Pre Employment Physicals

You go to a job interview for a company and everything seems to be going well, then at the end of the interview they tell you that they need one more thing before you can start the job. Your potential employer says all we need is a pre-employment physical.  “A what?” you think as you have never had to have one of these in the past. 

Pre-employment physicals are becoming more common among employers who have a higher rate of accidents and worker’s compensation claims. They can help determine if you are capable of doing the job.  Pre-employment physicals typically have you doing tasks that are similar to the job you will do for the company, as well as a musculoskeletal evaluation by a doctor.  These physicals can’t be completed unless a job offer has been made, to make sure that you aren’t discriminated against for any disabilities you may have.

When you go to the physical you can expect the typical information to be gathered such as height, weight, and blood pressure.  You may also be asked a few questions about previous injuries and accidents.  A yes response to these questions doesn’t necessarily exclude you from the job you are being offered, they just allow the technicians and doctor performing the physical to know if there are any limitations to what you can do during the testing.  When you answer these questions, you do have certain rights on what questions are asked by law.  We can’t ask you any questions related to family genetic diseases, i.e. heart conditions, but we can ask about your own conditions to ensure that you aren’t injured during testing.

The job you applied for determines the tasks you will need to complete.  Pre-employment physicals can cover every job from the janitorial staff to the CEO of the company.  When you go to a physical you may see dig pits, shelving units, even weights for all of the different tasks.  If you had a friend who was hired by the same company but for a different position they would do a completely different set of tasks.

Pre-employment physicals can also protect you as an employee. During the physical the doctor will get baseline measurements of how your body is physically. This includes measures of range of motion, muscle strength, joint integrity as well as reflexes. If your body has no problems during the exam then say six months down the road you are involved in an accident on the job, we will be able to refer back to how your body was before you started the job.

So if you ever have an employer who is offering you a job and asks you to complete a pre-employment physical before starting, don’t stress about it.  The employer does like you but just wants to make sure that you are completely qualified before you start the job.  With a little knowledge of what’s happening before you start, you should have no problems completing the physical and starting a new career.