Transformation Update – April 2007 Recruitment of Officers: A New Paradigm

In recent years, the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps) has demonstrated its value both as a response asset and as a reliable source of high quality public health professionals who are critical to agencies fulfilling their missions. That success has led to our current state where the demand for officers exceeds the supply on active duty and that of readily available applicants. This unmet demand for officers presents a challenge that requires a new strategy for marketing the Corps to potential applicants.

Beginning in April and extending over the coming months, new recruitment tools and avenues will be launched that will be dynamic, responsive, attractive and sustainable. These activities will include the release of new advertisements in professional journals and university/association publications, the distribution of new recruitment materials, the launching of a new Web portal for all Corps-related information, the stand-up of a new toll-free call system in the Office of Commissioned Corps Operations (OCCO) for applicants and current officers, and the initiation of electronic application and accession processes.

Our new approach to recruitment will be to target the needs of the Service and the agencies our officers serve in a more focused manner. For instance, the greatest demand for our officers today is in four categories; namely Physician, Nurse, Pharmacist and Dentist. Accordingly, we have begun to have advertisements placed in professional journals and university and association publications that will reach these audiences. We have also created new recruitment brochures and fact sheets that highlight career opportunities for Corps officers. The brochures and fact sheets will be distributed to Associate Recruiter Leads (ARLs) and Associate Recruiters (ARs) for use during recruitment activities and will be available at professional meetings where Corps officers staff information booths. They will also be made available in electronic format on the Web. As the Corps’ and agencies’ needs change, so too will the focus of our advertisements and other outreach efforts.

All of the recruitment and advertisement materials, which will include our tag line "America's Health Responders," contain a toll-free number that will reach a new call system managed by OCCO. The toll-free number for applicants to call with inquiries is 1-800-279-1605. Officers on active duty, retired officers and those in the inactive reserve will be asked to call a different toll-free number (1-877-463-6327) with all of their inquiries. The new call system will be launched in early April to coincide with the publication of new recruitment advertisements and other printed materials. It will provide automated responses and an opportunity to speak with a recruitment specialist (during normal business hours in the Eastern Time zone). A future Web Center will enhance the call system management capabilities by linking ARLs and ARs throughout the country and across each of the Operating Divisions and Staff Divisions. This will enable applicants with questions regarding a specific category, geographical location, duty station or agency to have them answered by recruitment officers in that area.

The recruitment materials and advertisements will also contain the URL (Web address) to an updated Corps homepage (http://www.usphs.gov). That homepage will serve as the universal portal of access to information related to our Corps. From it, applicants will be able to link to pages with detailed information about the Corps and its mission. Additionally, current active duty, retired and inactive reserve officers will be able to access the information currently on the Commissioned Corps Management Information System Web site using this same homepage. The functionality of the page will be greatly enhanced over what is presently available. Visitors will be able to click a button and apply online, locate duty stations, read news about the Corps and enjoy many other features. As mentioned previously, everybody will be able to access the electronic versions of the recruitment brochures and fact sheets if they plan to engage in recruitment activities or learn more about career opportunities in the Corps.

Printed materials, Web sites and incentive packages will not be enough to achieve our recruitment goals if nobody knows how to access them. We will need to engage actively in recruitment ourselves. The Corps’ senior leadership, including the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Acting Surgeon General have committed to injecting “the Corps” into all of their presentations where it would be appropriate to advance recruitment efforts.

Each of us must adopt the recruitment moniker “Every officer is a recruiter” as we continue to increase our numbers and advance our mission. Each officer has a unique story to tell to neighbors, friends, fellow alumni, colleagues and communities. Telling these stories will assist with educating the public about what we do and may inspire a potential applicant to learn more about the Corps. If every officer would commit to encouraging at least one potential applicant to inquire about the Corps’ opportunities and then click the “apply now” button on the new Web site, then the Corps’ requirements for new public health professionals would be well on the way to being fulfilled!

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