Question

An OTR® receives a referral to complete a functional capacity evaluation (FCE) on a client who is employed full time as a machinist in the tool-and-die trade. The client completed a course of outpatient therapy after a wrist fracture to the dominant hand. Which assessment would be MOST clinically appropriate to determine a client's ability to return to full-duty employment?

Answer 1

A functional capacity evaluation for a machinist returning to work after a wrist fracture should focus on specific tasks like grip strength, wrist stability, and crucial wrist and finger movements such as abduction, adduction, flexion, and extension.

Step-by-step explanation:

The most clinically appropriate assessment to determine a client's ability to return to full-duty employment as a machinist after a wrist fracture would include a functional capacity evaluation (FCE) that focuses on tasks specific to the tool-and-die trade. These tasks might involve assessments of grip strength, wrist stability, dexterity, and the ability to perform motions such as bending the hand up toward the shoulder, tilting the hand to the side away from the body, and making a fist which are all crucial movements for a machinist. Additionally, an Occupational Therapist Registered (OTR®) might also assess the ability to abduct and adduct, circumduct, and flex and extend the wrist and fingers which are motions similar to what might be required on the job.