The "Dr. Bruce" Project

Papa Foxtrot

Papa Foxtrot

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Papa Foxtrot
I put together this fairly long post with no small amount of trepidation. I have no desire to upset the apple cart, but the following post in the DVT thread got me to thinking:

mnewb1 said:
I am going to Oklahoma in October to train for an AME designation. I have been reading all the "Dr. Bruce" posts I can to help round out the knowledge I will need. I hope I can be as effective and helpful as Dr. Bruce is...I have a lot to learn, but I will work to make sure AMEs in his mold do not disappear.
Click to expand...

IIRC, Dr. Bruce has posited that any AME can do what he does, they just don't know how. The thought that came to me this morning was can we possibly help to replicate this resource while Dr. Bruce is still actively practicing?

It's easy enough to go to the FAA AME search page and pull up a list of AMEs local to you. I did this for the county that I live in and got a list of 8 AMEs as a result. I highlighted one of the names(pretty much at random) and googled it. Beginners luck, she has a nice web site and turns out she is a fairly young Sr. AME that's active in the community(at least according to her web bio). I'm thinking of scheduling a consult with her since I'm 11 months out from my Cl. III renewal to gauge her interest in this process and see if she would be willing to work with Dr. Bruce to do an in-office SI(Dr. B willing of course). FYI - I already have my SI letter thanks to Dr. Bruce.

If each of us that's made the "pilgrimage to Peoria" could identify one such local AME to work with on your next FAA physical, then we could begin to spread the knowledge around. You would need to establish the relationship between Bruce and your local AME, pay Bruce his consult fee and the local AME would handle the physical and issuance. As these AMEs come up to speed, I could see it begin to eat into Bruce's income stream - hopefully coinciding roughly with his retirement. Then he could focus on consults by cell phone from the front porch of his retirement cabin!

Maybe this is a half-baked idea and you're welcome to poke holes in it. This may be easier for me as I live in an area that's referred to as "Delta's off-base housing" with a large professional pilot community. If successful, we could set up a reference page(either at POA or elsewhere) pointing to the AMEs willing to work in this fashion.

OK - fire away...
 
Papa Foxtrot said:
I put together this fairly long post with no small amount of trepidation. I have no desire to upset the apple cart, but the following post in the DVT thread got me to thinking:



IIRC, Dr. Bruce has posited that any AME can do what he does, they just don't know how. The thought that came to me this morning was can we possibly help to replicate this resource while Dr. Bruce is still actively practicing?

It's easy enough to go to the FAA AME search page and pull up a list of AMEs local to you. I did this for the county that I live in and got a list of 8 AMEs as a result. I highlighted one of the names(pretty much at random) and googled it. Beginners luck, she has a nice web site and turns out she is a fairly young Sr. AME that's active in the community(at least according to her web bio). I'm thinking of scheduling a consult with her since I'm 11 months out from my Cl. III renewal to gauge her interest in this process and see if she would be willing to work with Dr. Bruce to do an in-office SI(Dr. B willing of course). FYI - I already have my SI letter thanks to Dr. Bruce.

If each of us that's made the "pilgrimage to Peoria" could identify one such local AME to work with on your next FAA physical, then we could begin to spread the knowledge around. You would need to establish the relationship between Bruce and your local AME, pay Bruce his consult fee and the local AME would handle the physical and issuance. As these AMEs come up to speed, I could see it begin to eat into Bruce's income stream - hopefully coinciding roughly with his retirement. Then he could focus on consults by cell phone from the front porch of his retirement cabin!

Maybe this is a half-baked idea and you're welcome to poke holes in it. This may be easier for me as I live in an area that's referred to as "Delta's off-base housing" with a large professional pilot community. If successful, we could set up a reference page(either at POA or elsewhere) pointing to the AMEs willing to work in this fashion.

OK - fire away...
Click to expand...

All kidding aside, having met him, Bruce has a special demeanor that may be hard to replicate. I have referred several people to him because besides knowing his craft extremely well, he is wonderful to deal with.
 
asgcpa said:
All kidding aside, having met him, Bruce has a special demeanor that may be hard to replicate. I have referred several people to him because besides knowing his craft extremely well, he is wonderful to deal with.
Click to expand...
I concur wholeheartedly, but there will come a day when he hangs up the shingle. I'm trying to plan for the day after that...

There's no way to replace him. I'm just trying to capture a bit of that knowledge for the community.
 
Simpler than this is sending him to Kamino... Then we could have plenty of Dr. Bruce's to help us agains the droid army --err-- FAA.

But I do like your concept, PF. The challenge will always be finding the individuals that want to take on the extra steps like Bruce has, including making the OKC contacts and gaining their trust. Hopefully they are out there and we can find them.
 
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Papa Foxtrot said:
I concur wholeheartedly, but there will come a day when he hangs up the shingle. I'm trying to plan for the day after that...

There's no way to replace him. I'm just trying to capture a bit of that knowledge for the community.
Click to expand...

The knowledge is out there. It just takes someone willing able to do the work to digest it and use it correctly. Trying to spoon feed it to someone else assumes they are not able or willing to do it themselves, like Dr. B did and by definition they will never be a Dr. B.

There are other good AMEs, but the problem is that it is almost impossible for a lay person to evaluate them. Perhaps a better use of Dr. B's time (if he were so inclined) would be to create and implement some sort of evaluation system for AMEs. But how would he be reimbursed for his effort? Would you pay him for a referral to the best AME in your area? I would if I thought I needed someone to handle any sort of special situation.
 
Papa Foxtrot said:
I concur wholeheartedly, but there will come a day when he hangs up the shingle. I'm trying to plan for the day after that...

There's no way to replace him. I'm just trying to capture a bit of that knowledge for the community.
Click to expand...

Good idea, but I hate to think about his possible retirement....
 
JOhnH said:
The knowledge is out there. It just takes someone willing able to do the work to digest it and use it correctly.
Click to expand...

I'll buy the gas to get to Peoria...:yes:

To the OP...your point is valid until you have gone through the BS I did in doing the same search you described...

I simply don't have the time nor inclination to subject myself to a "starter AME".
 
Kelvin said:
I'll buy the gas to get to Peoria...:yes:

To the OP...your point is valid until you have gone through the BS I did in doing the same search you described...

I simply don't have the time nor inclination to subject myself to a "starter AME".
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So what is your plan to get your medical after Bruce leaves for his well deserved retirement??
 
JeffDG said:
Depends where he retires to!
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Well he mentioned a spot when I was in Peoria last year. I don't feel that I'm at liberty to say where tho'. Might actually be a little tougher to get to than Peoria, but I would still be willing to make the trip if he decides to continue this part of his practice!
 
Kelvin said:
I'll buy the gas to get to Peoria...:yes:

To the OP...your point is valid until you have gone through the BS I did in doing the same search you described...

I simply don't have the time nor inclination to subject myself to a "starter AME".
Click to expand...

Starter AME....that's a good one.
 
Kelvin said:
Obviously you do not know Dr. Chien...He IS retired...Rose has a new job...:D:D

I'll go to whomever Dr. Chien recommends...;)
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I'm sure there are many here that know Bruce better than I do. I'm simply one of many happy clients. I know that he closed his practice in 2010 and I have no idea how long he'll continue to put up with us... ;)
 
Papa Foxtrot said:
Well he mentioned a spot when I was in Peoria last year. I don't feel that I'm at liberty to say where tho'. Might actually be a little tougher to get to than Peoria, but I would still be willing to make the trip if he decides to continue this part of his practice!
Click to expand...
I'm not moving or quitting for a while, PapaFox. Though the spouse would love to move, her social network is here as well, and who knows the whims of the 23 and 25 y.o. bachelor daughters.

Well what, I say, would happen, if we moved to "that spot" and she and that guy from Portland OR got together long term? Then we'd be four hours away......

It'll be a while. I'm not even 60 yet (barely) :)

I AM trying to help out a new junior AME about 6 miles away, but I cannot transfer to him the way of relating to the agency guys. And that takes some years, for which there is no guide. :sad: My new KPIA (2nd) office just got inspected simultaneously to his local place getting the Federal look-over.
 
bbchien said:
I'm not moving or quitting for a while, PapaFox. Though the spouse would love to move, her social network is here as well, and who knows the whims of the 23 and 25 y.o. bachelor daughters.

Well what, I say, would happen, if we moved to "that spot" and she and that guy from Portland OR got together long term? Then we'd be four hours away......

It'll be a while. I'm not even 60 yet (barely) :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Bruce! I appreciate the reassurance. I must confess, when you mentioned the retirement spot over lunch, a very selfish thought ran through my head, "I just found out about this guy and now he's gonna' retire". We must be about the same age - I'm a terrible judge of that and therefore never try to guess anyone's age. Heh - my two daughters are just slightly older than yours too!

I AM trying to help out a new junior AME about 6 miles away, but I cannot transfer to him the way of relating to the agency guys. And that takes some years, for which there is no guide. :sad: My new KPIA (2nd) office just got inspected simultaneously to his local place getting the Federal look-over.
Click to expand...

That's one big hole I knew of in my plan. What you are able to accomplish involves some huge intangibles that can't be taught. Some must be learned and others(the respect of the FAA) must be earned...
 
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