Hi everyone, I just wanted to to ascertain that the drug test administered was a urine sample, not a hair sample.
Has anyone done the medical exam recently?
[quote=“pdimond”]Hi everyone, I just wanted to to ascertain that the drug test administered was a urine sample, not a hair sample.
Has anyone done the medical exam recently?[/quote]
hmmm…feeling guilty is we?
if only it was hair!!! gosh, would have made the poop on command a few years back much easier!
Surely they know of ways to scare the shit out of you, no?
Renai Hospital. Blood test. I’ve never pooped, pee’d or sacrificed any of my golden tresses.
It’s a urine test. They test for opiates, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy). Luckily , most of those are undetectable in urine after 7 days, but cannabis can linger for a couple of weeks. Try not to take any medication containing codeine prior to the test, as it will show up as “opiate”. They don’t seem to distinguish between heroin, morphine and codeine. Depending on the hospital, however, if you say you are a teacher they don’t normally administer the drug test. I get my medical check at the Banchiou hospital and they only asked for urine once, 7 years ago.
Thanks for the excellent advice-- I certainly appreciate the codeine warning. Taiwan is definitely not the place to be associated (even tangentially) with drugs…
Does anyone know of the consequences for testing positive? Is it “try again in a week,” deportation, or are the police called… In some jurisdictions, testing positive on a drug test is considered “possession,” which leads to criminal charges, which then lead to jail/prison time.
Unless there have been major changes to the drug screening processes they don’t actually run the urine tests for anything other than opiates and amphetamines… There are check boxes on the list for all manner of other stuff, but they are not routinely tested… I haven’t done an ARC health check for 5 years though, so perhaps things have changed…
EDIT: I just noticed the OP’s question was “medical exam for teachers”… I’ve never done one of those so if there are different test requirements for teachers, maybe my info doesn’t apply… 
Don’t eat any poppy seeds either.
Mind you, when it happened to me, they told me to come back 3 or 4 days later and take the test again.
:eh:
Sorry for bumping this, but I was just wondering if anybody has any updated info, especially because some of the above posts contain conflicting information. Is there a drug test for teachers who have just arrived in Taiwan? Is it blood or urine? Do they test for greenery? Or does it all just depend on the hospital? I’m not really that concerned. I just want to be sure not to do anything I’ll regret before arriving.
PS Sorry that this is my first post. And hello all!
yo, been here a while, a friend’s just coming off a 3 year ARC, school’s changing management, so she’s heading for a health check soon. It’s been 3 yr since her last, so she’s unsure now and wondering if anyone knows of the latest changes; what’s tested for and what’s not? Does anyone know if (1) teachers are still checked for any drug use at all anymore with renewed human rights privacy laws? (2 yr ago, there was a case in KHS where a Thai manual worker tested positive for Thai’s version of speed, but was ultimately acquitted on grounds of “invasion of human rights” - does this still stand?). And (2), If YES to above Q, what is tested for? Thanks to any useful input out there.
As far as I know, there is no drug test and no urine or stool collection for teachers/students from countries the gov’t deems “clean” and there hasn’t been for some time. If the nurse gives you a little cup and points towards the bathroom, ask for someone who speaks English and show them your passport.
I did health checks in 2009 and 2010 as a teacher at Far East Hospital in Banqiao, and this year as a student at Ren’ai. I agree with the common wisdom that Ren’ai is the best place to go to if you’re nearby.