After the Exam

[sealion]

Hi RetNvy,

My son's actual exam was very brief (about five minutes or so with the doctor and a few minutes with a nurse.) The office where he was assigned was jam packed that day.

I read in "Absolutely American" that DoDMERB reviewers spend 40 hours on each medical file. That figure sounds staggering. That's a full work week. How many reviewers are there at DoDMERB and does that 40 hours per sound right to you?

 

[RetNavyHM]

sealion,

Having not read "Absolutely American", I can't comment on what was published there. I can tell you from my experience at DoDMERB that 40 hours on one file is a little off. I would guess the average time spent on a file (from the time it is received at DoDMERB to the time a qualified/disqualified descision is made) would be more in the range of 2-3 hours. This includes the time it takes to scan the file in, have someone input some of the information electronically, a coder to do a preliminary review, the reviewer to look at the file, a physician to answer reviewers questions and someone to generate the correspondence that goes to the applicant. Not all files are equal. As a reviewer I had files that took less than 5 minutes to review, clear and generate the correspondence. I also had files where I knew every little aspect of the applicants medical history, and I have spent hours on the phone with the applicant and parents as well.

So in short, I don't think that is correct. I started working at DoDMERB in 2001 and left this year. During those 5 years DoDMERB has streamlined the system, increased the speed of the computers and databases and currently has a group of civilians, reviewers and physicians that work great as a team, and want nothing more than to provide the best product to the SA's and ROTC programs (that product being healthy aplicants that will not have any problems during their 4 years of school or 20 years of military service) in the shortest amount of time possible.

Your other questions are answered in the "Meet the new moderator" post in this group.

 

[Aronson]

I'd recommend "Absolutely American" to anyone interested in any Accademy, especially West Point. It's a good read