The Medical Services Division is divided into three distinct sections: Correctional Care (Medical clinics operating within City jail), Occupational Health, and Psychology. The primary goal is to provide quality medical and specialty care services to the populations served in compliance with local, state and federal regulations.
The medical examination and written psychological tests may be administered on the same day and require approximately five to six hours to complete. Candidates must be in excellent physical, emotional, and mental health with no conditions that restrict the ability to safely perform the essential functions of the police officer job. Good physical condition is necessary as training in the Academy is rigorous. Failure to be in excellent physical condition may delay or disrupt training and result in a dismissal from the Academy.
A City physician performs a thorough medical evaluation. It is essential for candidates to be in excellent health, with no medical conditions that restrict the ability to safely perform the essential functions of the police officer and firefighter job. A cardiac stress test or a treadmill may be performed as part of the medical evaluation.
Each candidate will have their percent of body fat determined during the medical evaluation process. A candidate must not exceed the current body fat percentage standard. The current standard for a police candidate is: Female 30% and Male 22%. The current Standard for a Fire candidate is 32% female and 24% male.
A police candidate’s vision must be at least 20/30 in each eye with the following exceptions. If glasses are worn, vision must be at least 20/30 in each eye while wearing the glasses and uncorrected distance vision must not exceed 20/70 in either eye and the better eye must be at least 20/40. If soft contact lenses are worn, they must have been worn for at least three months and vision must be at least 20/30 in each eye tested with the contacts in. If a LASIK procedure (refractive surgery) was performed, vision must be at least 20/30 in each eye. In addition, candidates must be able to accurately and quickly name colors, and must be free from other visual impairments that would restrict the ability to perform law enforcement duties.
Firefighter candidates must have uncorrected vision of at least 20/40 in the best eye and not worse than 20/100 in the other regardless of contact lens use. Color vision deficiency - Police and fire candidates must be able to accurately and quickly identify colors.
Candidates must be able to understand speech in noisy areas, understand whispered speech, and localize sounds. Specialized testing methods are used to determine hearing capability. Although hearing aid use is not automatically disqualifying, additional specialized tests will be administered to determine if the use of hearing aids will be permitted.
The Psychological Evaluation consists of a written examination and an individual oral interview and evaluation by a City psychologist on factors related to successful performance in the difficult and stressful job of Police Officer. The information evaluated includes the written psychological tests completed during the medical evaluation along with information obtained in the background investigation process.
Candidates with a history or prior diagnosis of a psychological or psychiatric condition, including learning disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorder, or who have been treated with psychotropic medication or therapy, will be asked to provide relevant medical records before a final psychological determination can be made.
Certain conditions that have been suspected or diagnosed such as most learning disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorder, with or without hyperactivity, may require additional testing and review of relevant medical records. In some cases, these conditions/diagnoses are accompanied by functional limitations that might necessitate a psychological disqualification.
Conditions such as bipolar disorder, recurring major depression, with or without psychotic features or suicidal ideation, recurring anxiety disorders, with or without panic attacks, obsessive/compulsive disorder, and most diagnoses leading to a psychiatric hospitalization require review of relevant medical records. These conditions are frequently accompanied by functional limitations that are difficult to manage, and as a result, tend to result in a psychological disqualification. Be assured, each candidate receives an individualized assessment of they unique circumstances, and no condition or diagnosis is automatically disqualifying.
If you know you had prior treatment or a major injury, go to your doctor in advance and bring your records with you to the examination.