ICAO's Aviation Medicine Concepts For Medical Examiners course is a free online introduction of about two hours, aimed at doctors who are or wish to become designated medical examiners. It ends in an optional test; a satisfactory score earns a certificate that ICAO explicitly does not recognize as adequate DME training. Use the course to orient yourself, then build real preparation on Annex 1 Chapter 6 and the Manual of Civil Aviation Medicine (Doc 8984), and confirm designation requirements with your national Licensing Authority.
What the course is and who it serves
ICAO provides a free introductory online course, Aviation Medicine Concepts For Medical Examiners, for doctors who are or wish to become designated medical examiners of pilots and air traffic controllers.
ICAO offers an introductory course called Aviation Medicine Concepts For Medical Examiners. It is written for doctors who are, or who wish to become, designated medical examiners (DMEs) for pilots and air traffic controllers. This is ICAO's own stated starting point for that audience, so treat it as orientation on the field.
The course runs online and is free of charge, although registration is necessary. ICAO states it takes about two hours to complete.
Although medical examiners are the primary audience, ICAO notes the course may interest anyone who wants to learn more about civilian aviation medicine. If you are a doctor exploring the field before committing to examiner training, it is a low-cost way to survey the subject.
- Format: online, self-paced introduction
- Cost: free; registration required
- Time: about two hours
- Audience: current or prospective designated medical examiners; open to other interested learners
Sources: Training (ICAO Aviation Medicine (AVMED) Section) — Training Page Content
What the final test gives you, and what it does not
The optional final test can earn you a completion certificate, but ICAO states that certificate is not recognized as adequate training to become a DME.
The course ends with a final test that is not compulsory. If you take it and achieve a satisfactory score, ICAO provides a certificate of successful completion.
Read the accompanying limitation carefully, because it shapes your whole preparation plan. ICAO states that this certificate is not recognized as adequate training for those who wish to become DMEs, and that more extensive training and experience are necessary for that role.
Treat the course, then, as orientation rather than qualification. It introduces the field; it does not make you an examiner. ICAO sets international medical standards, so check directly with your own licensing authority about the training and experience it expects of examiners. ICAO's own guidance material for examiners, described below, shows what the role actually involves.
- Final test: optional, not compulsory
- Certificate: issued for a satisfactory score
- Limitation: the certificate is not recognized as adequate DME training
- Real path: ICAO states that more extensive training and experience are necessary; check what your authority expects
Sources: Training (ICAO Aviation Medicine (AVMED) Section) — Training Page Content
The official documents behind the subject
Two documents anchor the field: Annex 1 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which defines the Medical Assessment classes, and the Manual of Civil Aviation Medicine (Doc 8984), which guides examiners in applying those standards.
Annex 1 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Personnel Licensing) contains the medical fitness standards ICAO's member States agree on. Its Chapter 6 defines the three classes of Medical Assessment for licence holders and sets out the physical and mental requirements, including testing and performance requirements for vision, colour perception and hearing.
The Manual of Civil Aviation Medicine (Doc 8984) is the working companion to those standards. Its main purpose, according to ICAO, is to assist and guide designated medical examiners and Licensing Authorities in decisions about the medical fitness of licence applicants. The third edition, published in 2012, is available on the ICAO website in English, and ICAO's Aviation Medicine Section offers this written guidance free of charge.
For your preparation, these two documents serve different functions. Annex 1 tells you what the standards are; Doc 8984 shows how examiners reason with them. A preparation plan that covers only one of the two leaves half the role unexplored.
- Annex 1, Chapter 6: three Medical Assessment classes; vision, colour perception and hearing requirements
- Doc 8984, third edition (2012): free online in English; guidance for DMEs and Licensing Authorities
- Doc 8984 is also envisaged to supplement properly supervised post-graduate training in aviation medicine
Sources: Related ICAO Publications (ICAO Aviation Medicine (AVMED) Section) — Page Content; Aviation Medicine (AVMED) Section — Page Content
A topic map from Doc 8984
Doc 8984 covers Licensing Practices, Aviation Physiology, Medical Assessment, Aviation Pathology and Aviation Medical Training, which makes a practical checklist for structuring your study.
ICAO lists the topics discussed in the Medical Manual as Licensing Practices, Aviation Physiology, Medical Assessment, Aviation Pathology and Aviation Medical Training. These five areas give you a source-based map of the subject an examiner is expected to command, and they are a reasonable skeleton for study notes.
The exercise below tests whether you know where to look things up. Knowing which document governs which question is a genuine examiner skill, and it is one this guide can teach from ICAO's own descriptions of its publications.
Practice exercise
You are preparing your notes and want to record where each kind of question is answered. Match each item to the correct ICAO source: (1) the vision, colour perception and hearing requirements for the three classes of Medical Assessment; (2) guidance for designated medical examiners on decisions about an applicant's medical fitness; (3) a policy framework for preventing problematic use of substances in the aviation workplace.
Show answer
(1) Annex 1 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Chapter 6. (2) The Manual of Civil Aviation Medicine (Doc 8984). (3) The Manual on Prevention of Problematic Use of Substances in the Aviation Workplace (Doc 9654).
Chapter 6 of Annex 1 defines the three classes of Medical Assessment and spells out the physical and mental requirements, including testing and performance requirements for vision, colour perception and hearing. Doc 8984's stated main purpose is to assist and guide designated medical examiners and Licensing Authorities in decisions on the medical fitness of licence applicants. Doc 9654 was developed to give States and licensing authorities a tool for planning strategies against problematic substance use in the aviation workplace, so it is the policy source for item 3.
Sources: Related ICAO Publications (ICAO Aviation Medicine (AVMED) Section) — Page Content
Related manuals for deeper study
Beyond the core standards and manual, ICAO publishes guidance on substance use, laser hazards, and pilot health that extends your background reading.
The Manual on Prevention of Problematic Use of Substances in the Aviation Workplace (Doc 9654, first edition, 1995) is organized into five chapters covering education, identification and rehabilitation, employment consequences, and biochemical testing programmes. It is aimed at decision-makers and licensing authorities planning national strategies.
The Manual on Laser Emitters and Flight Safety (Doc 9815, first edition, 2003) addresses the medical, physiological and psychological effects on flight crew of laser exposure, including medical examination after suspected illumination. It also explains why laser beams can threaten flight operations near airports.
Fitness to Fly: A Medical Guide for Pilots (first edition, 2018) was developed by ICAO with IFALPA and IATA. It covers the health risks pilots face across a career, including mental and physical health, nutrition, sleep and medication, and ICAO notes its recommendations also apply to cabin crew and air traffic controllers. These are optional background texts; the course and the two core documents above remain your preparation spine.
- Doc 9654 (1995): preventing problematic substance use in the aviation workplace
- Doc 9815 (2003): laser emitters and flight safety, including post-exposure medical examination
- Fitness to Fly (2018): pilot health guide, produced with IFALPA and IATA
Sources: Related ICAO Publications (ICAO Aviation Medicine (AVMED) Section) — Page Content
Registering and finding further training
Find the course through ICAO's learning site, and search ICAO's Aviation Training Directory under Course Category 140 for other aviation medicine training events.
The Training page of ICAO's Aviation Medicine Section links directly to the Aviation Medicine Concepts For Medical Examiners course overview on ICAO's learning site, where you can register. Start there if you want to take the course itself.
For training beyond this introduction, ICAO directs readers to its Aviation Training Directory. You can search it by selecting Course Category 140, Aviation Medicine, or by entering a keyword. That directory is also where more extensive aviation medicine courses, of the kind a prospective DME actually needs, are likely to appear.
A few details remain unverified from the retrieved pages, so check them at the source before relying on them: the course's detailed module list, any version marker, and the exact scope of the final test. Those are published on the course overview page. ICAO states only that becoming a DME requires more extensive training and experience than this course; ask your national licensing authority what it actually expects.
- Register via the course overview page linked from ICAO's Training page
- Search the Aviation Training Directory, Course Category 140, for further aviation medicine training
- Ask your licensing authority what training and experience it expects of examiners beyond this course
Sources: Training (ICAO Aviation Medicine (AVMED) Section) — Training Page Content
Sources
Facts checked: