AviationMedicalExaminer

The work

An AME is a qualified physician with additional aviation medicine training and a delegation from the regulator. The examination is not a general check-up: it is a specific assessment against a published standard, covering vision, hearing, cardiovascular health, medication and mental health. The finding can end a career, which is why the standards and the appeal routes are written down.

A typical day

• 01Examine pilots and controllers against the class of certificate they hold
• 02Assess whether a condition or a medication is compatible with flying
• 03Refer difficult cases to the regulator rather than deciding alone
• 04Keep up with aviation medicine, which changes as the evidence does

How people get in

• Through medicine

  Qualify and practise as a doctor first. Aviation medicine is a designation added afterwards, not a separate degree.

How it unfolds

1. Medical schoolFive or six years, then foundation training. Aviation comes later.
2. PracticeSeveral years as a licensed physician. The designation requires you to already be a doctor.
3. DesignationAviation medicine training and an appointment from the regulator.
4. LaterSenior examiner, regulator medical officer, or research in aerospace medicine.

Is there a job in it

The hard parts

Your finding can end somebody’s career in a ten-minute appointment, and they know it when they walk in. That changes the consultation: people minimise, and part of the skill is noticing. The standards move as the evidence does, and keeping current is on you.

What you would need

• Clinical assessment
• Aviation medicine standards
• Difficult conversations
• Meticulous records