Headed to Orientation This Week

Pack lots of socks and underwear. Can never have too much of those. On a serious note, pay very close attention every step of the way. Whether you're in orientation or out with your trainer, remember that there is no such thing as a dumb question. Don't be afraid to get clarification.

 

Oh yeah.....paper and writing utensils will prove to be very valuable. You'll need to jot things down. To this day, I have a notebook and pen on this dash. I use it mainly to write load info down, but I also write down where certain hideouts for overnight parking are, fine eateries, directions, routing, any type of vital info needed while out here. Note taking is a very good way to remember certain things on the road.

 

A company is required to get a new drug screen for any driver. The CDL schools does a drug screen to prevent you from paying for a CDL and then failing due to drugs in your system. The trucking company MAY or MAY NOT accept your current DOT medical exam. They cannot use a previous drug screen, only the one they ordered.

Skipping coffee and fasting can lower blood pressure. If you are close to the BP limits (140/90?) then you don't need to increase BP before the medical exam If your numbers are high, you can insist on a 5 minute period of rest and no talking, that is the proper procedure for taking BP while most clinics measure BP while they ask questions, etc just to speed up the exam. Some drivers have/say they have "white coat syndrome" which is having normal BP until they are measured by a nurse/doctor. The 2 most common reasons drivers fail or receive a shortened DOT medical card are high blood sugar and high BP.

Some of us look at the DOT doctor, not as a friendly partner in our ongoing good health, but as the guy that can take away our income with one wrong answer on the questionnaire or an incorrect or rushed measurement by the doctor/nurse. Some clinics also decide everyone has sleep apnea, because the clinic also has a sleep study facility $$$. Every question about how well you sleep or if you snore is meant to find a reason to demand a sleep study. However, if you report you sleep well and never snore you take away some income for the clinic. The clinic is only going to know the info you answer. There is not some elaborate research team that knows of that time when you were 8 and had an ear ache or the time in high school when you had a head ache. Answer carefully your job may depend on it.

 

your exactly right Moose, the DOT physical is the first obstacle. And then it might end right there. But, if there a young kid, no problem.

 

Assuming you have to go out with a trainer for a while. Don't let him tell you that a team shower requires you to share the shower.

 

Are you still having PTSD?

 

The meds and therapy are helping.