CAME acceptance of external Optometrist Ishihara reports (Initial Class 1)
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Joined: May 2026
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From: Canada
CAME acceptance of external Optometrist Ishihara reports (Initial Class 1)
Hello everyone,
I’m planning my Initial Class 1 medical in Canada. To ensure everything is streamlined and to arrive with a "clean" medical file, I’m considering doing a full eye exam, including Ishihara color vision exam, at a private Optometrist a week before my CAME appointment.
My question is, in your experience, do CAMEs typically accept a fresh, signed report from an external eye specialist to fill out the MER, or is there a rigid requirement for the CAME to physically flip the plates in the room?
I’m planning my Initial Class 1 medical in Canada. To ensure everything is streamlined and to arrive with a "clean" medical file, I’m considering doing a full eye exam, including Ishihara color vision exam, at a private Optometrist a week before my CAME appointment.
My question is, in your experience, do CAMEs typically accept a fresh, signed report from an external eye specialist to fill out the MER, or is there a rigid requirement for the CAME to physically flip the plates in the room?
Joined: Jun 2002
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
Posts: 7,172
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From: Nanaimo (CAC8)
I don't know the answer to your question, but I'm wondering why you would pay for a private eye exam. At my doctor's, the eye exam including Ishihara is done by a nurse in just a few minutes.
Joined: Oct 2007
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
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From: Wherever I go, there I am
So two things.
First, the only time my CAME asked for a separate report from an optometrist was the year I got my glasses, and even then that wasn't for anything official, she just wanted to make sure the prescription did not go over the maximum correction permitted by TC if she was asked by the RAMO. My CAME said she knew just based on the thickness of the glasses that I wasn't, but it was a dotting the i's and crossing the t's situation. As far as the colour plates are concerned, your CAME will likely still do the colour test in the room. If you're interested, TP13312 is what the CAME uses during a medical. You can see under "Colour Perception" that the CAME should (not shall) test for colour perception, but I've never once had a CAME not test it, so it's more likely they treat it as a shall statement. I wouldn't do a separate eye exam either unless you have concerns about your vision.
Second, while it is admirable that you want to go in with a clean medical file, there are a lot of pilots failing medicals right now for things that are in their medical file. A medical is nothing more than a check that you are not likely to die in the next year or so, but going to TC with a full report can add a lot of complexities, especially on an initial issue. I work with guys who have had their medical pulled because of an issue 20 years ago that was reported, but TC only now considers an issue even though the medical standards have not changed and the condition has not worsened (in one case it got better with time). This is apparently more prevalent in what's called the Prairie and Northern TC Region (covers AB, SK, MB,YK, NWT, NU), but I wouldn't take the chance myself. If you want a clean bill of health, the unfortunate advice is quickly becoming that you should go somewhere outside Canada to a clinic that does whole body scans - Dubai or Singapore are popular options right now. It's a sad state of affairs, but you don't want to do TCs work for them. I wish it wasn't this way and we could just be open and honest, but some CAMEs and RAMOs are being very quick to pull medicals, to say nothing of blocking an initial issue.
First, the only time my CAME asked for a separate report from an optometrist was the year I got my glasses, and even then that wasn't for anything official, she just wanted to make sure the prescription did not go over the maximum correction permitted by TC if she was asked by the RAMO. My CAME said she knew just based on the thickness of the glasses that I wasn't, but it was a dotting the i's and crossing the t's situation. As far as the colour plates are concerned, your CAME will likely still do the colour test in the room. If you're interested, TP13312 is what the CAME uses during a medical. You can see under "Colour Perception" that the CAME should (not shall) test for colour perception, but I've never once had a CAME not test it, so it's more likely they treat it as a shall statement. I wouldn't do a separate eye exam either unless you have concerns about your vision.
Second, while it is admirable that you want to go in with a clean medical file, there are a lot of pilots failing medicals right now for things that are in their medical file. A medical is nothing more than a check that you are not likely to die in the next year or so, but going to TC with a full report can add a lot of complexities, especially on an initial issue. I work with guys who have had their medical pulled because of an issue 20 years ago that was reported, but TC only now considers an issue even though the medical standards have not changed and the condition has not worsened (in one case it got better with time). This is apparently more prevalent in what's called the Prairie and Northern TC Region (covers AB, SK, MB,YK, NWT, NU), but I wouldn't take the chance myself. If you want a clean bill of health, the unfortunate advice is quickly becoming that you should go somewhere outside Canada to a clinic that does whole body scans - Dubai or Singapore are popular options right now. It's a sad state of affairs, but you don't want to do TCs work for them. I wish it wasn't this way and we could just be open and honest, but some CAMEs and RAMOs are being very quick to pull medicals, to say nothing of blocking an initial issue.
