Provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the development of essential job functions for family practice residents.

BACKGROUND: Family practice residency program directors and faculty are frequently faced with residents who sustain a temporary illness or become disabled during residency. In addition, disabled applicants are seeking positions in medical schools and residencies. Program directors and faculty have an obligation to understand the laws that apply to disability and illness to develop fair and workable policies within their programs. This article explores the provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act that apply to family practice residency programs and residents with illness and disability. One of the key requirements for dealing with resident illness or disability is the development of essential job functions. We present a strategy to enable individual residency programs to develop a list of essential job requirements for family practice residents. An example of essential job requirements is given.