C&P EXAM PREP SHEET
Print this, fill it before the exam, carry it in. The C&P wears the costume of
a doctor visit but it is an evidentiary hearing. Walk in knowing which box
every answer marks.


THE FRAME, SO YOU DO NOT FORGET IT IN THE CHAIR
The examiner is not treating you. The examiner is filling out a checkbox form
(a DBQ) and the boxes that get checked become your rating. Nobody is coaching
you to lie. You are coaching yourself to STOP UNDERSELLING. Describe your worst
days with frequency, not your average day and not your best one.


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STEP 1: KNOW THE FORM BEFORE YOU WALK IN
Condition being examined: [CONDITION]
Diagnostic code (if you know it): [CODE]
DBQ the examiner will use: [DBQ NAME]
  -> Have your analyst pull this DBQ and walk you through every question.
  -> Then check it against the live version on VA.gov. Forms get revised.


STEP 2: KNOW THE RATING CRITERIA COLD
The threshold I honestly meet on my worst days: [PERCENT LEVEL]
The criteria language for that level (38 CFR Part 4): [PASTE THE WORDING]
  -> Answer in the language of impairment, because that is the language the
     criteria are written in.


STEP 3: WORDS THAT BLEED RATING POINTS (do not say these on reflex)
  [ ] "I'm doing okay."
  [ ] "I manage."
  [ ] "It's not that bad."
  [ ] "I don't want to complain."
  [ ] "I can push through it."
  [ ] "I'm fine most of the time."
  [ ] "I don't really need the cane, I just use it sometimes."
Every one of those checks a lower box. Leave the never-make-a-fuss instinct in
the truck.


STEP 4: WRITE YOUR WORST-DAY ANSWERS NOW (do not improvise cold)
Frequency  - how often the bad episodes hit: [____ per week / month]
Duration   - how long each one lasts: [____]
Severity   - what breaks down at the worst vs. baseline: [____]
Functional loss - what you cannot do mid-flare that you can on a normal day:
[____]


STEP 5: THE BRING LIST
  [ ] Current medications with dosages
  [ ] Symptom log covering the past 30 to 90 days (hand it over so it lands
      in the record)
  [ ] Assistive devices you actually use (cane, brace) even if unused this week
  [ ] Relevant medical records
  [ ] Any private DBQs
  [ ] A written list of the functional limitations you want on the record
  [ ] Pen and paper to take your own notes during the exam
  [ ] A spouse or close family member if the examiner allows it


STEP 6: CONDITION-SPECIFIC REMINDERS
MENTAL HEALTH:
  [ ] Do not clean up for the exam. No fresh shave, no interview clothes if you
      would not normally. Grooming and presentation get scored.
  [ ] Do not rank yourself ("about a six out of ten" licenses a lower box).
      Describe what happens and let the examiner translate.
MUSCULOSKELETAL:
  [ ] Say "pain is beginning here" out loud on every movement and joint. Onset
      of pain is federally required under 38 CFR 4.59 and many examiners skip
      it unless you force it.
  [ ] Do not push through pain to hit a number. The exam measures what you can
      do without making it worse.
  [ ] Describe flares even if you are not flaring in the room.
WHEN THE EXAMINER STEERS YOU TO MINIMIZE:
  [ ] Refuse the frame. "So you can walk without assistance most of the time,
      right?" -> answer the truth: "I use a cane on my bad days, which happen
      at least twice a week." Do not help the man check the lower box.


STEP 7: THE MOMENT YOU CLEAR THE DOOR
Write down everything before memory rots: what was asked, how you answered,
what the examiner said, how long it ran, any tests, any range-of-motion numbers.
Then request a copy of the examiner's DBQ findings through VA.gov secure
messaging or a FOIA request, upload it to your project, and have the analyst
lay it line by line against what you reported. Hunt for: claims that contradict
what you said, flares you described that never made the form, checkbox picks
that do not match your condition, missing pain-onset notes. Verify every
citation against the regulation before you file anything off it.