The Aviation Medical Examiner Feedback Survey: 2014 Results

The Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) Feedback Survey was redesigned for 2014 to reflect the accelerated pace of digitizing aerospace medical certification services and support provided to designees and airmen by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine (OAM). This report provides (a) trends in service satisfaction, (b) baseline measures of service quality, (c) an understanding AMEs’ expectations of service quality versus actual service received, (d) evidence of recent programmatic changes that translated into service improvements, and (e) actionable feedback to inform decisions for potential changes. All active domestic, military, federal, and international AMEs (3,231) were invited to participate via postal mail and email. Results indicate that AME satisfaction rates show upward trends relative to 2012. Baseline measures across the service providers indicate that the overall quality of provided services surpassed AMEs’ expectations. The majority of AMEs (72%) see the standards and guidelines for deferral as reasonable and appropriate, and 74% also see the medical certification process contributing to the safety of our national airspace. Strides were made to improve the staff interaction quality with AMEs of the Aerospace Medical Education and Aerospace Medical Certification Divisions. Consistency in providing quality services shows in higher rates for timely response, accurate information, and courteous treatment. The survey also assessed AMEs’ awareness of recent changes to services and processes and the effectiveness of those changes as well as prioritization of proposed changes. Results show strong support from the AMEs for the OAM to continue its move toward digitization of processing applications and deferrals. Additionally, AMEs recommended that the OAM expand their use of electronic media for (a) tracking deferrals by both AMEs and applicants, (b) face-to-face communication with FAA physicians, and (c) training.