Preparing for Pre Employment Medicals

Health & Medical Blog

Pre employment medicals are undertaken as part of the recruitment process to determine suitability of potential employees for the roles they applied for. The physical and psychological demands of roles vary, and the risks employees are exposed to in the workplace also vary from one industry to another.

Employers make every effort to mitigate these risks in an attempt to ensure that illness or injury to themselves and fellow employees are prevented. It is also a legal requirement that employees recruited into industries such as mining meet national medical standards specified for that industry. The Coal Board Medical is a requirement of the Coal Mine Workers' Health Scheme.

Pre employment medicals are industry specific, so employers would not necessarily exclude a potential employee because of a pre existing medical condition or a previous injury. Examining physicians want to ensure that appropriate rehabilitation measures have been taken and the condition has been sufficiently stabilised that they do not constitute a risk to themselves or fellow employees. Statutory regulations are however stricter for some industries and some medical conditions may actually preclude employment in certain industries, for example commercial vehicle drivers and rail safety workers.

Comfortable, loose fitting clothing is the appropriate apparel to wear on the day of the medical. This should be complemented by suitable underwear as extensive medicals usually require stripping down to the underclothes. Remember to carry along a suitable photo I.D such as a driver's license, especially if the medical is being undertaken by outside specialists such as nominated medical advisers. Spectacles, contact lenses and hearing aids should not be left behind.

It is advisable to arrive early enough for the pre employment medical so that there is sufficient time to settle in while waiting to be called. Smoking while waiting or prior to arrival at the venue should be avoided in case the medicals are extended to include lung function tests. If hearing tests are included, exposure to loud noise or music should be avoided a day before the test as this may interfere with the result of hearing tests.

Questionnaires relating to the medicals should be filled out truthfully. Individuals on prescribed medications should declare them in the questionnaire as this may present problems for the individual later if they are subsequently detected in urine or blood tests.

Some employers make it mandatory to screen for illicit drugs. This is done by testing urine samples collected during the medicals. Australian laws require that urine sample collection for this purpose be directly observed by a health professional. It is advisable to drink water in moderation before the medicals as urine samples that are too dilute may not be accepted for the test. It could be viewed as an attempt to disguise the presence of illicit drugs in the urine.

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17 January 2017

Quitting smoking at last

I have tried to quit smoking three times over the last few years, but it never really stuck. My mother just got diagnosed with lung cancer, and it's given me the wakeup call that I have been waiting for. I have quit smoking again, but this time I spoke to my doctor before I started and it's made a lot of difference. He organised some nicotine replacement products and counselling to help me quit for good this time. I have started this blog to let people know how much easier it is to quit when your doctor is helping you.