The Psychiatric Fitness-for-Duty Examination (FFDE) is performed to obtain unbiased psychiatric, and sometimes, neuro-cognitive, information concerning the ability of the patient to safely and effectively perform their job. The purpose of a FFDE is to protect the individual, their coworkers, and the community at large.The goal of the FFDE should be to provide clarity on the individual’s mental health, and its impact on the demands of the job. The evaluation should serve the purpose, not an individual or entity, with clear language understandable to the non-mental health professional using the available information and objective testing, to present the conclusions in a fair, accurate, and legally defensible manner.
While FFDE can fall under Forensic Psychology Practice, the range and scope of these assessments, are wide enough to warrant their own page. CCPS performs a great number of such evaluations at the request of individuals, employers, service agencies and the courts. Some common FFDE referrals are:
- NYPD, FDNY, Department of Corrections, Public Safety, etc, candidates seeking to appeal a denial due to failing their psychological examination
- ACS, child protection agencies, or court ordered, fitness of a parent for cognitive or psychiatric reasons
- Referral of an employee after an ‘incident’, deeming the patient unfit to return unless cleared
- Fitness evaluations are also performed for Bariatric or Gastric Bypass surgery