Project Pilot: 'curing' white coat anxiety

Project Pilot: 'curing' white coat anxiety

Project Pilot Mentors, is "white coat anxiety" holding up your student's progress?

It's not uncommon; many people new to aviation are intimidated about the thought of going to an aviation medical examiner to be poked, prodded, and questioned to be able to get a third class medical certificate and student pilot certificate.

So your job as "coach" and Mentor is to give your fledging the information and the tools needed to make the process understandable and manageable, not threatening. AOPA's TurboMedical ^® can be a great help.

Here's an e-mail we received at AOPA Project Pilot earlier this month:

"Well today was the day I went for my third class medical and student pilot certificate. I first have to say that I don't like going to the doctors to begin with, so I was a little apprehensive to start off.

"All for nothing!

"When the doctor told me that I could continue with my training, I wanted to jump up and hug him.

"The process is really simple but comprehensive. They check your eyes, hearing, blood pressure, etc., and the next thing you know he was handing me my certificate.

"I think the hardest thing about the whole process was the paperwork, which I was prepared for by doing the TurboMedical� on the AOPA Web site. I knew exactly what I needed to fill in and what everything was going to look like. So no problems there.

"This is a great milestone for me as I will be doing my first solo flight this weekend and I can't wait.

"For those of you who hate doctors and exams, I feel your pain, but trust me when I tell you, it isn't bad at all. Knowing what I was there for and what was going to come out of it also made me relax.

"I hope to see everyone in the skies someday, and thank you AOPA for everything you've done.

"Matt Ulmer"

Project Pilot students and Mentors can find many more resources to help speed the process of medical certification and becoming a certificated pilot at AOPA Project Pilot.

For more information on Project Pilot and details on how you can sign up to mentor a prospective student pilot, visit www.AOPAProjectPilot.org.

December 13, 2006