Medical Fitness

The Scholar Ship (TSS) sent me the medical fitness forms that need to be filled in and submitted before I can work aboard TSS. There was a permission sheet, Form A (3 pages) and Form B (3 pages). Fortunately I have no need of Form C, which is for any woman who knows or thinks she is pregnant! I knew that getting the medical exams accomplished and the forms filled out would not be a quick in-and-out experience and I worried about it for a week before I had a chance to get started on it.

Part of my apprehension centered around the fact that there are few private practice doctors in Al Ain; most are affliliated with clinics or hospitals. Since I've been here, I have used one in a newish hospital here. She is an ob/gyn who handles my yearly "checkup" and so I tend to also go to her for whatever. But the forms covered so much territory I feared it would take hours and seeing more than one doctor, so I arranged to use comp time, leave work at 8 AM and spend the whole morning, if necessary, being "examined." Four hours later I arrived back at work, somewhat worse for the wear.

I ended up seeing three doctors because each specialist was reluctant to address an issue not in his/her field. I still have to see one more for one item no one else wanted to touch. I have slight hearing loss in my left ear, so rather than writing that info on the form, they want me to go to a specialist for a check. No problem. I have to go back on Monday morning so the results of the required tests and blood work can be recorded so I'll go see the specialist then.

One thing that makes this process very smooth, if lengthy, is that one can just go from office to office within the hospital without an appointment and usually with no or little waiting. I have to say, though, that as I was successively told I'd need to see yet another doctor, my blood pressure rose. I know this because each one took a BP reading. It rose two points from the first to the third. Fortunately my blood pressure is in the normal range so it wasn't a matter of concern. The whole thing cost me 100 Dh ($27.17) because my health insurance covered the rest. Fortunately!

Finally, I was told that I needed to go to a government clinic to get the required immunizations, typhoid; Hepatitis A and B; MMR; diptheria; and tetanus; with yellow fever recommended. After getting directions to this place (there are no street addressses here), I drove around in the general area for several minutes before identifying the building. Except for the downtown area, buildings are not on the street but are behind an area of planted trees, shrubs and flowers and beyond a parking area. It was a large 2-floor white building with a guard station and gate at the entrance. I guess both the station and gate are for use in the evening because I walked right through, crossed a small courtyard, went up the steps, under a portico and into the building.

The spacious, well-lit entrance area was packed with males, milling about, sitting, talking, hunkered down, etc., with a few females accompanied by either one or more children or an adult male. I went to the information desk and saw a directory on the wall showing that there was an entire department for International Vaccinations. The receptionist (male) told me go to to Room 5 and pointed in the direction I should go. I went through the designated double doorway and started down a hallway with open doors on both sides, each having a sign at the top showing a huge number. I saw 1, 2, 4, 18 (yes, 18), 7, etc., but no 5. In the hallway were numerous Southeast Asian males in their traditional "pajama" style clothes of matching long shirt and baggy pants. A few white coated employees were standing in some of the doorways.

Everyone was looking at me, probably because I was the only female and the only Westerner. I held up my right hand with open palm and fingers spread and said, "Five." Everyone immediately knew I was looking for Room 5 and all graciously smiled and gestured to go to the end of the hall and then make a right turn. I did and there to my left was a room with a large 5 on its sign. I knocked on the open doorway and a white coated woman wearing a white shayla (traditional Muslim head covering) came out to serve me.

I had to pay 20 Dh for each of 5 injections including yellow fever (two were combined and I didn't need Hepatatis B because I had the series of three in Peace Corps in 1996 and it's good for a lifetime). I had to pay first, so I was escorted by a male employee all the way back the way I had come and then past the reception desk to the pay area, which was much like that in hospitals I've seen in the US, with divided cubicles for privacy. With receipt in hand, I returned to Room 5 and received the injections, with a crowd of males gathered around the doorway. Fortunately they were told to close the door before I went under the needles. The whole thing, from parking the car to backing out of the parking space took half an hour. Not bad.

Remaining, then, are getting the results of tests and blood work recorded and seeing the doctor about my hearing on Monday morning. Once everything is done, I'll need to get the original documents to TSS's headquarters in Baltimore. And, of course, to hope that nothing on the forms or the results will cause them to say I cannot work on TSS!