DOT MEDICAL EXAMINER TEST LATEST UPDATES

DOT MEDICAL EXAMINER TEST LATEST UPDATES To promote the safety of America's roadways through the promulgation and implementation of medical regulations, guidelines and policies that ensure commercial motor vehicle drivers engaged in interstate commerce are physically qualified to do so. Whose mission is this? - The mission of the Office of Medical Programs To improve highway safety by producing trained, certified medical examiners who can effectively determine if a commercial motor vehicle driver's health meets Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Standards. Whose mission is this? - National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners Who can be a medical examiner? - PAs, NPs, physicians and chiropractors. T/F...When a driver returns from an illness or injury that interferes with driving ability, the driver must undergo a medical examination if the medical examiner's certificate has not expired - True What is title 49? - Transportation What is part 391? - Qualifications of Drivers and Longer Combination Vehicle What is subpart E of Part 391? - Physical Qualifications and Examninations What are the four non-discretionary (disqualifying) standards? - 1. Vision 2. Hearing 3. Epilepsy 4. Diabetes Mellitus What is 49 CFR 391.41? - Describes the physical qualification requirements for drivers. The 13 standards are used to determine medical fitness for duty. (9 discretionary and 4 non-discretionary) What is 49 CFR 391.49? - Describes the skill performance evaluation certification program, which is an alternative physical qualification standard for the driver with a fixed musculoskeletal deficit of an extremity who cannot physically qualify to drive under 391.41 (b)(1) or (b)(2). What is 49 CFR 391.62? - Describes limited exemptions for intra-city zone drivers. What is 49 CFR 391.64? - Describes grandfathering for certain drivers who participated in vision and diabetes waiver study programs. What is an exemption? - An exemption provides temporary relief from one or more of the FMCSRs for commercial drivers. Relief from a regulation is for 2 years and may be renewed. Currently the FMSCA has two medical Driver Exemption Programs. What are they? - 1. Federal Vision Exemption Program (1998) 2. Diabetes Exemption Program (September 2003) T/F The medical examiner cannot issue an exemption - True T/F Both federal exemptions require the driver to have an annual medical examination for maintenance and renewal of the exemption. - True What is 49 CFR 391.43? - Certificate of physical examination. Describes your responsibilities as a FMCSA medical examiner. What is the purpose of Interstate Commercial Driver Physical Examination? - As a medical examiner, your fundamental obligation is to establish whether a driver has a disease, disorder, or injury resulting in a higher than acceptable likelihood for gradual or sudden incapacitation or sudden death, thus endangering public safety. When conducting a physical examination to determine if the driver is medically fit to perform the job of commercial driving, you must consider what 3 things? - 1. Physical condition 2. Mental condition 3. Medical treatment How do you distinguish between medical standards (49 CFR 391.41) and medical guidelines? - Regulations/standards are laws and must be followed. Whereas guidelines, such as advisory criteria and medical conference reports are recommendations. T/F A complete physical examination is required for new certification and recertification - True If a driver is on dialysis can they be certified? - No What is the maximum amount of time you can certify a driver? - 2 years How long do you retain the driver medical records for? - 3 years What is 49 CFR 391.41 (b) (10)? - Vision What qualifies for vision? - Has distant visual acuity of at least 20/40 (Snellen) in each eye without corrective lenses or visual acuity separately corrected to 20/40 (Snellen) or better with corrective lenses, distant binocular acuity of at least 20/40 (Snellen) in both eyes with or without corrective lenses, field of vision of at least 70 degrees in the horizontal median in each eye, and the ability to recognize the colors of traffic signals and devices showing standard red, green, and amber. T/F Monocular vision is disqualifying - True