I'm now under medical review. Yay! I'm excited to have things moving forward. Almost exactly 3 weeks from submitting my medical kit and I'm under review! However, I'm already facing a delay. They want me to see one additional doctor and get some more paperwork done. And, of course, I can't do this right away. And I hate being delayed :-p
I'm leaving Korea in 2 weeks. What I need to get done would cost about $700 here, mostly because I need someone who speaks English fluently and they can charge more. Sooo not paying that much. Which means waiting at least 2 weeks until I get home to do it. Plus the time it takes to have the paperwork filled out. Probably another 3 weeks until I can send it in. Delays SUCK.
Invitations are being sent out now for my invitation time and this delay makes me nervous. What if my program is filled by the time I have all my info in? I'm going to try not to worry and work on being patient. It's practice for if I am invited and go.
I have 2 weeks left in Korea, so I'm going to try to make the most out of it. Most of it is going to be spent desk-warming at school with nothing really to do, so I'm going to apply for jobs at home. Wish me luck!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Back it up, back it up
I was so excited to be dentally cleared and moving forward in the application process, so of course there has to be an 'And then...' I was really hoping everything was just going to go totally smoothly, no trouble at all. And, really, this isn't a big deal at all, more a minor annoyance.
I applied from South Korea. I did all my blood tests, physical, all that good stuff here. That has all made it to PC. However, I emailed pre-service to make sure my medical records and psych evaluation that my mom mailed in separately also made it and were with my other stuff. No such luck. Mind you, I had asked before if it would be alright to mail stuff separately and was told that was fine. Well, the email I got back from pre-service said this:
This doesn't make any sense. Why should I spend at least $100 to get all my paperwork together AGAIN and mail it to the States, especially since they already have most of it. So, we exchanged emails and I pointed out that OMS had told me before that mailing/faxing my medical records and psych evaluation was fine, and should I just fax in another copy? Yes, that's fine. Inconvenient and annoying, but doable. My mom, wonderful as she is, is going back to my doctor at home to get another copy of my medical record and have her fill out another psych evaluation, then fax it in to PC this week. Hopefully my doctor made a copy of the psych evaluation when she did it the first time.
It's going to get taken care of and my mom is going to fax it in with a nice cover letter asking them to, please, immediately put it with my other papers since it's the second time it's been sent. I'm going to be home in a month, which is great, and will hopefully mean that if there are any more problems I can take care of them myself and not have to rely on my mom so much. On the downside, I won't have insurance, so I'm REALLY hoping everything is in order by then and I don't have to go to the doctor/do any more tests. Anyway, so that's that.
I may have taken a step back in the process, but I know I'll keep moving forward, its just a (very) minor setback, that may not be a setback at all depending on when all my paperwork makes it together and when they began doing my medical review. So, really, probably no problem at all....
I applied from South Korea. I did all my blood tests, physical, all that good stuff here. That has all made it to PC. However, I emailed pre-service to make sure my medical records and psych evaluation that my mom mailed in separately also made it and were with my other stuff. No such luck. Mind you, I had asked before if it would be alright to mail stuff separately and was told that was fine. Well, the email I got back from pre-service said this:
Items mailed separately can take a long time to find. Your physical exam is here but not your mental health/psychological forms. You may want to gather all the documents together, verify them against the checklist and mail them in again.
Pre-Service Unit.
This doesn't make any sense. Why should I spend at least $100 to get all my paperwork together AGAIN and mail it to the States, especially since they already have most of it. So, we exchanged emails and I pointed out that OMS had told me before that mailing/faxing my medical records and psych evaluation was fine, and should I just fax in another copy? Yes, that's fine. Inconvenient and annoying, but doable. My mom, wonderful as she is, is going back to my doctor at home to get another copy of my medical record and have her fill out another psych evaluation, then fax it in to PC this week. Hopefully my doctor made a copy of the psych evaluation when she did it the first time.
It's going to get taken care of and my mom is going to fax it in with a nice cover letter asking them to, please, immediately put it with my other papers since it's the second time it's been sent. I'm going to be home in a month, which is great, and will hopefully mean that if there are any more problems I can take care of them myself and not have to rely on my mom so much. On the downside, I won't have insurance, so I'm REALLY hoping everything is in order by then and I don't have to go to the doctor/do any more tests. Anyway, so that's that.
I may have taken a step back in the process, but I know I'll keep moving forward, its just a (very) minor setback, that may not be a setback at all depending on when all my paperwork makes it together and when they began doing my medical review. So, really, probably no problem at all....
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Steps
I've been dentally cleared!!!! I know, its really not that exciting, but it brings me one step closer. I was actually really surprised that my tool kit was updated and that I had already been dentally cleared. I only mailed my med kit (via DHL) on Tuesday, so it would have arrived at PC sometime Wednesday morning. From what I had been reading on other peoples' timelines it seemed like it usually took at least week, usually more, for PC to update the toolkit to say that the med kit had been received. It's nice when things happen quickly, though I don't think anything else is going to happen for a while now. This is what my toolkit now says next to Physical:
Anyway, I stumbled upon this video yesterday and it made me smile. Enjoy!
"Peace Corps received the results of your physical exam on July 6, 2011. If the program you are nominated for is not scheduled to leave in the next 4 months you may not hear from Medical until the time of departure is closer. Currently those programs scheduled to leave in the next 4 months are being reviewed. For applicants leaving within 4 months Peace Corps may request additional medical information. Please respond quickly to these requests."Sooo....looks like I'm going to be waiting a few months. My nomination has a tentative departure date of February, just about 7 months away. However, I still have hope. Maybe, for whatever reason, I will be reviewed (and hopefully cleared) soonish.
Anyway, I stumbled upon this video yesterday and it made me smile. Enjoy!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Choices
I was finally able, after 2 weeks of waiting, to go pick up my blood test results and finish my medical packet. The doctor at the international clinic is only in every-other week, so it delayed when I could finish everything by several days. BUT for anyone applying from South Korea, on the off chance that you read this, Seoul National University Hospital is awesome! They are so helpful and so patient. They made what could be an incredibly frustrating experience not so bad.
I was lucky enough to be going through the medical process there with another PC nominee who was really on-top of everything. Since we were doing our paperwork on the same schedule it was easier to explain how it all needed to be, that we needed all our results in English. The nurses and doctor really helped with everything; translating, getting exactly what we need. Plus, last year they had helped a couple other nominees do the same paperwork, so some of the nurses were already familiar with what we needed. Anyway, everything is complete (I hope). I've gone through it all so many times I've lost count, written several personal statements in the hope of avoiding delays, and am going to DHL after work today to mail it. Fingers crossed that I make it into the 15% of nominees who aren't medically delayed for further information/paperwork errors.
Doing this all from South Korea means that I have been relying pretty heavily on my mom to help me get paperwork and general help from home. I can't even out into words how thankful I am to her. She went to my doctor's office several times, picked up the paperwork, made sure it had everything I needed and put it in the mail.
With my original papers I had to send in a notarized letter from my mom saying that she would make payments on my one student loan that can't be deferred if I do serve with PC. She scanned it to me and I sent in the copy with everything else. Well, my recruiter, who had emailed be Tuesday to get my unofficial transcripts, which somehow hadn't made it into the original paperwork, to complete my file, emailed me again on Thursday to say that her boss had just informed her that they needed the original letter. And could my mom possibly drive to NYC to drop it off? Well, no she can't. But she did run home after work, pick up the letter, go to FedEx and have it mailed to it would get to my recruiter by 10:30am the next day, Friday. Seriously, I'm so thankful for her and how great she is to me.
Now, the rush that my recruiter put on getting all my papers together and having everything finished on her end by last week makes me wonder whats going on. I have been nominated for a February departure, so does that mean that everything is going to be rushed through? Or is that just how they operate? February is still pretty far away, so I wouldn't think everything would be rushed, but I hope it is. I want to have everything done and (hopefully) be invited as soon as possible. Seriously, waiting is the worst.
Anyway, on a different note, I've had to make some choices. We all do, that's what life is about. I've always planned on going to law school. I've taken the LSAT, applied, and was admitted into school for this coming year. I emailed my school was offered a one-year deferral. I didn't say that it was because of Peace Corps, but because of money. Which is true. Coming to Korea I had planned to save so much money. That has not happened. At all. So I have this deferral. I have to email them by tomorrow to accept/decline it.
I'm going to accept. If Peace Corps doesn't work out for some reason, them I'm still covered for next year. If it does work out, then I re-take the LSAT and apply to schools again. I feel like this is a pretty good life-plan. Plus, the school I was planning to go to has been amazing about everything. It would probably still going to be the school I choose if I do PC and put school off for a couple more years. I've never had a goo experience with university offices, but they really have been so nice and easy to work with.
Life is full of choices. We have to decide what is best for us and sometimes we have to veer off the course we had set for ourselves. I'm happy with my decisions and can now only hope that everything works out for the best.
I was lucky enough to be going through the medical process there with another PC nominee who was really on-top of everything. Since we were doing our paperwork on the same schedule it was easier to explain how it all needed to be, that we needed all our results in English. The nurses and doctor really helped with everything; translating, getting exactly what we need. Plus, last year they had helped a couple other nominees do the same paperwork, so some of the nurses were already familiar with what we needed. Anyway, everything is complete (I hope). I've gone through it all so many times I've lost count, written several personal statements in the hope of avoiding delays, and am going to DHL after work today to mail it. Fingers crossed that I make it into the 15% of nominees who aren't medically delayed for further information/paperwork errors.
Doing this all from South Korea means that I have been relying pretty heavily on my mom to help me get paperwork and general help from home. I can't even out into words how thankful I am to her. She went to my doctor's office several times, picked up the paperwork, made sure it had everything I needed and put it in the mail.
With my original papers I had to send in a notarized letter from my mom saying that she would make payments on my one student loan that can't be deferred if I do serve with PC. She scanned it to me and I sent in the copy with everything else. Well, my recruiter, who had emailed be Tuesday to get my unofficial transcripts, which somehow hadn't made it into the original paperwork, to complete my file, emailed me again on Thursday to say that her boss had just informed her that they needed the original letter. And could my mom possibly drive to NYC to drop it off? Well, no she can't. But she did run home after work, pick up the letter, go to FedEx and have it mailed to it would get to my recruiter by 10:30am the next day, Friday. Seriously, I'm so thankful for her and how great she is to me.
Now, the rush that my recruiter put on getting all my papers together and having everything finished on her end by last week makes me wonder whats going on. I have been nominated for a February departure, so does that mean that everything is going to be rushed through? Or is that just how they operate? February is still pretty far away, so I wouldn't think everything would be rushed, but I hope it is. I want to have everything done and (hopefully) be invited as soon as possible. Seriously, waiting is the worst.
Anyway, on a different note, I've had to make some choices. We all do, that's what life is about. I've always planned on going to law school. I've taken the LSAT, applied, and was admitted into school for this coming year. I emailed my school was offered a one-year deferral. I didn't say that it was because of Peace Corps, but because of money. Which is true. Coming to Korea I had planned to save so much money. That has not happened. At all. So I have this deferral. I have to email them by tomorrow to accept/decline it.
I'm going to accept. If Peace Corps doesn't work out for some reason, them I'm still covered for next year. If it does work out, then I re-take the LSAT and apply to schools again. I feel like this is a pretty good life-plan. Plus, the school I was planning to go to has been amazing about everything. It would probably still going to be the school I choose if I do PC and put school off for a couple more years. I've never had a goo experience with university offices, but they really have been so nice and easy to work with.
Life is full of choices. We have to decide what is best for us and sometimes we have to veer off the course we had set for ourselves. I'm happy with my decisions and can now only hope that everything works out for the best.
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