The value of a general practitioner completed pre-employment medical questionnaire in recruit selection

A General Practitioner (GP) completed, fee earning, medical questionnaire was obtained for 444 potential Army recruits and compared with the examination findings of Army Careers Information Office Medical Officers (ACIO MOs), recorded on the FMed 1. It was found that 34 (8%) of the GPs reported a condition that precluded military service. Fourteen of those candidates denied the medical problem on their FMed 1 and remained undetected. Twenty candidates declared their condition but only 6 were rejected, 6 were referred for a specialist opinion and 8 were passed fit. This represents a 60% detection rate among declared problems and nil among concealed ones. If a GP questionnaire were available for all candidates and the same detection rate achieved, there would be a 1.8% increase in rejections at the pre-employment medical selection. The GP questionnaires would cost approximately L400,000 each year. There should however be a compensating reduction in individual requests for GP reports by the ACIO MOs and inappropriate specialist referrals. A drop of 1.8% in recruit medical discharges would save pounds 5,700,000 annually. This study recommends obtaining a GP medical questionnaire for all candidates applying to join the Army.