diabetes, brain tumor, these are all things that might kill you but not anyone else, so a little elevated blood pressure is nothing to worry about. When I got my medical in 2008, my dad pumped me full of vaccinations which later kind of screwed up my blood work and made it seem that I had an elevated liver count, which is usually only seen in alcoholics. The Chinese embassy could not care less, all they looked at was their own form where the doc had signed and stamped in accordance to the law, telling them that I had no vira running about in my system and that I was not crazy...so my advice is, don't worry about the BP thing.

[Paul]

Don't worry.  I discovered that I had high blood pressure when I had my first medical in China. It wasn't an issue for the RP, but it made me take some medicine!

For my last RP I went to the village doctor first to check my blood pressure, just in case.  It was still a little higher than it should be so I switched medicines and it was normal for the medical exam.

It won't be a problem for the visa.

And - what they all said:  the main concern is HIV etc.

[WastedYouth]

Phew!....Thanks guys!

It could have got to be a bit of a vicious circle...you know, the more you worry, more stress, the more the BP goes up.

Its as I hoped....as long as I'm not going to infect the "clean living" populous with something alien and nasty, I should be ok.

But I will use the next few weeks to get as fit as possible and take as many positive steps as I can to minimise the risks.

Thanks again!

[enjoi]

Okay before I rant let me just thank WastedYouth for sharing that blank medical form.

Now, right as I was getting ready to send off everything for my VISA as soon as my invitation letter arrived the lady doing all my paperwork at the school emailed me and said I needed to get this medical form done by my doctor and emailed back to her  WTF!!!!!

So, I faxed the form and a letter to my doctor explaining how it's not an official bill of good health and that I don't need the ECG, x ray or bloodwork done here. And my doctor's assistant said she couldn't sign off on it and that I need to come in and get all the shit done, I'm so fu%*%#* pissed right now. I think the way they're looking at is this form has 2 sections requiring the doctor to check a bunch of boxes stating I don't have any of the said diseases. And she won't sign off on them using my last checkup from 2011 because the wording of the form says something to the effect of "none found in present examination". Am I pretty much SOL and just have to get the bloodwork at the least done? If I end up having to do all this crap can it be done in one day?!?!?

[ericthered]

No, it can't. Blood samples have to be sent to a lab, x-rays need to be taken at a hospital. There is no way, as I see it, that you can do all the tests and have the results in the same day. Your doc is, granted, being a pain but she could lose her license if she gives you the all-clear without an examination...and of course, there is that pesky money thing, you know, the one where money in your bank should be taken out and given to her...it sucks, but there it is...

[bobrage]

My GP just wrote "not required" in all of the boxes which were in any way inconvenient.  His handwriting was illegible and every went through fine. 

[enjoi]

My GP just wrote "not required" in all of the boxes which were in any way inconvenient.  His handwriting was illegible and every went through fine.  

So you're doctor basically didn't check off anything and just signed the 2nd page? Did he write any notes or anything? What did he do for all the boxes saying yes or no for diseases?

[bobrage]

I was a regular blood donor so he noted that as the reason why blood tests were not required.  He conducted a verbal examination for TB.  That consisted of:

DOCTOR: "Do you have TB?"
BOBRAGE: "No."

The second time I had one of those forms filled out, the doctor just ran through the whole form with scribbles and stamped it twice where I asked him.  

They both checked off everything but they wrote "not required" or used common sense in lieu of giving me a chest x-ray for third world ailments.  

The form is ridiculous and means nothing anyway.  Nobody checks it and the only medical which matters is the one you get in China.  I am fairly sure that a doctor could write:

"This man is a horse."

In every box and the Ministry of Labour would still issue a Work Permit.

Naturally, the only way to be certain sure is to run the full battery of tests as they ask.  But you know, I don't like to play by the rules  

[A-Train]

I am fairly sure that a doctor could write:
"This man is a horse."
In every box and the Ministry of Labour would still issue a Work Permit.

Do that and your FAO will make you plow a field.  At donkey-wages.