What to expect at VA medical exams

Hi Jim,

I'm a VN vet.... I've applied for Agent Orange Prostate Cancer and PTSD compensation.... Its been going for a bout a year now.... Yesterday I receive 2 letters from MSLA for an appointment to take a physical exam and a second meeting with a Psychology doc soon.

What can I expect from these meeting exams... I am very apprehensive and a bit nervous.... Also, What is MSLA???

Reply:

MSLA is a medical clinic. These people are contracted by VA to do your medical (C & P) exam.

Click this link to learn more about MSLA http://www.mslaca.com/clinics/

In the broadest terms, there isn't any reason to be apprehensive or nervous about a medical examination. The C & P exam is usually more drudge work than anything else. It's often very brief and seems sort of confused.

Veterans should go into the exam prepared to answer questions about the medical condition they've claimed. It's important to tell the truth and to avoid trying to make anything seem better or worse than it really is.

I've found that making some brief notes about all the things you may want to say to the examiner really helps a lot. You can think about that for days ahead of the exam and anything that comes to your mind can be included in your notes.

You may want to try to remember dates of events that could affect your claim as well as places where events took place. If you can get your thoughts organized ahead of time and develop a one page list, you'll be ready for anything the examiner may ask.

You can make a copy of your list and any other records you think are important and offer that to the examiner. Keep in mind that the examiner isn't obligated to accept anything from you. Some examiners will take your papers, others won't. Don't be worried if the examiner doesn't accept your documents.

You may also ask your spouse, another relative or a close friend to accompany you. Many examiners will allow others to come into the exam with you so that they can help with your needs for any assistance during the exam. Again, this is the examiners choice and although many will allow a visitor, others won't.

You can learn more about C & P exams by clicking here http://www.vawatchdog.org/c---p-exams.html