In order to perform DOT physicals, the physician must be a DOT Certified Medical Examiner. “As of May 21, 2014, all medical certificates issued to interstate truck and bus drivers must come from medical examiners listed on the National Registry.” For all the requirements, please see Complete Guide toMedical Examiner Certification [full text PDF] from the Department of Transportation.
There is no FMCSA requirement for length of training. Training providers are not reimbursed by the Federal government for developing training courses and may charge reasonable fees to those candidates who choose to attend. The training program must meet the following requirements:
• Be conducted by a training provider that is accredited by a nationally-recognized medical profession accrediting organization to provide continuing education units;
• Present course content that addresses the eight topics outlined in the current core curriculum specifications established by FMCSA.
• Provide the medical examiner with proof of training. FMCSA recommends providing medical examiner with a certificate of completion. The training certificate must include the following information: o Medical examiner’s name and professional title.
o Date training was completed.
o Training provider name and contact information.
o Title of training program.
o Training program accreditation information, including: – Name of accrediting body. – Affirmation of accreditation in accordance with the requirements of the accrediting body. – Accrediting body contact information. NOTE: The medical examiner can attend a training program accredited by any medical profession accrediting organization (i.e. a physician can complete a training program accredited by a nurse practitioner accrediting organization).Testing Organizations
The FMCSA Medical Examiner Certification Test is delivered only by testing organizations that have been approved by FMCSA and listed on the National Registry Website (https://nationalregistry.fmcsa.dot.gov). Approved testing organizations administer only the currently authorized version of the certification test developed and furnished by FMCSA. To accommodate the number of potential medical examiners and their geographic dispersion, the FMCSA Medical Examiner Certification Test is administered by multiple, private-sector, professional testing organizations. In addition, the Agency is permitting testing organizations to offer online monitored testing. Given the variety of testing organizations and methods used, it is important to maintain common standards of test presentation, facilities, data security, and other factors. These standards must be carefully defined and applied so medical examiners have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge without concern for the reliability or validity of the test and its administration. 49 CFR 390.107 establishes these standards, and states (in part):
(a) The testing organization has documented policies and procedures that: 1. Use secure protocols to access, process, store, and transmit all test items, test forms, test data, and candidate information and ensure access by authorized personnel only. 2. Ensure testing environments are reasonably comfortable and have minimal distractions. 3. Prevent to the greatest extent practicable the opportunity for a test taker to attain a passing score by fraudulent means. 4. Ensure that test center staff that interact with and proctor examinees or provide technical support have completed formal training, demonstrate competency, and are monitored periodically for quality assurance in testing procedures. 5. Accommodate testing of individuals with disabilities or impairments to minimize the effect of the disabilities or impairments while maintaining the security of the test and data.
(b) Testing organizations that offer testing of examinees at locations that are not operated and staffed by the organization by means of remote, computer-based systems, must, in addition to the requirements of paragraph (a), ensure that such systems: 1. Provide a means to authenticate the identity of the person taking the test. 2. Provide a means for the testing organization to monitor the activity of the person taking the test 3. Do not allow the person taking the test to reproduce or record the contents of the test by any means.
(c) The testing organization has submitted its documented policies and procedures as defined in paragraph (a) of this section to FMCSA; and agreed to future reviews by FMCSA to ensure compliance with the criteria listed in this section.
