America's Health Responders - U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE COMMISSIONED CORPS
Commissioned Corps E-Bulletin
New Commissioned Officers’ Effectiveness Report 2010 Resource Materials
Submitted by CAPT Christine J. Benally, Performance Evaluation and Oversight Division,
Office of Commissioned Corps Force Management
 
Officers of the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps) are evaluated annually on their performance and effectiveness. The Commissioned Officers’ Effectiveness Report (COER) should identify an officer’s accomplishments and areas in need of development. Since ratings using the old instrument resulted in nearly perfect ratings for most officers, it was difficult to identify development needs and to measure improvement with inflated scores.

The Office of Commissioned Corps Force Management (OCCFM), in coordination with the Office of Commissioned Corps Operations (OCCO), and the Commissioned Corps Systems Branch, have developed a new instrument and updated the system. The new COER will be implemented and launched on 1 October 2010.

Representatives from OCCFM and OCCO will co-facilitate the COER Educational Advisory Panel (COER EAP) that will develop the curriculum and educational plan. The upgraded system was pilot tested and the rating scale was comparatively analyzed. The results were presented to the Surgeon General’s Policy Advisory Council including the Chief Professional Officers, the Professional Advisory Committee Chairs, and the Commissioned Corps Liaisons.

The Program Evaluation and Oversight Division (PEOD) of OCCFM and the Division of Commissioned Corps Officer Support (DCCOS) of OCCO will be facilitating the implementation of the COER.

The COER EAP will determine strategies and training needs for a smooth transition to the new revised COER. Our hope is that ratings will accurately identify where there is a need for improvement, reflect the areas of strength for each officer, and increase the likelihood an officer will be rated fairly. The educational materials that are immediately available through the Commissioned Corps Management Information System Web site are listed below. Depending on the EAP, additional material will be developed and distributed (http://dcp.psc.gov/COER_resources_2010.aspx).
  1. PHS-838 (Rev. 12/09) “Commissioned Officers’ Effectiveness Report”
  2. PHS-838 (Rev. 12/09) “Instructions for Completing PHS-838, “Commissioned Officers’ Effectiveness Report Revised”
  3. Business Process for the Revised COER
    1. Flow Diagram - to be launched October 2010
    2. 508 Compliant Text Version - to be launched October 2010
  4. The Revised COER, A Brief Summary of Changes, includes slides with script.
  5. Comparative Analysis of Ratings Using the ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Commissioned Officers’ Effectiveness Report
    1. Abstract
    2. Slides
    3. Script

PEOD and DCCOS look forward to assisting you. As the Corps strives for excellence, we make every effort to continually improve our service and enhance our capabilities. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact CAPT Christine Benally at 240-453-6089 (telephone), Christine.Benally@hhs.gov or 240-253-6109 (fax).
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Health and Human Services Public Health, Commissioned Corps Public Health, Commissioned Corps

HHS, Office of Public Health and Science
Office of Commissioned Corps Force Management
Tower Building
1101 Wootton Parkway, Plaza Level Suite 100
Rockville, MD 20852