What is the medical examination?
After the physical, military doctors examine you at the centre’s medical room (final medicals for officers happen at a Military Hospital after ISSB). The goal: confirm you can bear the demands of service in any terrain.
Core standards checked
| Check | Standard (male soldier) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 5′6″ GD · 5′3″-5′4″ trades/officer | Relaxed standards for Balochistan, GB & AJK quotas |
| Weight | Per age-height chart | Under/over-weight is correctable before final medical |
| Chest | 28″-30″ with 1.5″ expansion | Measured at rest and after full inhale |
| Vision | 6/6 - 6/9 (entry-specific) | Laser surgery history can disqualify for some entries |
| Hearing / ENT | Normal hearing both ears | Chronic tonsillitis or sinus issues are noted |
| Teeth & gums | Healthy, no active infection | Dental filling is acceptable |
| Blood & urine | No anaemia, no sugar, no hepatitis | Laboratory tests at final medical |
| X-ray & ECG | Normal | At final medical for officer candidates |
Common reasons candidates are declared unfit
- Knock knees, bow legs or flat feet - permanent skeletal disqualifiers for combat entries
- Squint (strabismus), night blindness or colour blindness for technical entries
- Undescended testis, hernia or hydrocele - often correctable with surgery
- Underweight or overweight against the age-height chart
- Hepatitis B/C positive screening
- Enlarged tonsils or chronic ear discharge (ENT)
Many disqualifiers are correctable. Flat-feet exercises, tonsillectomy, hernia repair and weight adjustment can make you fit for a later intake - a temporary unfitness is not the end of the road.
Medical day, step by step
The examination runs like a production line and every candidate moves through the same stations in order: the height board and weighing scale, chest measurement with the 1.5" expansion check, the eye chart, ENT inspection and dental check, then blood and urine samples for the laboratory. Officer candidates complete X-ray and ECG later at the final medical in a Military Hospital. The full circuit takes 2-4 hours, so eat lightly, carry water, and never argue with the medical staff - what they record is exactly what the selection board sees.
Two weeks before your medical - do and don't
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Sleep 7-8 hours nightly - blood pressure and reflexes show it | Gym supplements or steroids - they wreck liver readings |
| Fix correctable issues early: dental filling, tonsil consult, weight adjustment | Crash-diet to hit the weight chart - anaemia shows in blood |
| Carry vaccination records and old prescriptions with you | Hide past surgery - the X-ray reveals everything anyway |
| Practise reading the eye chart at home if you wear glasses | Borrow contact lenses to pass - they are removed at the chart |
Medical standards bite hardest for medical and nursing entries. Candidates for the Medical Cadet Course and AFNS BSc Nursing face the strictest vision and laboratory screens, while Soldier Nursing Assistant applicants should be ready for colour-vision questions too. Quota entries such as Soldier GD Balochistan carry relaxed height standards, but the laboratory tests are identical for every candidate in the country.
Relevant jobs for this stage: Medical Cadet Course · AFNS BSc Nursing · Soldier Nursing Assistant · PMA Long Course - see every open intake on the jobs board.