Title: Functional Capacity Evaluation - AOTA
Headings: Functional Capacity Evaluation
Functional Capacity Evaluation
Who Can Benefit From an FCE?

Content: Similar types of testing may also be called a functional capacity assessment (FCA), physical capacity assessment or evaluation (PCA or PCE), or work capacity assessment or evaluation (WCA or WCE). A well-designed FCE should consist of a battery of standardized assessments that offers results in performance-based measures and demonstrates predictive value about the individual's return to work (Kuijer et al., 2011; Soer, et al., 2008). Traditionally, FCEs measured an individual's ability to perform the physical demands of a job, but over the last decade many FCE batteries have begun to include evaluation of cognitive demands if such testing is warranted. The FCE must be administered with care for the client's safety and well-being. Who Can Benefit From an FCE? Someone who has been injured on the job to determine his or her ability to return to the job or alternate work
Someone applying for Social Security Disability benefits
Someone seeking to return to work or volunteer activities after an injury or illness
Someone injured in a catastrophic accident (i.e., automobile accident) for whom an FCE can determine performance skills and abilities related to resuming former employment or a new job
Someone seeking vocational rehabilitation services
Students receiving transitional services from school to the work setting to determine their skills and the extent of support required to perform in a job
Occupational Therapy's Role in FCEs
The ability to analyze an activity in detail to determine the necessary components to perform the task competently is a unique core skill of occupational therapists, based on their education and training. FCEs typically require the evaluator to determine the worker's capability to perform various work-related tasks and whether there is a match between these abilities and the essential job performance components.