Become a police officer with Federal Policing: Undergo medical and psychological assessments

Medical and psychological health assessment

During this stage, you'll need to complete a health assessment conducted by an RCMP-designated physician. This assessment includes full medical and psychological exams. We'll cover the cost of these basic exams.

A representative from the RCMP Health Services Office will contact you. They'll provide you with the information you need to proceed with the health assessments and exams.

RCMP medical and psychological standards

Our minimum medical and psychological standards for regular member applicants align with the requirements of operational policing in the RCMP. They're part of a health risk assessment intended to ensure that you can safely undertake:

• the physical and psychological demands of training
• the role of an operational police officer

While physically demanding incidents may not happen often, when they do happen, they may be intense and life threatening.

There are four critical tasks with occupational health requirements related to the role of a police officer:

• operational driving
• use of firearms and other intervention equipment
• physical confrontation and use of force
• operational decision-making

Medical and psychological health assessment

The assessment of your fitness for duty includes:

• a review of current and past medical and psychological conditions
• their impact on your ability to perform essential operational police duties

Medical health information

The medical health information gathered for the fitness for duty assessment includes:

• a clinical health history
• a physical examination
• lab tests

Psychological evaluation

The psychological evaluation for the fitness for duty assessment may include:

• written psychological tests
• an interview conducted by a registered psychologist on factors related to performing policing duties safely and successfully

These factors include competencies such as teamwork, emotional self-control, and decision-making under stress.

Even in the absence of mental illness, the psychological assessment may conclude that you're not psychologically suitable for a policing role in the RCMP. Conversely, a history of psychological difficulties won't necessarily result in your application being rejected. If you have a history of psychological difficulties, you may need to provide documentation that shows:

• How your difficulties are resolved
• How you have functioned successfully over time

Completing the fitness for duty assessment

To complete your fitness for duty assessment, the RCMP Health Services Officer may request additional information such as:

• copies of relevant medical records
• specialist consultations
• further testing or investigations to better understand any condition that may affect your physical or psychological functioning in a policing role

You may be found to not meet the minimum requirements of the fitness for duty assessment for policing duties if you have any medical or psychological condition, treatment, limitation or restriction that:

• impairs performance to the degree that you can't complete essential duties safely and effectively
• increases risk, to an unacceptable level, to your personal health
• increases risk of sudden incapacitation or impaired judgment
• can result in the transmission of an infectious disease to a co-worker or the public
• results in being unfit to be a professional driver according to the Canadian Medical Association Guidelines

Health conditions

You need to declare:

• all your current health conditions
• past medical and psychological history
• use of medications, supplements and substances
• any requirements for medical aids (e.g. orthotics, braces, support animals, etc.) at the time of the medical assessment

We recommend that you take the opportunity to self-assess based on known medical and psychological conditions that may affect your fitness for duty.

Health conditions that may pose restrictions and/or limitations on your ability to perform the essential duties of a police officer include, but are not limited to, the following:

Respiratory disease

Obstructive or restrictive conditions such as:

• asthma
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• emphysema

Cardiovascular conditions

• High blood pressure
• Ischemic heart disease
• Myocardial infarction
• Cerebrovascular disease
• Aortic aneurysm
• Congestive heart failure
• Cardiac arrhythmia, including use of pacemaker
• Valvular heart disease
• Cardiomyopathy
• Peripheral vascular disease

Neurological conditions

• Seizure disorders and epilepsy
• Narcolepsy
• Sleep apnea and other disturbances of consciousness
• Vestibular disorders
• Multiple sclerosis
• Disorders of coordination and muscle control
• Head injury
• Post traumatic conditions
• Intracranial tumour

Endocrine conditions

• Diabetes mellitus
• Thyroid disease
• Cushing's disease
• Addison's disease
• Pheochromocytoma

Musculoskeletal conditions

• Rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus
• Disease of the spine
• Significant joint dysfunction with unstable ligament or tear such as shoulder dislocation or ligamentous tears
• Limb amputation

Abdominal conditions

• Inflammatory bowel disease including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Kidney diseases such as kidney stone or kidney failure requiring dialysis
• Disease of the liver such as cirrhosis

Eye or ear conditions

• Ocular disorders associated with impaired visual function, including distant visual acuity, field of vision and colour vision
• Hearing impairment such as hearing acuity, Meniere's disease and benign positional vertigo

Hematologic conditions

• Bleeding disorders
• Clotting disorders including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms

Immunologic/allergic/oncologic and infectious conditions

• Immune disorder with immunocompromised state
• Cancer
• Life threatening allergies
• Chronic and/or life threatening infectious disease

Psychological/psychiatric or mental health conditions

• Mood (affective) disorders including depression, mania, bipolar disease
• Anxiety disorders including panic disorder, phobia
• Stress related disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder
• Psychotic disorders including schizophrenia and delusional disorder
• Cognitive disorders including acquired brain injury and dementia
• Personality disorders
• Substance use and addictive disorders
• Neurodevelopmental disorders including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Other mental health disorders associated with significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other areas of functioning, including somatoform disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder

Other

Other chronic or ongoing medical conditions with functional impairment or risk that may interfere with the ability to perform policing duties

Immunizations and tuberculosis status

We recommend that you get the following immunizations and a tuberculosis screening prior to applying.

The following adult immunizations should be up to date:

• Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis (Tdap)
• Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR)
• Hepatitis B series

You'll also need to provide the following documentation during the medical screening phase of the application process:

1. Two-Step Tuberculin Skin Test (Mantoux), include date, results in mm and signature of provider reading results
2. Chest X-Ray (only if positive Mantoux at 10mm or greater)