How Long Do Physicals Take?
As a general rule of thumb, you can expect a standard physical examination to take about 45 minutes. More complex physical exams or exams that uncover a health issue that requires additional discussion or examination may run longer.
Click the physical exam category below to go directly to a specific exam, if desired.
- New hire physicals
- DOT certification physicals
- Firefighter physicals
- Law enforcement officer physicals
- Physicals for workers with risk of hazardous substance exposure
- Physicals for employees returning to work after extended absence
- Business executive physicals
I’m a New Hire. What Does a Physical Consist Of?
Pre-placement/post-offer physical exams are designed to help ensure there is no health condition that could compromise the safety of the employee or others when performing the essential functions of the job description. These exams also seek to ensure essential job functions will not worsen any pre-existing medical condition.
If you have employees with physically demanding jobs, you may benefit from functional capacity evaluations to assess how well a new hire’s physical capacity aligns with the physical demands of those jobs. In this type of physical exam, the post-offer new hire will undergo a variety of brief physical tests to demonstrate capacity to lift, carry, and hold weighted objects at body height or higher. After the exam, Concentra clinicians will communicate with the employer regarding the employee’s results.
The value of functional capacity evaluations (also called human performance evaluations) is well supported by research, as seen in several studies cited in MDGuidelines®, the high-quality, evidence-based practice guidelines of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.