Visits to doctors Question 19, which asks you to list visits to health professionals during the past three years, catches some student pilots off guard. To respond to this question, consider it in three parts.
First, consider what sorts of visits to medical personnel you may have made in the preceding three years. As explained on the instruction page, the Federal Aviation Administration is asking about visits to "a physician, physician's assistant, nurse practitioner, psychologist, clinical social worker, or substance abuse specialist." But not all visits to these individuals need be reported.
So, second, think about why you made the visit. You only need to report those visits that were for "treatment, examination, evaluation, or counseling."
Third, if the visit was a routine visit to the dentist or the eye doctor, it need not be reported. And you need only report a counseling visit if it was for a personal substance abuse or psychiatric condition.
Another question that can confuse first-time medical applicants is Question 18, which asks for your medical history, including whether or not you have a history of unconsciousness, allergies, asthma, diabetes, and mental disorders. Included under this medical history section are two questions, identified as 18v and 18w, that ask about any convictions or administrative actions taken against you. Remember that these questions are asking if you have ever had a conviction and/or an administrative action. A few years ago, the medical application form was revised to separate out these two questions, after all, it's hard to see just how a conviction qualifies as a medical condition.
Question 18v is presented in two parts. The first part asks about "any conviction(s) involving driving while intoxicated by, while impaired by, or while under the influence of alcohol or a drug." In everyday language, this question is asking whether you have been convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This question is not asking you to report traffic convictions that did not involve alcohol or drugs.
The second part of the question asks about "any conviction(s) or administrative action(s) involving an offense(s) which resulted in the denial, suspension, cancellation, or revocation of driving privileges or which resulted in attendance at an educational or a rehabilitation program." In answer to this question, you must report individual traffic convictions, even those that do not involve alcohol or drugs, but only if the conviction resulted in a loss of driving privileges or attendance at a educational or rehabilitation program. So, for example, if you were ever required to attend driving school following several speeding convictions, this would need to be reported on the medical application form. But a traffic ticket for which you paid a fine and that was the end of the matter does not need to be reported.
If the answer to either of these two parts is "yes," then you must provide three pieces of information: 1) the type of offense or administrative action, 2) the date of the conviction or the administrative action, and 3) the state or jurisdiction involved. This information may be provided in the explanations section of the medical application form.
Question 18w asks about a history of "nontraffic convictions(s) (misdemeanors or felonies)." This question was rewritten a few years ago to eliminate the need for airmen to describe parking tickets and speeding convictions. It is written now so that you must report all other types of convictions, such as assault, battery, public intoxication, and robbery. If this question is answered "yes," then you must state the charge and the date of conviction in the explanations section of the form.
It can be disturbing to answer "yes" to any of these questions. You may believe that if the FAA has this information, they will deny your application for a medical certificate without further consideration. However, a single report in response to either of these questions does not, in and of itself, disqualify you from receiving a medical certificate.