[MCOH-EH] fit for duty

[Kim.Thompson at hcahealthcare.com]

Awhile back, I asked this group for opinions related to value of Fit for Duty exams for pre-employment screens. Thanks to those who answered. Now, regardless of your opinion of their value, I need your help once more.

I have attached a Fit for Duty for a RN position. We do these to ensure that the individual can meet the physical demands of the job. It is also a good way to detect perhaps undisclosed pre-existing issues. We are struggling with the 'lift 80#' and the 'push/pull 150#' portions. A couple of pros/cons are listed below and I would like you opinion and/or experience with this. 

For what it is worth, we have only had 2 people fail the Fit for Duty exam since we implemented this process. Approximately 80 have successfully passed. Healthcare is a physically demanding job and we want to ensure our employees are strong and healthy enough to prevent injury to themselves and/or our patients.

Thank you in advance.

Pro:
While we don't expect our employees to lift >35# without lift equipment, the reality is that they do transfer/reposition patients without the equipment AND patients faint/fall which causes a sudden load of weight onto the caregiver. The Fit for Duty piece which requires them to lift 80# one time is to ensure that they are physically strong enough to handle that load.
Con:
Obviously, we don’t want anyone to get hurt during their pre-employment screen. Is 80# too much? If so, what is reasonable - 50, 60, 70#? Or should it be a % of their body weight? We already have them lift/carry a 40# box around the room.
Another solution might be to simulate their job duties more appropriately and we are thinking of having them do a lateral transfer and a repositioning in bed of a dummy/sandbag of 150#....

Pro:
Employees are required to push beds/stretchers with patients in them. Because these are on wheels, it is hard to know exactly how much weight they are actually pushing but 150# seemed reasonable. The push/pull of the sled of 150# has not posed a problem for any of our new hires so far but the question was raised re: using this weight for some of the shorter and/or lighter (100-100#) employees. 


Kim Thompson RN, BSN 
Employee Health Nurse Manager 
Medical Center of McKinney
4500 Medical Center Drive - MOB, Suite 105
McKinney, TX     75069

972- 540- 4218 (phone)
469 - 713- 8660 (fax) 





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