C&p Clinician Certification

[71M10]

Greetings all:

As I was pondering various VA things today (specifically C&P exams) I came accross a directive on C&P clinician certification. It talks about examiners having to take a series of learning modules and pass a test to be certified to conduct C&P exams. It contained a link to the training website (cant go there since I don't have a ID/password). Does anyone on the board know what the content of these training modules are?

I just wonder how blatently the VA informs examiners to discount the veterans complaints or whether the instructions on C&P exams (goal - define what is a valid disability in the eyes of the VA) depart significantly from the normally excepted (and tought) proceedures for conducting an exam with the goal of identifiying what health problems a person has?

I strongly feel (can't prove it) that VA is training examiners to discount, deny or ignore veterans valid health complaints. If this is valid medical training (knowledge) it shouldn't be password protected.

Is the VA using its training site as a rule book that hasn't gone through the normal rule making process?

I had considered a FOIA request but im sure they could make getting this information more expensive than my curiosity warrants.

Any ideas?

Best regards,

Tyler

[john999]

I had a C&P exam recently. I felt and was right that the examiner did not do a full exam. She left out required parts of the exam because they would have required more testing (stress test). She was just a PA, but what right did she feel she had to short change me? Fish rot from the head down, so she must have got the word that it was ok to do this half-ass C&P exam.

[LarryJ]

Remember, these C&P examiners do NOT work for the VA. They "contract", and are paid "per exam", i. e, the more exams they can fit into their 8-hour day, the more money they make.

And, if I'm not mistaken (don't quote me on this) but they are allocated X-number of dollars, regardless of how "comprehensive" or "complicated" the exam SHOULD be. In other words, they get, for an example, $50 to do a lumbar spine exam, regardless of how many tests SHOULD be done or regardless of how complicated the exam SHOULD be. X-number of $$$, regardless. Yup, you can fit quite a few exams into your day, if you really cut the corners.

[PE1]

Can we tell them that the exam is not over yet? That you haven't done this or that, or that you haven't adress this complaint or that? Is there a patient advocate we can aproach that day? How about telling them before they make the appointment that you are going to need more than 20 minutes? Does the examiner hand write the findings or types them? Or do they click buttons on a screen like on active duty? Right now, on active duty, the examiners use an electronic exam sheet, except for the actual Physical Exam (retiring, separation....). For sick call it's now an electronic record. The electronic record is very fast if the examiners knows how to use it. But if they have to hand write it..... it will look like chicken scratches..... and then they write abreviations instead of spelling it out.

[john999]

By the time you get to the exam if you argue with the doctor you get whacked. I know because it happened to me.

[LarryJ]

I would NOT advocate attempting to tell them how or for how long to examine you.

If you, after the examination, feel that you were treated poorly or that you feel the exam was inadequate, then I'd go to the Patient Advocate's office. Every VA Medical Center has a Patient Advocate.

Or, better still, wait a couple weeks for your exam to show up in your VAMC medical records, then go to the Medical Records office and request a copy of your C&P. They will have you sign a form (request for medical records) and then will, most likely, simply print out the C&P and hand you your copy.

Sit down and read it, before you leave the VAMC, thereby allowing you to seek out the Patient Advocate, IF needed.

Been there, woulda done it as stated above, instead of getting all PO'd at the examiner and going to the Patient Advocate BEFORE I saw my exam results. I thought the examiner had shortchanged me.

Instead, I got the best C&P that I could have hoped for, complete with current diagnosis, continuity of treatment proof, nexus....service connection, after almost 30 years.

I sure felt like a schmuck!