During the academic year, your students may encounter uniformed officers of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, or Commissioned Corps. They are found serving primarily within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Indian Health Service, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But they can also be found serving in the Department of Defense addressing the psychological needs of wounded warriors, or serving inmates within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Some Commissioned Corps officers are nurses, dentists, and physicians, others are environmental engineers and veterinarians. All are serving their communities and country. But who are these dedicated health professionals called “America’s Health Responders”?

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you briefly to the Commissioned Corps – the mission, the people, and the service. And, we’d like to let you know about the positions for which the Commissioned Corps is actively recruiting – maybe one of your students is ready, willing, and eager to “answer the call.”

About the Commissioned Corps

The Commissioned Corps, one of America’s seven uniformed services, employs more than 6,500 elite, highly qualified, and well-trained public health professionals. Officers in the Corps can be found in many varied professional disciplines that include physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, dieticians, engineers, environmental health officers, mental health specialists (including clinical psychologists and clinical social workers), health services officers, scientists/researchers, therapists, and veterinarians.

These passionate individuals dedicate themselves to improving the conditions of underserved populations and serve on the Nation’s front lines to promote public health and combat the spread of disease. As America's uniformed service of public health professionals, the Commissioned Corps achieves its mission through:

Whether treating patients in impoverished communities, assisting victims of natural disasters at home or abroad, performing cutting-edge research, directing national health policy, or overseeing regulatory issues for pharmaceuticals and other health areas, professionals in the Corps are provided with the opportunity to pursue multidisciplinary experiences and contribute collectively to the advancement of public health.

Current Recruiting Focus

To fill critical needs across the Nation, the Commissioned Corps is currently seeking officers to join its team — physicians, dentists, nurses, and pharmacists, as well as specific mental health providers such as psychiatrists, psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers. As a member of the Commissioned Corps, officers will gain experience in diverse environments with a variety of agencies and programs, enhance their professional skills, and make a valuable contribution to those most in need of service. A career in the Corps helps the community, but also has many positive benefits for professionals as well. These include a competitive starting pay that increases each year, 30 days of paid vacation per year, free health care and dental care, low-cost health care for your family, tax free housing and meal allowances, generous education benefits, and the potential for student loan repayment programs depending on Federal agency assignment. In addition, all clinicians listed under our “current recruiting focus” receive additional compensation in the form of special pays and accession bonuses – some up to $75,000. Professional, medical, and security requirements can be found at http://www.uspshs.gov.

More Information

For more information on the Commissioned Corps, we encourage you to invite your students to go to the Web site http://www.usphs.gov for background on the organization, officer profiles and stories, and application qualifications. They can also become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/USPHS to learn more about how the Commissioned Corps is “answering the call.”