Commissioned Corps Management Information Site

What input from psychologists was sought and considered before making the decision to move doctoral-level psychologists from the Health Services category to the Scientist category?

Input was sought from many stakeholders, including psychologists, over the past five years as we worked to address concerns raised by officers regarding the appointment of psychologists in the Corps. All stakeholders agreed that the policy that divided psychologists between the two categories was not ideal, and that consolidation into a single Professional Category was necessary. Multiple Chief Professional Officers (CPOs) and Commissioned Corps Headquarters (CCHQ) personnel, along with officials within the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG) reviewed proposals from psychologists, CPOs as well as organizational alignment of psychologists in other Uniformed Services before the policy decision was made.

Why was the decision made to move doctoral-level psychologists to the Scientist category, rather than establishing a new Behavioral Health category, or moving all psychologists to the Health Services category?

Psychologists, through the PsyPAG had advocated for the establishment of a 12th Professional Category for Behavioral Health that would achieve the goal of consolidation. Balancing the merits of that proposal with the overarching goal of establishing policies that also reflect accepted practices among the Uniformed Services led to the decision to assign all doctoral-level psychologists in an existing, multidisciplinary category as is the norm in the Army, Navy and Air Force. Given that the qualifying degree for the Scientist category is a doctorate in a health-related field and since most psychologists currently on active duty in the PHS are assigned to the Scientist category, the decision was made to adopt that alignment in our policy.

What is the timeline for this transition?

The transition will coincide with Promotion Year 2021, such that officers from the Health Services category will be evaluated by the HSO Promotion Board this year. CCHQ will issue new orders to implement this change effective July 1, 2021.

Will doctoral-level psychologists in the Health Services category have the option of remaining HSOs or will the transfer to the Scientist category be mandatory?

There is no option to remain in the Health Services category. The policy that allowed for appointment of doctoral-level psychologists between two categories has been superseded by revised policy and the systems that supported that division have been updated (or are being updated) to no longer support the division. Consolidating doctoral-level psychologists in the Scientist category is organizationally sensible and aligns with established practice among the Uniformed Services.

The Scientist category is devoted to research, not providing clinical services. How will officers who provide clinical services benefit from being assigned to the Scientist category?

This is a common misconception of the diversity of the Scientist category and the disciplines represented by its officers. Only a minority of Scientist officers conduct research in their agency assignments. The current breakdown of Scientists by discipline and agency assignment reveals that fewer than 20% of Scientist officers are in a “research” assignment. Approximately 25% of Scientist officers are assigned to epidemiology billets, another 25% are in program management assignments. Upon the transition of doctoral-level psychologists from the Health Services category, psychologists will comprise nearly 1/3 of the Scientist category’s officers. At present, these same officers make up less than 5% of the Health Services category. This gives these officers a larger voice in a smaller category. Psychologists will be a larger percentage of those in the category to be considered for promotion.

How do psychologists fare in promotions relative to other officers in the Scientist category?

There is a higher percentage of psychologists (~40%) promoted to O-6 than among all Scientists collectively (~24%). The difference is even more pronounced when comparing the percentage of psychologists at O-6 in the Scientist category (~40%) to the percentage of psychologists at O-6 in the Health Services category (~13%). The data support the argument that Scientist psychologists fare well in the promotion process.

What efforts will be made to ensure promotions for Scientists are equitable?

Promotion Boards are empaneled in a manner that reflects the diversity of the officers in the category. That diversity includes professional degree and specialty, geographic distribution, agency assignments and agency billet disciplines. In the Scientist category, this diversity has led to annual promotion results that reflect the diversity of the officers evaluated each year for promotion, including equitable, proportionate success for the psychologists who are reviewed. This practice will continue, and it is expected that equitable outcomes will continue to be achieved.

How will officers who have created career paths based on the Health Services guidance and expectations transition those plans once they are moved to the Scientist category?

The guidance and expectations for psychologists, whether appointed to the Health Services category or the Scientist category, was influenced by the cross-category PsyPAG. Therefore, the guidance regarding career planning for doctoral-level psychologists in the Health Services category will be equally relevant to those in the Scientist category. Additionally, transitioning psychologists will have the opportunity to be paired with a psychologist Scientist officer mentor to further facilitate their integration into their new category. Importantly, officers holding a voting membership with the Health Services PAC will assume a voting member role in the Scientist category. Finally, many officers are active, non-voting members of their PAC. There are ample opportunities for HSO psychologists to serve in the same capacity with the Scientist PAC.

Scientist officers are often in assignments in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. How will selection bias of local officers be mitigated, allowing psychologists from the field to participate in CCHQ-sponsored events, and be supported for training/conferences, etc.?

Scientist officers are assigned throughout the United States and at duty stations around the world in similar distribution as officers from most other categories. Scientist psychologists are assigned to the Indian Health Service, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, DHS/Immigration Health Services Corps, and the Department of Defense Military Treatment Facilities just as HSO psychologists are. Many of the opportunities must be supported by the agencies to which our officers are assigned, so this issue transcends the current policy change. Also, as a result of the pandemic, the USPHS Commissioned Corps has demonstrated that much of its business can be conducted online; and there are more online training opportunities.

Frequently Asked Questions on Psychologist Transition to the Scientist Category

Transition to the Scientist Category

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