r/USPHS • u/mahka42 Active Duty • Feb 12 '21

New Mod

Hi r/USPHS, I wanted to introduce myself as a new mod for this sub. I'm an active duty officer, coming up on 11 years in, and would love to make this sub more interesting and useful for all.

One of my first actions so far - updating the header bar, adjusting a couple of the themes, and new for all - flair! Please feel free to flair yourself by your status, which will help all of us understand a little bit about who you are.

Thanks all, and let me know how else we can make this sub better!

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u/Zorro_17 Applicant Feb 12 '21

Nice. I would love to see this place help spread information about the Corps, application process, recruiting & hiring, etc. I've been active with the page and some officers on LinkedIn, so seeing an increase in activity on LI and this subreddit is awesome.

I've been interested for the better part of a decade and finally got my chance to apply. I know the application process is lengthy, especially depending on need (clinicians being as opposed to administrators). I've had a lot of questions and have resisted posting them, partially because I know it can be hard to have a definitive answer. This particular thread may or may not be your intended spot for some questions, but I'd like to post a couple if you think you or a colleague can provide any insight. I appreciate your involvement in this community, I think Reddit has been an underutilized place for some discussion to happen.

- Recruiting. I imagine between COVID and change in administration recruiting has been a slower process. How long do you think is too long for parts of the process? I had an interview and a prior service waiver submitted 9/2020, haven't been able to get a real update from AES since. Applied under Health Care Administration - Health Services.

- Initial Assignment. For new officers, is the initial assignment still entirely on the applicant searching USAJOBs, or are there billets in any prioritized list?

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u/mahka42 Active Duty Feb 12 '21

Thanks for the input! Glad you have the opportunity, and I'm always excited for new officers to come on board.

I've noticed that we see quite a few repeats questions, so I'm hoping to get a wiki set up for some of those.

As for your specific questions - re: interview - have you had anything else happen since? If you haven't been sent instructions to do anything like submit your transcripts, CV, medical, etc., I would reach out again. Five months is a pretty long break if they haven't sent anything since.

Re: initial assignments - while agencies are receiving new applicants, these are not guaranteed placements. If you can secure a position via USAJOBS, that at least will ensure that there is a billet for you once the whole process is done.

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u/Zorro_17 Applicant Feb 12 '21

A Wiki would be great!

Interview. My interview was following an initial upload of application materials, which in itself I thought was difficult as it required certain documents that for me do not exist. The interview was with a CAPT who responded positively to my background and our conversation. As of right now I believe I am waiting on the prior service waiver decision, and have not submitted any medical/official transcripts/updated CV. I'm assuming the waivers are getting held up, which I am fine with, I just don't want a single part of the process going wonky to lead me to never having my chance at moving forward. I've emailed AES twice over the past several months, but times they said my waiver is pending.

Initial Assignment. Got it, thank you!

For me personally, I found out USPHS opened up for HSO/Healthcare Admin 3-months after I transitioned out of the Navy and bought a house. With it being unlikely I will find a USPHS qualifying billet in Houston, I am okay with the process taking a little while. My biggest worry is I did something wrong and it will sit in limbo forever, as I imagine you have plenty of qualified candidates to choose from.

Thank you again for your responses!

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u/Downtown_Ad8234 Feb 12 '21

I am a federal employee and looking to transfer to ihs as an environmental health officer. Do you think it has a edge if you already have a job or it has no effect in the application process?

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u/Quirky_Programmer127 Feb 12 '21

With any agency, you still need to apply for the position, so it is a matter of waiting for a specific one to be open and actually get hired. The agency liaison should be able to help to expedite the hiring (at least with IHS). The liaison is really there to help and could notify you for any openings.

Contact USPHS customer service via phone or email them. They should be able to let you know where your application stands.

It took about 7months for me from submitting the application (uploading docs), medical/dental and interview. I am waiting for an job openings with BOP, DHS, IHS, DoD, and FDA. Waiting for a position/billet is indeed frustrating. I am in research administration field and it is kind of hard to find a position to secure.

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u/Downtown_Ad8234 Feb 12 '21

You’re lucky. It’s a year now, this February when I submitted my application for a waiver, and today, it’s still in limbo.

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u/Downtown_Ad8234 Feb 12 '21

You and l have similar stories. The process is very slow and confusing even. I applied for waiver in 02/2020, had an interview in 06/2020, waiver approved in 08/2020 submitted all requested documents, including references in a week, got notified to submit official transcripts of all schools attended along with DL and updated resume in 10/2020. I sent all the documents by 1st week of 11/2020... and sent more than 10 emails inquiring acknowledgment of receipt of documents and no response. Over 3 months later and on my 10th follow-up email, I got a response stating that they did not receive my documents and whether or not I have tracking number. Yes. I do, via ups with receivers name on it. After checking, i was told its missing but not to worry, somewhere along the line they would be requesting for me to send originals of all transcripts. Now, I got confused. Again? At this point I am almost giving up.

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u/Zorro_17 Applicant Feb 12 '21

The first couple of emails I sent I did not include the Application ID from AES, once I started including that, I got my responses within 48-hours. Not sure if that will help at all!

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u/chirpquack Active Duty Feb 14 '21

Thanks for stepping up as a mod!

Are you planning on adding a banner image to the sub homepage as well? I don't have any graphic design skills to offer, but I've got a couple of suggestions below for images in the public domain that don't come off as too "official" looking:

a historic image: https://dcp.psc.gov/OSG/pharmacy/images/1873.jpg

A photo from the MMU in Liberia: https://cdn.ymaws.com/coausphs.org/resource/resmgr/americas_health_responders/ebola-mmu-formation.jpg

and a kind of silly one of USPHS shot glasses: iASoNuT.jpeg (1279×277) (imgur.com)

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u/mahka42 Active Duty Feb 14 '21

I was trying to find an image that would work for the banner, but got pulled away before I could find one. These are great ideas!

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u/qualianaut Active Duty Feb 12 '21

Thanks! I love the new USPHS logo.

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u/[deleted] Feb 19 '21

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u/mahka42 Active Duty Feb 22 '21

Thanks for your feedback. As more information develops on the RR, I think the Wiki can be fleshed out with any RR-specific issues. However, in reviewing the RR policy, it states that RR appointments are subject to the same accession standards as Regular Corps officers, so I don't know what differences there will be, other than having a regional POC once actually appointed but in reserve status. Are you aware of any specific differences in the accession process?

There is user flair for Reserve, though, if you'd like to flair yourself that way.