The Doctor is in! Ask a Flight Surgeon!

[gtownjake]

What does the Navy Medical Manual say? you need to pass that hurdle first.

Are you referring to the NAMI waiver guide? If so, it says a waiver is recommended for non recurrent incidences, type of stone, etc. I have done all that is requested from the Med Corps Captain so far and I appear to fit under the “waiver recommended” section. I may be answering my own question though the more I talk lol

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Are you referring to the NAMI waiver guide? If so, it says a waiver is recommended for non recurrent incidences, type of stone, etc. I have done all that is requested from the Med Corps Captain so far and I appear to fit under the “waiver recommended” section. I may be answering my own question though the more I talk lol

Are you going USMC or USN, as while both under DON the path is different. If USN you need to be cleared by N3M first by meeting general accession requirements which is in the Navy Medical Manual, then you would need to meet NAMI requirements

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Asking this in more than one thread.

No need to ask / post on multiple threads.

And yes you just answered your own question.

 

[gtownjake]

Are you going USMC or USN, as while both under DON the path is different. If USN you need to be cleared by N3M first by meeting general accession requirements which is in the Navy Medical Manual, then you would need to meet NAMI requirements

USN. I’ve cleared MEPS, so I’m assuming I’m on to the next stage which would be NAMI.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

USN. I’ve cleared MEPS, so I’m assuming I’m on to the next stage which would be NAMI.

no, MEPS just does the physical, MEPS does not medically clear any officer candidates, the info MEPS obtains is sent to N3M for review, they will give you a physically qualified letter based on the Navy Medical Manual, NAMI will review you against NAMI standards when you get to OCS, and those standards of what they will accept can depend if a person is a winged aviator, or if they have not started the pipeline.

The book is officially called Manual of Medical Department.

 

[Husky12345]

A question about the “NAMI Whammy”, which I’ve heard and read about but have yet to find a clear answer on. The question is, when and where would a NAMI Whammy occur for an NROTC graduate? I’m graduating this spring and expecting orders for late summer. I had several waivers I needed to acquire, which were all approved last week—“a waiver of standards is granted for duty involving actual control of aircraft as Student Naval Aviator…” So I’ve been medically approved, but I’m still curious if I have another big medical step to go through when I get to Pensacola?

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

A question about the “NAMI Whammy”, which I’ve heard and read about but have yet to find a clear answer on. The question is, when and where would a NAMI Whammy occur for an NROTC graduate? I’m graduating this spring and expecting orders for late summer. I had several waivers I needed to acquire, which were all approved last week—“a waiver of standards is granted for duty involving actual control of aircraft as Student Naval Aviator…” So I’ve been medically approved, but I’m still curious if I have another big medical step to go through when I get to Pensacola?

It’s my understanding you’ll do a physical exam fall semester senior year but that may have changed.

Talk to your NROTC class advisor or aviation LT if you have one.

 

[Husky12345]

It’s my understanding you’ll do a physical exam fall semester senior year but that may have changed.

Talk to your NROTC class advisor or aviation LT if you have one.

Yeah I’ve already gone through that process and my physical was approved, I’m just wondering what the physical process looks like in Pensacola. Thanks!

 

[Gatordev]

Yeah I’ve already gone through that process and my physical was approved, I’m just wondering what the physical process looks like in Pensacola. Thanks!

You'll have a follow-up physical at NPA before you start/during the initial phase of NIFE. How in depth that physical will be will depend on how much a bur NAMI has up it's ass about you. I got a lot of attention on my eyes (NOT what my waiver was for) because they were "so close to the limit, I couldn't get any worse and be within standards." Spoiler alert, that wasn't true. Others just got a short-form on that same day.

 

[Jt123456]

I'm slated to graduate this summer, in NROTC and have a pilot slot. Went for my initial flight physical, eye doc told me my left eye was only correctable to 20/25 and very small chance LASIK would help. Went ahead and got LASIK anyways, long story short both of my eyes now see 20/15. I have to get another flight physical in May to recheck my eyes. I remember the charts from my initial flight physical being very difficult to see compared with where I went for LASIK and the lighting was dim. My question is, what can be done to ensure my eyes are performing their best prior to my follow-up flight physical? I've read that sleep & hydration are key factors, but any other advice is greatly appreciated. Additionally, are there exercises I can do for my eyes or charts I could be practicing on?

 

[Anthony2000]

I'm slated to graduate this summer, in NROTC and have a pilot slot. Went for my initial flight physical, eye doc told me my left eye was only correctable to 20/25 and very small chance LASIK would help. Went ahead and got LASIK anyways, long story short both of my eyes now see 20/15. I have to get another flight physical in May to recheck my eyes. I remember the charts from my initial flight physical being very difficult to see compared with where I went for LASIK and the lighting was dim. My question is, what can be done to ensure my eyes are performing their best prior to my follow-up flight physical? I've read that sleep & hydration are key factors, but any other advice is greatly appreciated. Additionally, are there exercises I can do for my eyes or charts I could be practicing on?

Take fish oil! Your eyes need the omegas found in fish oil to be properly “lubricated” to see clearly and not be dry! I take Thera tears fish oil for dry eye! You’ll notice it a few days after but your eyes will feel great.

I had PRK, not Lasik and taking fish oil has made a huge difference. Serving size for the ones I linked is 3 pills. I take 2 before bed and 1 in the morning.

Hope that helps, Anthony

TheraTears Eye Nutrition Omega-3 Supplements - 90ct

Read reviews and buy TheraTears Eye Nutrition Omega-3 Supplements - 90ct at Target. Choose from contactless Same Day Delivery, Drive Up and more.

www.target.com

 

[Husky12345]

I'm slated to graduate this summer, in NROTC and have a pilot slot. Went for my initial flight physical, eye doc told me my left eye was only correctable to 20/25 and very small chance LASIK would help. Went ahead and got LASIK anyways, long story short both of my eyes now see 20/15. I have to get another flight physical in May to recheck my eyes. I remember the charts from my initial flight physical being very difficult to see compared with where I went for LASIK and the lighting was dim. My question is, what can be done to ensure my eyes are performing their best prior to my follow-up flight physical? I've read that sleep & hydration are key factors, but any other advice is greatly appreciated. Additionally, are there exercises I can do for my eyes or charts I could be practicing on?

Went through a similar process last fall. First off, make sure you bring everything that your LASIK surgeon has that has your name on it. Literally anything that is related to your procedure, bring it. Also, email the LASIK office and ask them for a letter signed by your surgeon that states when and where you got the surgery, and that the results are great. For some reason, my flight surgeon needed this even though the optometrist said just the appointment notes were fine. Better safe than sorry.
As for your eyes themselves, all they’re looking for is whatever the minimum visual acuity is (I don’t remember exactly, you’ll have to look it up in the waiver reference guide). You should be more than six months past your surgery (if you aren’t, you’ll need to reschedule since you NEED to be at least six months post op to get re-checked), which means your eyes should be fully settled in. Any exercises or other tricks are unnecessary and won’t do anything. Just follow doctor’s orders, don’t slam your eyes into anything sharp, wear sunglasses, you’ll be good to go. If you’re seeing 20/15 now, you’ll be seeing 20/15 in May.

 

[ActionJackson(IS2)]

Question for flight physicals:
I'm 90% finished with my physical the last thing required is vitals and the lab. However, I'm very sensitive to salt so my diastolic BP can get quite high. I've been eating clean and tracking my numbers with a cuff at home. I just want to know what the Go/No-go is for BP in regard to fighters or flying in general if there's a difference, so I know when I'm ready to go in. Thanks!

 

[AFidk]

Question about waiver turnaround.

This is an experiential question rather than a ‘find the reference’ question, and my cadre aren’t sure of what quite to expect.
My class commissions in a little less than a week and I’m waiting to hear about a NAMI waiver approval. I went down for my second long form this on Apr 23-25, and my doc recommended approval and submission to the board on April 25 or 26. My doc (who is an incredible flight doctor and to whom I owe much) knew my situation and said that he would send it up priority and attempt to expedite it. Now my family is coming up to see me graduate and I’m wondering how close I want to call this thing. Does anybody have any experience with turnaround of an expedited waiver? If I submitted it in late April do I have a chance of getting it back before May 12? Thanks for your consideration.

 

[Husky12345]

Question about waiver turnaround.

This is an experiential question rather than a ‘find the reference’ question, and my cadre aren’t sure of what quite to expect.
My class commissions in a little less than a week and I’m waiting to hear about a NAMI waiver approval. I went down for my second long form this on Apr 23-25, and my doc recommended approval and submission to the board on April 25 or 26. My doc (who is an incredible flight doctor and to whom I owe much) knew my situation and said that he would send it up priority and attempt to expedite it. Now my family is coming up to see me graduate and I’m wondering how close I want to call this thing. Does anybody have any experience with turnaround of an expedited waiver? If I submitted it in late April do I have a chance of getting it back before May 12? Thanks for your consideration.

BLUF: you’re definitely not gonna hear back from NAMI by your commissioning date, but you should still participate in the ceremony.

Experientially, last year we had a MIDN commissioning who hadn’t heard back from NAMI about a couple waivers yet. He still participated in the ceremony even though he wasn’t technically commissioned because eh, why not? Technically the commissioning ceremony isn’t an official thing, it’s more performative in nature, except for the oath part. But by the morning of the ceremony, a now-Ensign will have already physically signed their commission and they’re technically commissioned at 00:00 of that date. Basically, your staff should let you participate in the ceremony because it has no actual impact on anything outside of appearances, and it’d be rather lame to not have your family fly out for the big one and then have them fly out later to watch you “actually commission”. I’m commissioning coordinator at my unit and I’d easily let you participate.