Transformation Update - September 2007

Commissioned Corps Surveys – Your Participation is Vital

Beginning this month, many of you will receive one of several surveys that are currently being developed by the Transformation Team. The surveys will be administered by an independent contractor and your responses will be anonymous. These instruments are designed to learn from officers who will be affected by policy and program proposals what is most important to them as we continue to implement the Secretary’s vision for the transformed Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps). The feedback we receive will help guide the Corps’ leadership with prioritizing program development and implementation, sequencing the rollout of the various programs, and developing budget projections for each of them. Consequently, your participation in these surveys is vital and will ensure that the programs are as effective as possible.

At the present time, we have four surveys under development. They are:

USPHS Officer Post Hiring Satisfaction Survey
USPHS Officer Periodic Satisfaction Survey
USPHS Officer Pre-Exit Satisfaction Survey
Assignment Support Survey

The USPHS Officer Post Hiring Satisfaction Survey will be administered to officers 6 months after their call to active duty. Among the issues that will be queried in the survey are: 1) how you learned about the Corps; 2) what attracted you to apply for a commission; 3) your level of satisfaction with the application process; 4) your satisfaction with the location of your duty station; 5) your satisfaction with Corps support services, including Professional Advisory Committees, Chief Professional Officers, mentors, and Commissioned Corps Liaisons; and 6) your satisfaction with Corps family support services.

The USPHS Officer Periodic Satisfaction Survey will be administered to officers after 5, 10, 15, and 20 years of service. In addition to the questions relating to satisfaction with various support services, this survey inquires about: 1) the number of assignments to various agencies you have had and where; 2) the impact of various policies on your decision to remain in the Corps; 3) opportunities for career advancement available to you; and 4) recognition for your achievements by the Corps and the agencies.

The USPHS Officer Pre-Exit Satisfaction Survey is intended to focus on reason for separation in addition to the general satisfaction information sought in the Periodic Satisfaction Survey. We are seeking your feedback on: 1) your level of personal and professional satisfaction with the Corps; 2) whether you are retiring, transferring to another uniformed service, or separating prior to retirement; 3) your reason for separating if prior to retirement; and 4) your future professional plans.

The Assignment Support Survey particularly targets officers in Isolated/Hardship, Hazardous Duty and Hard-to-Fill (3H) assignments. This instrument will seek to determine: 1) what attracted you to your current assignment; 2) what Corps support mechanisms were in place upon moving into your current assignment; 3) what plans you have for additional training and professional education; 4) what support services for you and your dependents are of greatest importance to your satisfaction with your current assignment; and 5) what are your most enjoyable and most frustrating aspects of your current assignment.

Each of these surveys is being designed to be completed online in 15-30 minutes. Given the information being sought through these surveys, these will be a half-hour well spent. From the feedback we receive, we will be able to effectively focus our recruitment efforts, develop recruitment and retention packages that will attract the public health professionals required to meet our Corps’ mission, and create incentives and support systems that will entice our officers to accept assignments in 3H duty stations and continue to provide basic clinical and public health services to the historically underserved populations. We urge each of you who receive an e-mail with a link to one of these surveys to take the time to give us your advice on these critical issues.

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