[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 38 (Thursday, February 26, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8982-8983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-4204]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Recruitment of Clinicians To Become Commissioned Officers; 
Recruitment of Sites for Assignment of Commissioned Officers

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), HHS.

ACTION: General notice.

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SUMMARY: The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) 
announces that applications will be accepted from clinicians seeking to 
be hired as commissioned officers in the U.S. Public Health Service and 
from sites seeking the assistance of these commissioned officers. These 
commissioned officers will be primary care clinicians who are 
physicians, dentists, family nurse practitioners, physician assistants, 
clinical psychologists, and clinical social workers. In support of 
other Presidential and Department of Health and Human Services 
Initiatives, a limited number of registered nurses (baccalaureate 
level) will be considered for placement in ambulatory community-based 
systems of care. These officers will be assigned by the National Health 
Service Corps (NHSC) to the neediest Health Professional Shortage Areas 
throughout the Nation. The NHSC will pay the salaries, moving expenses 
and benefits for these commissioned officers.
    These officers will be part of a mobile cadre of health care 
professionals who, in addition to the services they will provide to 
patients at their assigned sites, may be called upon to respond to 
regional and/or national emergencies. The NHSC will assist the officers 
in acquiring, maintaining and enhancing emergency response skills. 
Their initial assignments will be up to three years in duration, after 
which, should these clinicians choose to stay in the U.S. Public Health 
Service, they will progress to new assignments.

Eligible Applicants

    Clinicians--Applicants must file a U.S. Public Health Service 
Commissioned Corps application and meet the requirements for such 
commissioning. For example, all clinicians must be U.S. citizens under 
44 years of age (age may be offset by prior active duty Uniformed 
Service time and/or civil service work experience in a Public Health 
Service (PHS) agency at a PHS site at a level commensurate with the 
duties of a commissioned officer), and have served less than 8 years of 
active duty if the clinician is/was a member of another Uniformed 
Service. Also, applicants must meet medical requirements, and pass an 
initial suitability investigation.
    In addition, prior to the start of their assignment at an NHSC 
site, clinicians must meet the following requirements:
    (1) Physicians must have completed a residency in Family Practice, 
Internal Medicine, combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, General 
Psychiatry or Obstetrics and Gynecology and be a diplomate of their 
respective Allopathic or Osteopathic Specialty Boards;
    (2) Dentists must have passed a state or regional dental board 
exam;
    (3) Family Nurse Practitioners must have national certification by 
the American Nurses Credentialing Center or the American Academy of 
Nurse Practitioners;
    (4) Physician Assistants must have national certification by the 
National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants;
    (5) Clinical Psychologists must have a doctoral degree in clinical 
psychology, have a minimum of 1 year of postgraduate supervised 
clinical experience, have passed the Examination for Professional 
Practice in Psychology, and be able to practice independently and 
unsupervised as a clinical psychologist;
    (6) Clinical Social Workers must have a masters degree in social 
work, have passed the Association of Social Work Board's (ASWB) 
Clinical or Advanced licensing exam prior to July 1, 1998 or the ASWB 
Clinical exam on or after July 1, 1998, and be able to practice 
independently and unsupervised as a clinical social worker; and
    (7) All clinicians must possess a current, unrestricted, and valid 
license to practice their health profession in at least one of the 50 
States, Washington, D.C., the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. 
Virgin Islands, or Guam.
    Sites--Applicants must be located in a Health Professional Shortage 
Area (HPSA) and submit a Proposal for Use of a Commissioned Officer 
2004. Applicants must also submit a Recruitment and Retention 
Assistance Application, if not yet approved as an NHSC site. Sites 
applying for a physician, family nurse practitioner, physician 
assistant or registered nurse must be located in a primary medical care 
HPSA; sites applying for a dentist must be located in a dental HPSA; 
and sites applying for a psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist, or a 
clinical social worker must be located in a mental health HPSA. All 
sites to which NHSC clinicians are assigned must accept assignment 
under Medicare, have appropriate agreements with the applicable State 
entity to participate in Medicaid and the State Children's Health 
Insurance Program, see all patients regardless of their ability to pay, 
and use and post a discounted fee plan. Sites must also understand and 
accept that these officers will periodically be away from their 
assigned locations as they train for, or respond to, a regional and/or 
national health emergency.

Application Requests, Dates and Addresses

    Application materials are available for downloading via the Web at 
http://nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov or by calling the National Health Service 
Corps ``Call Center'' at 1-800-221-9393.
    Clinicians--The original of the completed application must be 
mailed or delivered no later than March 31, 2004 to: Division of 
Commissioned Personnel, ATTN: Recruitment and Assignment Branch, 5600 
Fishers Lane, Room 4A-18, Rockville, MD 20857-0001. A copy of the 
completed application must be mailed or delivered no later than 
September 30, 2004 to: HRSA Commissioned Corps Operations Office, 
Parklawn Building, Room 13A-22, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. 
Clinicians are encouraged to submit an application early, as 
applications will be considered as soon

[[Page 8983]]

as they are received. Applications delivered or postmarked after the 
deadline date or sent to a different address will be returned to the 
applicant and not considered.
    Sites--Completed applications must be postmarked or delivered to 
the NHSC by no later than September 30, 2004. Site applications will be 
evaluated as soon as they are received at NHSC headquarters. Sites will 
be deemed qualified based on the quality of the application submitted 
and the score of the HPSA in which they are located. Preference will be 
given to NHSC-approved sites in HPSAs with higher scores (the neediest 
HPSAs). Officers will be assigned to qualified sites on an ongoing 
basis. Sites are encouraged to apply early so as to have a better 
chance of acquiring one of the commissioned officers. The number of 
qualified sites is expected to exceed the limited supply of 
commissioned officers. Completed site applications should be mailed or 
delivered to: National Health Service Corps, Parklawn Building, Room 
8A-55, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. Applications delivered 
or postmarked after the deadline date or sent to a different address 
will be returned to the applicant and not considered.

    Dated: February 19, 2004.
Elizabeth M. Duke,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-4204 Filed 2-25-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P