The other day I took the GRE's at a Prometric testing center here in Austin, TX. Granted I have taken them before (over 5 years ago) with no issues from having medical equipment. This time nope! I was not allowed to bring my reciever, PDM, or glucose tablets into the testing area. And I had a note from my doctor- this was not even looked at.
After multiple phone calls to ETS, still nothing - I apparently had to file for "special accomodations" to bring my necessary equipment in. I was told that I could step out of the room to go and test my blood sugar, and get glucose- but the clock would not stop. Also if I had my old pump with tubing it would not have been an issue- anything attached to your body is excluded from this claim (I showed them where it went into my body). This is flat out discrimination. The filing for accomodations includes an archaic snail-mail request that can take up to 6 weeks to become approved. As far as I am concerned it should not be up to non-medical professionals to say whether or not I can have medical equipment with me to take an important test. ETS needs to have a standardized list of acceptable medical equipment- that will not cause people to jump through hoops in order to further their education/ career.
Needless to say I was very upset and performed poorly on the GRE. Has anyone else had this specific issue?
Proctors are paid to administer tests according to strict protocols, never mind that absolutely no one would have complained, or even noticed, if had they turned a blind eye. Where’s the common sense?
All kidding aside ever think of going after ETS… unfortunately youd need legal aid… I would definitely insist on a refund for providing a hostile testing environment and void your scores…
That is Crazy. I just took the GMAT and I told them what it was. The proctor let me leave my PDM on his desk and I just checked my BG’s on break. I’m so sorry you had to deal with that. Adaptive tests are hard enough, added stress of Diabetes surely does not help. I hope they don’t make the same mistake again. Good luck on your test! Hopefully they will help you out with the cost of taking it again due to negligence.
I took the GRE back in 2002 at a Prometric facility in Dallas when I was still on a Minimed pump and remember having to keep my glucose/snacks/testing supplies in a locked locker, but I remember being concerned about whether they would try to have me remove my pump. I think I might have argued with someone, but I don’t honestly remember. In the end, I know I wore my pump throughout the test, but like you said, it was a tubed pump.
You totally have a leg to stand on legally, but the best you can likely hope for is a chance to retake the test (probably on your own dime) but this time with your medical devices.
So for an update at the ridiculousness of ETS. I called this morning to try and get someone to expedite my application (6 weeks isn’t going to cut it for applications). It was infuriating. I was told I could fax it in and it would still take up to 3 weeks- annoying, but a little better. I filled out the appropriate pages, included pictures of the Omnipod and Dexcom, my doctor’s note and of course payment for the next exam. Then I went to Kinko’s (who owns a fax machine?) where I tried to fax the application for about 30-40 minutes. After the 6th attempt, I called to inquire about a possible email, or alternative fax number. I was told there is one fax line for the disabilities applications, they couldn’t accept emails since their email can not download attachments. Umm… wait what year is it, oh 2010, for a minute I thought maybe it was 1993… seriously! One fax line or I could snail mail it in. Huh, so now of course I am wondering how this is not discrimination, since ETS is possibly keeping me from retaking the exam in a timely manner.
The PDM isn’t a PDA, which brings up an interesting question: A few diabetes medical device manufacturers will soon have a handheld device (like the PDM) that will actually be a SmartPhone (or similar devices). They will have Bluetooth and even WiFi/Web access. I guess this could be an issue in situations like a GRE, ACT, SAT, etc tests.
Huumm, maybe those manufacturers should re-think that approach…
I think I mentioned something along the lines of this back in the new features survey thread. Personally, I’m not interested in a PDM/phone/BatUtilityDevice. I just want the best PDM Insulet can make to handle my insulin pumping needs, period.
