Looks like some of the companys have stricter physicals than just the basic that I have. Grip test? MRI etc…anybody know the details?? I’d hate to get on then get the boot cause I can’t squeze a grip meter hard enough or my BP is too high. Thanks!
Bring any doc notes with you. They are pretty tough physicals but they are able to be passed.
Sent you a PM in response to the message you sent to me. The actual physical was a joke. You have to do 2 drug tests, alchol test, vision test and give blood. When the doctor sees you he makes you push against his arms and squeeze his hands. They never messured my strength, although when he failed me because I take one shot a day, and according to him the coast guard does not allow that, I wanted to use his head as a punching bag:mad:. That is news to me and also the many friends I have who also take insulin and who also work on ships and who also take a complete coast guard physical every year. The coast guard is concerned with my HbA1c and if I have any complications from my diabetes, but they have never told me I could not work because I take one small shot of insulin each day. Never got the MRI, but that is a no brainer, you just lay there and listen to the noises the machine makes.
Well that just sucks, Iam truly sorry.
[QUOTE=Scruffy;74362]Sent you a PM in response to the message you sent to me. The actual physical was a joke. You have to do 2 drug tests, alchol test, vision test and give blood. When the doctor sees you he makes you push against his arms and squeeze his hands. They never messured my strength, although when he failed me because I take one shot a day, and according to him the coast guard does not allow that, I wanted to use his head as a punching bag:mad:. That is news to me and also the many friends I have who also take insulin and who also work on ships and who also take a complete coast guard physical every year. The coast guard is concerned with my HbA1c and if I have any complications from my diabetes, but they have never told me I could not work because I take one small shot of insulin each day. Never got the MRI, but that is a no brainer, you just lay there and listen to the noises the machine makes.[/QUOTE]
There is a new physical the coast guard is starting to imply. I worked for Crowley and they started following it in 2010. There’s several things on it you have to do steps up and down at a certain speed for x amount of mins while wearing a heart monitor and not getting your heart above a certain rate, climb up a latter, carry weights up stairs, grip test, feel touch ( feel difference between warm and hot ) crawl threw an 24" x 24" hole with out touching…bunch of stuff. Eventually it will be required by every company. It sounds a lot like the test your talking about.
That’s only a Crowley company required physical, NOT a USCG physical. No one knows what the new USCG physical will be because it has not been published yet as a final rule. But my guess is that the new USCG physical will be about the same the current US DOT truck driver physical. The US DOT physical does not include any of the things that you describe in the Crowley company physical.
I recently had a foreign “Seafarer’s Physical.” I couldn’t see much difference between that and the USCG physical, except there was no drug test. I asked the doctor about the kinds of things that the American oil patch companies are now requiring in their physicals. He said: "We’d get into so much trouble if we tried to do any of that. We are not allowed to test for anything that is not actually necessary to do the job.
The American company physicals are about just one thing, protecting the company from lawsuits. This is not a problem in the countries that have national health care and where it is very difficult to sue the boss.
Go to page 8 it lists it all right there pretty much what I said in my previous post, ladders, weights, crawl threw 24" restriction. Each company can choose way to implement each thing like 24" box or 24" man hole so on an so on. Crowley didn’t do this before 2010 we were told was because coast guard was enforcing it.
http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/medical/forms/cg719k.pdf
WARNING WARNING WARNING That link above to the NMC just crashed my computer.
REPLY: I don’t know what that link says, I just know what I have seen myself. I just had a USCG physical in June — it did NOT include any of those “new” items (climbing ladders, crawling through holes, stress EKG, etc.) that you describe. The USCG told me that that the new USCG physicals (that are being proposed) will be similar to the “new” US DOT physicals (adopted last year) and will come with a similar two year medical card. I had the US DOT physical in February (it is just slightly more rigorous than the USCG physical), but it did not include any of the things that you describe. I have had company physicals that include: Stress EKG (running on a treadmill with a heart monitor), duck walking, strength testing, blood panels, x-rays, etc., but I did not see any of that on my USCG physical, or on my foreign (STCW compliant) Seafarer’s physical.
As I understand it, the proposed new USCG physical requirements are part of the same rulemaking as the proposed new USCG licensing requirements. It seems like the final rule on that is overdue.
Also, I see licensed guys on the water who cannot climb a ladder. I know one guy (who must be 80) that had trouble renewing his license ( a couple months of delay) because of the physical, but he is now back at it. I have also heard of the USCG putting young health guys through hell over relatively minor conditions. Perhaps, there is a lack of uniformity.
[QUOTE=Black93Fox;74823]Think you might want to do research before posting. Go to page 8 it lists it all right there pretty much what I said in my previous post, ladders, weights, crawl threw 24" hole…
http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/medical/forms/cg719k.pdf[/QUOTE]
Don’t know why your comp crashed but all that is is a link to the USCG physical details and paper work. There was a lot of people that couldn’t pass the test that Crowley had to let go cause they couldn’t be signed off as FFD. It’s not a EKG all it is is a device that monitors heart rate doesn’t give a read out or anything like that. Since you can’t seem to open the link I’ll copy an paste the info for you or you can simply google USCG merchant marine physical an find it. Like I said it my first post USCG is STARTING to implement it Crowley just got on board faster to follow it.
Page 8 of 9 of CG-719K Rev. 01-09
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If the verifying medical practitioner is unable to conduct the practical demonstration, the applicant should be referred to a competent evaluator of physical ability. The Coast Guard recognizes that all medical practitioners may not have the equipment necessary to test all of the tasks as listed. Equivalent alternate testing methodologies may be used. For further information, see enclosure (2) of NVIC 4-08.
If the applicant is unable to perform any of the following functions, the examining practitioner should provide information on the degree or the severity of the applicant’s inability to meet the standards. The results of any practical demonstration or attendant physical evaluation should be recorded in the Section IX.
List of tasks considered necessary for performing ordinary and emergency response shipboard functions:
Shipboard Tasks, function, event or condition:
Related Physical Ability:
The examiner should be satisfied that the applicant:
Routine Movement on slippery, uneven, and unstable surfaces.
Maintain Balance (equilibrium).
Has no disturbance in sense of balance.
Routine access between levels.
Climb up and down vertical ladders and stairways.
Is able, without assistance, to climb up and down vertical ladders and stairways.
Routine movement between spaces and compartments.
Step over high door sills and coamings, and move through restricted accesses.
Is able without assistance, to step over a door sill or coaming of 24 inches (61 centimeters) in height. Able to move through a restricted opening of 24 inches.
Open and close watertight doors, hand cranking systems, open/close valve.
Manipulate mechanical devices using manual and digital dexterity, and strength.
Is able, without assistance, to open and close watertight doors that may weigh up to 55 pounds (25 kilograms). Should be able to move hands/arms to open and close valve wheels in vertical and horizontal directions; rotate wrists to turn handles. Reach above shoulder height.
Handle ship’s stores.
Lift, pull, push, and carry a load.
Is able, without assistance, to lift at least a 40 pound (18.1 kilogram) load off the ground, and to carry, push or pull the same load.
General vessel maintenance.
Crouch (lowering height by bending knees); kneel (placing knees on ground); and stoop (lowering height by bending at the waist). Use hand tools such as spanners, valve wrenches, hammers, screwdrivers, pliers.
Is able, without assistance, to grasp, lift and manipulate various common shipboard tools.
Emergency response procedures, including escape from smoke- filled spaces.
Crawl (the ability to move the body with hands and knees); feel (the ability to handle or touch to examine or determine differences in texture and temperature).
Is able, without assistance, to crouch, keel and crawl, and to distinguish differences in texture and temperature by feel.
Stand a routine watch.
Stand a routine watch.
Is able, without assistance, to intermittently stand on feet for up to four hours with minimal rest periods.
React to visual alarms and instructions, emergency response procedures.
Distinguish an object or shape at a certain distance.
Fulfills the eyesight standards for the merchant mariner credential(s) applied for. See footnote 1 of this table & enclosure (5) of NVIC 4-08.
React to audible alarms and instructions, emergency response procedures.
Hear a specified decibel (dB) sound at a specified frequency.
Fulfills the hearing capacity standards for the merchant mariner credential(s) applied for.
Make verbal reports or call attention to suspicious or emergency conditions.
Describe immediate surroundings and activities, and pronounce words clearly.
Is capable of normal conversation.
Participate in firefighting activities.
Be able to carry and handle fire hoses and fire extinguishers.
Is able, without assistance, to pull an uncharged 1.5 inch diameter, 50’ fire hose with nozzle to full extension, and to lift a charged 1.5 inch diameter fire hose to fire fighting position.
Abandon ship.
Use survival equipment.
Has the agility, strength and range of motion to put on a personal flotation device and exposure suit without assistance from another individual.
Applicant Name: _______________________________________ Date of Birth:____________________________ Previous Edition Obsolete
[QUOTE=Black93Fox;74823]Go to page 8 it lists it all right there pretty much what I said in my previous post, ladders, weights, crawl threw 24" restriction. Each company can choose way to implement each thing like 24" box or 24" man hole so on an so on. Crowley didn’t do this before 2010 we were told was because coast guard was enforcing it.
http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/medical/forms/cg719k.pdf[/QUOTE]
Read the instructions at the bottom of page 7. The tests on page 8 are only required if your BMI is 40 or higher or if your doctor doubts that you can meet the standard.
I don’t know they did it to all of us no matter the BMI or doctor. I’d just be aware of it all I’m saying.
Did you see the part that states: “The Coast Guard recognizes that all medical practitioners may not have the equipment necessary to test all of the tasks as listed. Equivalent alternate testing methodologies may be used.” In other words, since very few doctors would have ladders to climb and 24" holes to crawl through — the doctors may do whatever they think best. Even if they are testing a super fat guy with a BMI over 40.