Work Hardening and Vocational Training

Question 1

List at least five settings where an OT may conduct vocational rehabilitation interventions.

Answer 1

Rehabilitation programs (e.g. WWRC)
Industrial sites and office environments (primarily on consultative basis)
Work-hardening programs
Sheltered work programs
School-to-work transition programs
Psychiatric treatment facilities 
Community programs

Question 2

List the seven components of a Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE).

Answer 2

Physical and psychomotor capacity
Intellectual ability
Emotional stability
Interests & attitudes
Aptitudes and achievements
Work skills and tolerances
Job seeking skills

Question 3

What is a “job demands analysis”?

Answer 3

Assessment to define the actual demands of the job through questionnaires, interviews, on-site observations, formal measurements
Concerned with the question: “What skills are necessary to do the job?”
Does not look at the person, but the ACTUAL job

Question 4

What is the goal of a work hardening program?

Answer 4

Return to work at either full or modified duty, perhaps with on-site environmental adaptations (e.g. if full time is not possible, worker may be able to return to part time work or volunteer at old job)

Question 5

Describe work hardening.

Answer 5

1. Job specific program that typically ranges from 4-8 weeks and consists of the following: entry/exit evaluation (e.g. FCE); job site evaluation; graded activity; work simulation; strength/cardio training; education; and goal setting
2. Involves actual job site training when possible vs. simulations (this could be accomplished with part time work or volunteering at one’s old job)
3. Goal is to return to full duty OR modified duty (with potential environmental adaptations)

Question 6

Describe work conditioning.

Answer 6

1. Not job specific
2. Program to support and help a person get ready for work by focusing on various skills (physical fitness skills such as coordination, strength, endurance, flexibility, aerobic capacity)
3. The Denbigh House and The Mill House are two examples

Question 7

What are the components of a worksite evaluation?

Answer 7

1. On the job assessment to determine whether an individual can return to work after the onset of a disability or whether a person can benefit from reasonable accommodations to maintain employment
2. Factors assessed at the worksite with the worker present: essential functions of the job, the functional assets and limitations of the worker, and the physical environment of the workplace
3. Goal: Person can safely and adequately perform essential functions of the job with or without any reasonable accommodation
   a. ) Conduct a job analysis (if job has not already had this done)
   b. ) Meet with employer and employee at the worksite to assess the work, worker, and workplace and the relationship among them
   - Begin with analysis of the essential functions that may require accommodation
   - Activity analysis to evaluate the worker (e.g. motor, sensory, cognitive, behavioral etc.)
   - Assess work environment (e.g. all areas that the worker accesses,location and placement of machines/supplies, and environmental factors)
   c. ) Adapt job if possible (modify way that worker performs work or modify work environment)
   d. ) Product: a report stating accommodations needed sent to employer

Question 8

How can an OT use the Job Accommodations Network website?

Answer 8

Contains information on typical worksite adaptations for various disabling conditions

OT’s can use this resource to assist employers and disabled workers with learning about and implementing reasonable accommodations in order to increase a person’s employability (e.g. altering job duties or work schedule, modifying the facility, purchasing AE or AT, or modifying or designing a new product)

Question 9

How can an OT use the O*NET Database website?

Answer 9

O*NET describes job tasks, tools, abilities, work activities, work contexts, skills required to do a job, etc.

Can use to help describe a job, find out what skills are required by a job, and how to best match a person to his/her old job or find a new one that fits his/her capabilities.

From the ONET website: “The ONET database includes information on skills, abilities, knowledges, work activities, and interests associated with occupations. This information can be used to facilitate career exploration, vocational counseling, and a variety of human resources functions, such as developing job orders and position descriptions and aligning training with current workplace needs.”

Question 10

List at least six typical risk factors encountered during an ergonomic evaluation.

Answer 10

Forceful exertions (heavy lifting, pushing, twisting, etc)
Repetitive stress (same motion over and over)
Awkward or static posturing (repetitively or for prolonged periods)
Contact stress (tools and surfaces in contact with a person’s skin)
Excessive vibration (e.g. power tools or a tractor)
Cold or heat temperatures
Noise
Dust, chemical exposure

Question 11

Define: Essential job functions

Answer 11

Essential tasks; “the reason the job exists”; highly specialized

There are a limited number of people available at the job site to perform these tasks

Desired outcome of the work tasks, not just the process of performing the essential function (if these essential job functions could not be done, the outcome of the work task would never be reached)

Question 12

Define: Reasonable accommodation

Answer 12

Any modification to the work environment or in the way work is customarily performed that enables an individual with a disability to adequately and safely perform essential functions of the job

Tony mentioned in class that reasonable accommodations are driven by what “the boss thinks is reasonable”