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Competencies in Occupational Health/Health and Work for medical undergraduates


Competency 2 - Good Clinical Care: Clinical Risk Management and Decision Making

Objective: to understand and manage the legal and ethical implications of advice on suitability for work

AREA OF COMPETENCE:

1. FITNESS FOR WORK
CERTIFICATION

Medical Evidence for Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay and Social Security Incapacity Benefit purposes: A guide for registered medical practitioners

A General Practitioner (GP) gets around 577 requests for sick-notes every year from employees who have been off sick for more than 7 days. Advice regarding patients' capacity for work is therefore an everyday part of the management of clinical problems. In giving such advice, certifying doctors should always consider carefully whether refraining from work represents the most appropriate clinical management of the patient. Doctors can often best help their patients of working age by taking clinical action which will encourage and support work retention and rehabilitation.

A good occupational history is necessary in order to have a clear understanding of a patients job and the tasks they perform and to consider all possible options when assessing their fitness for work.

The most common causes for sick-notes are for musculoskeletal problems such as back pain, anxiety and depression and workplace stress.