C&p Exams 9/23 At Ves Clinic/i Am A Nervous Wreck!

[Navy04]

Good Morning Vets,

Next Tuesday I have my C&Ps at a VES Clinic, atleast that is what they called it. I am such a wreck because as you guys all know, we either draw the Civilians that respect the Military, or the Docs that think that all Vets should suck it up and stop using the Govt for "Free Money". I don't know what to think yet, as I have not had C&Ps with anyone other then the VAs. The guy that called me to make appointment, said that the Doc doing the exam is actually a General PA or NP, and I am not a fan of either as they are usually not experts in any field of Medicine. They also said that they have access to all my VA and Navy Records, but I am going to go ahead and get all my paperwork together this week, just in case. I know that I am always here to support all you guys, but boy after 2 Claims and over 15 C&P Exams already, the exams sure don't get any easier. Thanks for listening to me this morning, and God Bless.

[georgiapapa]

I agree with you about the PAs and NPs. They are ok for handling routine clinical exams but they should not be used for something as important as our C & P exams. Saving money is more important to the VA than whether a veteran receives a thorough and competent C & P exam. You should definitely have your medical records with you because it makes it more difficult for the PA or NP to render an opinion different from the info in your records.

Good luck and give us a follow up post on how the exams were conducted.

[carlie]

Good Morning Vets,

Next Tuesday I have my C&Ps at a VES Clinic, atleast that is what they called it. I am such a wreck because as you guys all know, we either draw the Civilians that respect the Military, or the Docs that think that all Vets should suck it up and stop using the Govt for "Free Money". I don't know what to think yet, as I have not had C&Ps with anyone other then the VAs. The guy that called me to make appointment, said that the Doc doing the exam is actually a General PA or NP, and I am not a fan of either as they are usually not experts in any field of Medicine. They also said that they have access to all my VA and Navy Records, but I am going to go ahead and get all my paperwork together this week, just in case. I know that I am always here to support all you guys, but boy after 2 Claims and over 15 C&P Exams already, the exams sure don't get any easier. Thanks for listening to me this morning, and God Bless.

Personally, I would only take what is pertinent to my C&P issue and limit it

to 25 pages or less of copies. The examiner does not have to accept it but

in most cases they will, just say something like - I brought these to leave with you because

I don't think they are in my records.

[Notorious Kelly]

Hang tough, US VET - hope you get some good ones.

Seems like using an N P for C&Ps would be good grounds for appeal but, since the VA holds all the cards................

We need to keep raising hell to lift the curtain on this evil wizard and change the sham system.

[Navy04]

Thanks for the support guys, and Carlie you are very right. I am only going to take my recent MRIs on the Joints, a copy of my Navy Medical Record that shows that I was treated for these while Active, and the Notes from the Chiro Doc that diagnosed the DDD, DJD and have current whole in Spine. I hope it goes well too, I am not too crazy about any of these exams. I will update when I get back next Tuesday.

[NavyWife]

Good luck!

Hubby had 1 exam with an outside contractor and the guy had NO CLUE what he was doing. And because it was an outside contractor I still have not been able to get a copy of the exam to see what he wrote down.

It really is a crap shoot and I hope you get lucky to get a good medical professional. Personally, I don't think it's too bad to have a nurse practitioner or a physicians assistant- as long as they know what they are doing. Hubby had a different exam with a NP and she was extremely professional, wrote down exactly what he said and spent all the time we wanted talking about his disabilities. So I think it depends more on the person, than on their credentials.

We took a single page, typed, of his history, medications and current symptoms and handed to the examiner. In one case, the examiner accepted it and was happy to have it to refer to. In the 2nd case the examiner refused the paper at the beginning of the exam, but as we were leaving, asked to have a copy of it.

Keep us posted and try not to get too stressed out!

[lotzaspotz]

And make sure you can eyeball your claims file in the room. Otherwise, the examination is flawed. If you don't see it, ask the examiner to confirm that he/she has reviewed it, and I would politely ask where it is physically located.