Fitness for Duty

Employers and licensing boards may require that individuals undergo a psychological evaluation to determine a person’s fitness for continued employment or licensing. At times, this may be in response to concerns that the employer may have regarding an employee’s behavior or in response to legal troubles that an employee may have encountered. Fitness for duty evaluations need to be conducted with expertise. Individuals in need of fitness for duty evaluations are at risk for losing more than just their current employment. Licensing boards can suspend or revoke an individual’s license preventing them from engaging in future employment in their chosen field. The clinicians at North Shore psychology have helped individuals such as firefighters, teachers, nurses, lawyers and doctors successfully respond to fitness for duty concerns.

Law Enforcement Disqualifications (Re-evaluations)

Law enforcement/civil service agencies routinely employ mental health professionals to conduct psychological evaluations as a requirement for employment. These evaluations are typically quite extensive and include aclinical interview as well as written personality and mental health measures.It is estimated that between fifteen and twenty percent of applicants for law enforcement positions fail this screening and are disqualified from employment. Most applicants who are disqualified do not know why this happened and do not have mental health disorders. Applicants who fail their psychological screening are given an opportunity to appeal this decision by having a private psychologist conduct an independent evaluation. The clinicians at North Shore Psychology have years of experience conducting law enforcement re-evaluations and have gained valuable insight into the requirements and nuances of this type of evaluation. This experience is crucial for successful appeals, especially given that police agencies have increasingly begun to refuse to release the results of applicant’s initial evaluations.

The most common question applicants ask when inquiring about a re-evaluation for a law enforcement application is - What are the chances that an appeal will be successful? The answer to this question is extremely difficult to gauge because it is very specific to each individual’s circumstances. Clinicians at North Shore Psychology are experts at assessing if an applicant has a good chance of a successful appeal and will not recommend incurring the expense of a re-evaluation if they do not feel that there is a reasonable chance of a successful appeal. Applicant’s can improve upon their chance of a successful appeal by being open and honest during the evaluation process. Clinicians at North Shore Psychology will conduct a brief interview at no cost to assess an applicant’s chances of a successful appeal before making a recommendation.

individual’s circumstances. Clinicians at North Shore Psychology are experts at assessing if an applicant has a good chance of a successful appeal and will not recommend incurring the expense of a re-evaluation if they do not feel that there is a reasonable chance of a successful appeal. Applicant’s can improve upon their chance of a successful appeal by being open and honest during the evaluation process. Clinicians at North Shore Psychology will conduct a brief interview at no cost to assess an applicant’s chances of a successful appeal before making a recommendation. For a free consultation call (516) 376-0950.