USPHS Auxiliary

[sandman]

And now for something new. Many of you are aware of the U.S. Public Health Service, a sister uniformed service but not an "armed" service. Well the USPHS is currently experiencing changes that are interesting!

(Cadets, you should check out the USPHS as a career option !!)

One interesting change is the use of a "PHS Auxiliary", not that I would want to take you out of CAP but check out these quotes:

Other Personnel for RDF Support Functions:
Some of the functionality required in specific RDF assignments, such as
supporting a Federal Medical Station, requires a number of support
positions that are not found in the Commissioned Corps. Illustrative
examples include: nursing aide, housekeeping, transportation, and
security. In these specific mission assignments, the RDF must be
supplemented by other assets. This supplementation can generally be
provided by the Medical Reserve Corps.

Medical Reserve Corps Support
There are Medical Reserve Corps Units located in and near each of the
RDF cities. Volunteers from these Units can be recruited to support the
RDF Teams in a broad variety of roles. MRC members who volunteer to
serve with RDF Teams will be designated as members of the Public
Health Service Auxiliary (PHS Auxiliary). Prior to an activation,
members of the PHS Auxiliary attached to a particular RDF Team will
complete all facets of the HHS requirements for credentialing, background
investigation, and employment. After these tasks are completed, the
requirement to "federalize" PHS Auxiliary members as un-reimbursed
Federal employees can quickly be completed by HHS Human Resources
so the PHS Auxiliary members can be sworn in during the event. The
PHS Auxiliary in RDF cities will train and exercise with the RDF Team to
gain familiarity with the Incident Command System, the Team structure,
and the expectations of membership.

The PHS is also considering an active ready reserve (i.e. Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, AFRES) which currently does not exist:

Appendix 5: Ready Reserves
A longer-term strategy for ensuring response capability includes a Ready Reserve, which
would provide surge capacity in times of emergency. Currently, the U.S. Public Health
Service Reserve Corps includes the Active reserve Corps (ARC) and the Inactive Reserve
Corps (IRC)10. Proposals for the future are that the Inactive Reserve Corps will be
composed of the Ready Reserve (RR)11, the Standby Reserve (SR)12, and the Retired
Reserve13. The principles delineated in this document relate to the proposed Ready
Reserve Corps.

The USPHS Commissioned Corps is greatly in need of recruits. They are spinning up the recruiting campaigns and setting up bigger / better scholarships and loan repayments.

HRSA Nurse Scholarship Program
The HRSA Nurse Scholarship (NS) program provides financial assistance to students who agree
to serve as nurses for a period of not less than two years at a health care facility with a critical
shortage of nurses. The minimum service requirement is two years for the first year of support as
a full time student, and one year of service requirement for each year of support thereafter. The
legislation states that Nurse Scholars will be those with the greatest financial need. The FY 2005
appropriation for this program is 9.8 million dollars. Currently, there are over 300 Nurse
Scholars in the program with the majority still in training. Approximately 200-300 scholarships
are awarded every year.

Indian Health Service Scholarship Program
The Indian Health Service (IHS) manages four interrelated scholarship programs to train
professional health personnel. The following recommendations are designed to introduce young
health professionals to the Corps and proactively recruit active duty officers that have an affinity
for clinical service in isolated-hardship, hazardous, and hard-to-fill assignments.

Health Professions Scholarship Program
The Health Professional Scholarship Program targets health professional students in a variety of
clinical and public health disciplines (Appendix 3 for a listing). In 2005, 422 Health Professions
Scholarships were awarded (176 new and 246 continuing).

Other IHS Scholarships
The Health Professions Preparatory Scholarship, the Health Professions Pre-graduate
Scholarship, and the Health Professions Extern Program are available to students in pre-medical,
pre-sanitarian, and other undergraduate degree programs. To leverage these programs for Corps
recruitment.

A short list of available scholarships.....

Indian Health Service Scholarship Program Disciplines
IHS Health Professions Preparatory Scholarship
• Pre-Clinical Psychology (Jr. & Sr. undergraduate years)
• Pre-Dietetics
• Pre-Engineering
• Pre-Medical Technology
• Pre-Nursing
• Pre-Occupational Therapy
• Pre-Pharmacy
• Pre-Physical Therapy (Jr. & Sr. undergraduate years)
• Pre-Sanitarian
• Pre-Social Work (Jr. & Sr. undergraduate years)
IHS Health Professions Pre-graduate Scholarship
• Pre-Medicine
• Pre-Dentistry
• Pre-Podiatry
IHS Health Professional Scholarships/Extern Program
• Nurse: Associate & Bachelor Degrees in Psychiatry, Geriatric, Women's Health, Pediatric
Nursing, Nurse Anesthetist & Nurse Practitioner.
• Chemical Dependency Counseling
• Clinical Psychology
• Coding Specialist
• Counseling Psychology
• Dental Hygiene
• Dentistry
• Diagnostic Radiology Technology
• Dietitian
• Environmental Health & Engineering
• Health Care Administration
• Health Education
• Health Records
• Injury Prevention Specialist: Certificate
• Medical Technology
• Medicine: Allopathic and Osteopathic
• Occupational Therapy
• Optician
• Optometry
• Pharmacy
• Physical Therapy Assistant
• Physical Therapy
• Physician Assistant
• Podiatry
• Public Health: M.P.H only (Applicants must be enrolled or accepted in a school of public
health with concentration in Epidemiology
• Public Health Nutritionist
• Respiratory Therapist
• Social Worker
• Ultrasonography (Prerequisite: Diagnostic Radiology Technology)

They are even considering starting a Warrant Officer Corps....

Achieving the Right Size and Balance of Skills
The Corps will expand its capacity to respond to the nation's urgent and emergent public health
needs. To ensure a basic level of response, the Corps must grow by 10% to 6,600. Most of the
growth is focused on clinical capability including: physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and mental
healthcare providers. The Corps may fulfill certain response requirements—for example, twoyear
registered nurses, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, and respiratory
therapists—by creating a Warrant Officer Corps; and it will even further enhance surge capacity
for emergency response capacity through creation of a Ready Reserve.

For those who would consider going active duty thinking there is no physical fitness test, well they changed that:

Physical Fitness
All Commissioned Corps officers, regardless of occupational specialty,
assignment, age, or gender should acquire and maintain a base level of general
physical fitness. Generalized fitness standards promote physical readiness
commensurate with an active and healthy life style, and deployability of the
Commissioned Corps. Such a Corps-wide fitness standard will enhance overall
health, physical well being, readiness, and appearance as a uniformed service of
the United States.
To meet this physical fitness requirement, Corps officers have two options: 1)
successfully complete the Annual Physical Fitness Test (APFT) or 2) earn at least
the Presidential Champions Silver Award (or equivalent 45,000 points) annually
under the President's Challenge program within the President's Council on
Physical Fitness and Sports.
The physical fitness requirement may be permanently or temporarily waived by
Medical Affairs Branch, based on written justification from an officer's health
care provider.

I'm not sure if that would include the PHS Auxiliary however....


Anyway, check it out here:

http://dcp.psc.gov/PDF_docs/Commissioned_Corps_Transformation_Implementation_Plan.pdf

and

http://dcp.psc.gov/

and, of course

http://www.usphs.gov/default.aspx

So, if anyone signs up I'll see you in uniform next year! I'm resigning from the Navy and taking up my old job in the USPHS. I'll be working immigration in San Pedro (ICE, ICE Baby, ya you know the tune!).

BTW they're taking me back aboard with 18 years of federal service. It used to be that if you had over eight years of federal (uniformed) service (E and/or O) you could not get in. One of the changes increased that ceiling to 15 years....and there is usually a waiver for time beyond that!

v/r
LT

[PA Guy]

Interesting!!  Since the NDMS/DMATs were moved back to HHS earlier this yr I'm kinda confused about how all of this will mesh.  It seems the PHS Aux will augment the RDF teams and the DMATs will continue to operate as intact teams.  I did note the PHS Aux personnel will be "unreimbursed" as opposed to the DMAT personnel who have a GS grade/pay when activated. Also, would the USERRA protection the DMATs have be extended to the PHS Aux? The DMATs have worked with Commissioned Corps personnel on almost every deployment I have been on. Like I said the roles and utilization are getting fuzzy.

The Commissioned Corps is a great deal although it does have it's challenging assignments such as remote indian reservations and prisons. Although I work with Commissioned Corps officers at the CG clinic where I augment and they enjoy being assigned to the CG and have been in the CG "family" for most of their careers.

[ddelaney103]

If they had a PHS Aux that allowed medical people to do medical things, I'd ship all our medical people over there.  Nothing worse than having a flight surgeon and have to tell them that as Medical Officer you're qualified to give the annual heat and cold safety briefs.

[PA Guy]

If they had a PHS Aux that allowed medical people to do medical things, I'd ship all our medical people over there.  Nothing worse than having a flight surgeon and have to tell them that as Medical Officer you're qualified to give the annual heat and cold safety briefs.

Actually there are organizations that allow medical people to do medical things such as the CG Aux, Medical Reserve Corps and the federal Disaster Medical Assistance Teams.

[ddelaney103]

If they had a PHS Aux that allowed medical people to do medical things, I'd ship all our medical people over there.  Nothing worse than having a flight surgeon and have to tell them that as Medical Officer you're qualified to give the annual heat and cold safety briefs.

Actually there are organizations that allow medical people to do medical things such as the CG Aux, Medical Reserve Corps and the federal Disaster Medical Assistance Teams.

Yes, the MDF (our state's SDF) went to Katrina.  I would probably vector medical people who wanted to volunteer their skills to them.

[JayT]

I would love a comission in the PHS.

[mikeylikey]

I would love a comission in the PHS.

I spell Commission

[sandman]

I would love a comission in the PHS.

So, what's stopping you?

[JCW0312]

I know absolutely nothing about the USPHS. If they started a "Ready Reserve", would those serving be protected in their civilian employment like those in the military reserve / national guard units?

[sandman]

I know absolutely nothing about the USPHS. If they started a "Ready Reserve", would those serving be protected in their civilian employment like those in the military reserve / national guard units?

Good question. Short answer, I don't know.

The U.S. Public Health Service (Commissioned Corps) as well as the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA Corps) have their active duty, uniformed components and receive all the same benefits as their military counterparts. The USPHS and NOAA are not a part of the DoD (Dept of Health and Human Services and Dept of Commerce respectively).

However, I would be willing to bet that the USPHS Ready Reserve will have all of the same protections that the military offers. I would be 99.99% sure that would be the case! After all, the USPHS often deploys with the military.

Another interesting factiod about the USPHS: Officers assigned to the Bureau of Prisons and some other organizations do train / qualify with weapons....once the prisoners try to climb the walls en mass and the correctional officers (CO's) are either overwhelmed or incapacitated, you the nurse, MD, etc. will be picking up a weapon and shoot the prisoners off of the fences.....then you have to treat them of course (high center mass=less paperwork )

NOAA Corps:
http://www.noaacorps.noaa.gov/

USPHS:
http://www.usphs.gov/default.aspx

[mikeylikey]

^ Don't forget the USPHS and NOAA Commissioned Corps get all the DOD benefits without being a DOD component.  Fair.....maybe, maybe not, but they are a Uniformed Service. 

[JCW0312]

This is all pretty interesting. I wonder where I have been hiding. I've never heard of a lot of this.

[mikeylikey]

^  I know......it is more likely the USPHS has been hiding from us.  Seems like they are in need of people NOW.  Too bad if you are not medical or IT background based, they won't take you.  I knew I should have gotten an IT degree instead of a business degree!

[JCW0312]

Well, I'd be interested if they should offer the Warrant Officer program in Ready reserve status. I'm an EMT and wouldn't be qualified for officer status. I left EMS a few years ago to become a police officer, but have been thinking about a part time EMS gig to keep my skills up. A ready reserve position as an EMT would be right up my alley. I'll keep my eyes and ears open.

[SAR-EMT1]

From what I read, I take it an EMT or Paramedic could be a Warrant Officer in the PHS Reserve? - IM IN!

[PA Guy]

From what I read, I take it an EMT or Paramedic could be a Warrant Officer in the PHS Reserve? - IM IN!

Yes, if and when they establish a WO program within the Commissioned Corps of the USPHS.  Bear in mind the Commissioned Corps is not your typical military experience. Depending on the agency you are assigned to you may not be required to wear a uniform or only infrequently.  Also, Commissioned Corps officers are not subject to the UCMJ except when assigned to and serving with one of the armed forces such as the Coast Guard.

[RiverAux]

I've always found it interesting that they make a distinction between the Armed Forces (the big 5) and the Uniformed Services, which is the big 5 + the commissioned corps of the public health service and the commissioned corps of NOAA.  Not quite sure what the point is. 

[SAR-EMT1]

From what I read, I take it an EMT or Paramedic could be a Warrant Officer in the PHS Reserve? - IM IN!

Yes, if and when they establish a WO program within the Commissioned Corps of the USPHS.  Bear in mind the Commissioned Corps is not your typical military experience. Depending on the agency you are assigned to you may not be required to wear a uniform or only infrequently.  Also, Commissioned Corps officers are not subject to the UCMJ except when assigned to and serving with one of the armed forces such as the Coast Guard.

Right, I understand the IF/ WHEN
- any ideas as to the academic / medical requirments for the WO program? (If / when it happens)
I dont have a bachelors (Have 50-60) medically dropped from ROTC
(waiver held up UFN)

[RiverAux]

I expect that they would need some sort of congressinal action to do this sort of thing, so I wouldn't hold my breath. 

[PA Guy]

From what I read, I take it an EMT or Paramedic could be a Warrant Officer in the PHS Reserve? - IM IN!

Yes, if and when they establish a WO program within the Commissioned Corps of the USPHS.  Bear in mind the Commissioned Corps is not your typical military experience. Depending on the agency you are assigned to you may not be required to wear a uniform or only infrequently.  Also, Commissioned Corps officers are not subject to the UCMJ except when assigned to and serving with one of the armed forces such as the Coast Guard.

Right, I understand the IF/ WHEN
- any ideas as to the academic / medical requirments for the WO program? (If / when it happens)
I dont have a bachelors (Have 50-60) medically dropped from ROTC
(waiver held up UFN)

I wouldn't quit my day job.  The source document quoted is dated 2006  and the WO program seems to be more of a recommendation than a done deal and makes no mention of  educational requirements.