SCIENTIST PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Office of the Surgeon General

United States Public Health Service

           

Minutes of 25 September 2003 Meeting Number 93

 

I.  LOCATION/DATE/TIME

Parklawn Building, Surgeon General's Conference Room 18-57

1300 HOURS

 

II.  ATTENDANCE

 

A.  MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE

 

 

B.  GUESTS ATTENDING

 

 

 

C.  MEMBERS EXCUSED OR ABSENT

 

 

III.  STANDARD AGENDA ITEMS AND REPORTS

 

A.  CALL TO ORDER

 

CDR Thoroughman called the meeting to order at 1300 hours.

 

B.  GREETINGS FROM THE CHAIR

 

1.  SciPAC Retreat, September 22 – 23, 2003 at William J. Bolger Center for Leadership Development, Potomac, Maryland.

 

Preston A. Littleton, Jr., DDS, MS, PhD, Consultant to the Health Professions, Government, and Industry (LittletonP@att.net) facilitated the event.  The objectives of the retreat were to: (1) develop a common understanding of Scientist Category problems, issues, and opportunities as identified by PAC members, (2) develop a common understanding of problems, issues, and opportunities as identified by the HHS Secretary, the Surgeon General, the Chief Professional Officers Board, and the Chief Scientist Officer, (3) increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the SciPAC and the ability of its members to work as a team, (4) develop a Category-specific strategic plan with a clearly identified one-year action agenda, and (5) provide orientation to the SciPAC and the realities of service on the PAC.

 

This event was excellent; it refocused and energized the SciPAC board members to work together to create an action plan for a successful year.  One of our PAC goals is to improve communication (throughout the PAC, and USPHS)/marketability (of Scientist category)/understanding (the needs of Scientist Officers and Scientist Civil Servants) and visibility of the PAC.

 

2. This year SciPAC will work to implement and/or expand several activities this year:

1)      Welcome for new officers and orientation package

2)      CV Review

3)      Mental Health Response Team

4)      Support for Scientist officers – updating of Scientist Handbook

5)      Category Day at COA

6)      Scientist survey – conduct personal interviews with Scientist officers

 

3.  The news for 9/23/2003 from (DCP) Office of Commissioned Corps Force Management:

 

Major proposed changes are as follows:

 

A. ONE TIME ONLY--officers may "opt out" of review for promotion in 2004. This is to allow officers an opportunity to fully prepare for the changes if they so desire.  The protocol for "opting out" is under development and the specifics will be released as soon as the policies are signed. AGAIN, this is a "one time only" opportunity.

 

B. The "three times and freeze" will be fully prospective, ie, the count begins in 2004. Past failures to be promoted will not count against the officer.

 

C. Exceptional Proficiency Promotions, which will replace Exceptional Capability Promotions, will eliminate the "Special Boards".  Officers who are nominated will be reviewed along with their peers at the one promotion board.  Failure to be selected will not count against the officer.

 

D. Deployment readiness will be a factor.  The Deployment Readiness criteria are still under review and the final will be released when signed. 

 

E. The "time-in-grade" and "time-in-service" requirements will be put into place.  The "time-in-service" requirements may be modified to accommodate concerns raised by/on behalf of persons transferring from other uniformed services.

 

F We did not make any recommended changes to the precepts.  The Bench Marks from the respective categories are under review.

 

We regret the delay in getting information to the field.  As soon as the information is available, we will send it to all SGPAC members, Agency Liaisons, put on the DCP Web Site, notify officers via list serve, and as appropriate, notify officers individually.  Officers should be encouraged to be sure that DCP has their correct email addresses so that the can receive timely notices.  Officers should also be encouraged to check the DCP Web site frequently for updates regarding changes.  And, officers should be encouraged to continue to perform to the best of their abilities, making sure that their record of performance is adequately documented on their current COERs and that their OPF's provide a complete and accurate record of their service. 

 

Finally, the proposed promotion policies are but a piece of the "transformation" pie, so to speak.  Once we have finalized and operationalized the policies, we will be looking at other recommendations that came out of the Promotion Workgroup and other considerations necessary to implement a total force management model.  We will keep you posted.

 

4.  Discussed CC deployment for Hurricane Isabel.

 

At least 10 Scientist Officers participated in this event (7 with either the federal or state government, and three with the Red Cross). 

 

This round of deployments revealed that there’s a need for a central command system for deployment and/or a unified ‘emergency response list.’  There was some confusion at CDC about which officers were deployed through the Agency (Agency representation) versus CCRF (PHS representation).  SciPAC may need to take the lead on this issue to assure that each Agency and CCRF can assess adequate resources during time of deployment.

 

An email will be sent to Scientist officers who were deployed to get a Mission Evaluation report to determine areas for improvements from a Scientist perspective. [Did someone volunteer to do this email? If so, we need to record that.  If not, we need to figure out who is willing to do this.]

 

C.  REPORT FROM THE CHIEF PROFESSIONAL OFFICER

 

CAPT Joseph is not available on Wednesday Afternoons before the SciPAC Meeting.

 

1.  Environmental Scans.  All Officers are requested to send items to CAPT Joseph.  The Environmental Scans are widely read in the SG Office and will also be shared with the Assistant Secretary for Health.  The Scans can contribute greatly to our visibility.

 

2.  RADM Vanderwagen, Chief Professional Officer of the Physician’s Category has been detailed to Iraq to determine the medical needs of that country.

 

3.  Reserve Officer Training.  Forty-five Reserve Officers attended a combined BOTC/CCRF/ARP course.  It is expected that 1,500 Reserve Officers will attend this course.

 

4.  Global information on the Corps transformation.

 

A.  The deployment standards are not yet ready to be published.  There will be medical waivers available for CCRF.  The draft will go to the Department (first), OSG, then CPOs.

 

B.  There will be five precepts for promotion.  The 5^th precept will be related to deployability.  Examining the CCRF Membership requirements – “deployability may be based on meeting the Fully Qualified requirement (http://oep.osophs.dhhs.gov/ccrf/criteria_matrix.htm )”.

 

C.  One of the rationales for the transformation is to quiet the critic who believes that the CC can not successfully deploy its members for public health related emergencies. 

 

D.    An outside contract will be awarded to develop routine billets (standardized billets and eliminate billet creep).

 

E.     The recruitment goal for IHS of 25 officers has been obtained.  The recruitment of officers may be expanded beyond MD’s and nurses.

 

F.  120 new grants were awarded to help develop the Civilian Medical Corp.

 

G.  RADM Babb has stated that CC officers who deploy without their uniforms will no longer be eligible for awards.

 

H.  Twenty-three percent of Scientists are deployable.  Agencies with the most Scientist Officers who are CCRF deployable are BOP (1^st), FDA (2^nd), SAMSA (3^rd), and EPA and HRSA are tied for 4^th.

 

I.  CPOs are working on standardized benchmarks for the promotion percepts.

 

J.  PAC board members are allowed one special assignment award for each term (3 year period) they serve on the PAC.  OSG will now send a copy of the PAC appointment letter directly to DCP.

 

K.  The CC Bulletin will be only available electronically starting in January 2004.

 

L.  Please send comments about user friendliness of the electronic COER to CAPT Joseph.

 

M.  Attendance at the AMSUS annual meeting is encouraged.  The event this year is sponsored by USPHS and will be held November 16-21, 2003 in San Antonio, Texas.  The focus will be “Partnerships in Preparedness, Prevention and Public Health: Protecting the Nation.”        The preliminary program is now available on the AMSUS website. 

 

N.  On October 1, 2003 the flu vaccine will be available.  All Officers are encouraged to take the vaccine.

 

D.  TREASURER’S REPORT - LCDR John Mosely Hayes

 

The treasury has a balance of $2,115.11.  This balance will become $1,583.63 after disbursement of $426.76 to CAPT Mishoe and $54.75 to CAPT Ching for expenses related to CAPT Dunn’s Memorial Service expenses, and $50.00 to CAPT Joseph for CAPT Jones son’s Memorial Fund.

 

E.  SUBCOMMITTEE/ACTIVITIES CHAIR REPORTS

 

A call was made to all SciPAC members to volunteer to serve on a committee.  New chairpersons were elected for the Visibility, Career Development, and Awards committees.

 

Visibility Subcommittee – LT Rhonda Koch

LT Koch was elected chair of this subcommittee.. The outgoing Chair, LCDR Boris Aponte, was not on the call and so no report was given of the past year’s activities.

 

Career Development – LCDR Rob Lyerla

LCDR Lyerla was elected chair of this subcommittee.  CDR Rick Troiano the outgoing Chair of this Subcommittee agreed to assist LCDR Lyerla heavily with the CV Review this year and to mentor him on the activities of this Subcommittee.  CDR Troiano reported that the CV Review was the primary activity of this committee but that the Scientist Officer Handbook needs to be updated among other activities in the coming year.

 

Rules Subcommittee - LCDR Daphne Moffett

CDR Thoroughman read a brief summary sent in from LCDR Moffet relating that the Rules Subcommittee did little work in the previous year because the Charter and SOPs had been reviewed recently.  Also, no change in commissioning standards.  No change in bylaws, elections procedures, general ops.

 

Recruitment and Retention Subcommittee - CDR Jon Daugherty

Five new Scientist officers are Board-approved.  However, these officers are having a difficult time finding positions. 

 

Awards Subcommittee – LCDR John Mosely Hayes

LCDR D. Ross Spears will be the new chair of this subcommittee as LCDR Hayes is heading up Category Day at this year’s COA conference.  CDR Thoroughman updated the group on the status of proposed awards for the website and poster activities – he had received a description of activities from one party but not the other and was waiting for both to proceed.  He will proceed with the one that is available at this point and encourage the other party to send the description of activities in to him.

 

The SciPAC is proposing that we change the Young Scientist of the Year Award and the CAPT Derek Dunn Memorial Scientist of the Year Award (previous called the Career Scientist of the Year Award) eligibility criteria.  

 

The SciPAC established these awards in 1995 to recognize Commissioned Officers in the Scientist Category whose professional career and work performance have resulted in significant contributions to the health of the Nation and to the mission of the PHS. The Derek Dunn award recognizes the career achievement of a senior-level Officer, and the Young Scientist award the contributions of a junior-level Officer.  During the 2002-2003 selection process it was decided that the eligibility criteria for these awards needed to be reexamined.  The dramatic differences in experience levels between a CDR and a LCDR competing for the young scientist award prompted this reexamination.  A working group was formed to address this issue.

 

I.  The current eligibility statement for the young scientist states, "Young Scientist Officer of the Year Award.  Nominees must be active duty officers in the Scientist Category.  Scientist Officers with less than 7 years of PHS active duty time are eligible.  No distinction will be made based on clinical/research/regulatory/and management tracks."  Note there is no rank requirement in the current eligibility statement. Further, analysis determined that if the eligibility statement was changed to include only O-4s and below, based on a < 7 yr cutoff (the current eligibility standard), as of July 2003, 5.3% of the O-4s wouldn't be eligible for the Young Scientist Officer of the Year Award. 

 

After further communication it is now proposed to change the eligibility statement to:  "Nominees must be active duty officers in the Scientist Category. Scientist Officers who are at the rank of O-4 or below with less than 10 years of continuous active duty in the PHS are eligible.  No distinction will be made based on clinical/research/regulatory/and management tracks."

 

II.  It was decided that the eligibility criteria for the Derek Dunn Memorial Scientist Officer of the Year Award should be more exclusive since Derek Dunn served his country as a PHS officer for many years and the original intent of this award was to recognize senior science officers.  The current eligibility statement for this award states "Nominees must be active duty officers in the Scientist Category. Scientist Officers with seven or more years of continuous active duty in the PHS are eligible.  Past winners of the Young Scientist Officer Award are eligible for the Derek Dunn Memorial Scientist Officer Award upon completion of seven years of active duty."   It is now proposed to change the eligibility statement to, "Nominees must be active duty officers in the Scientist Category. Scientist Officers with four or more years of continuous active duty in the PHS at the rank of O-5 or higher are eligible.  Past winners of the Young Scientist Officer Award remain eligible."

 

LCDR Hayes will send out a description of the proposed changes and justification to SciPAC members and the revisions will be voted on during the October 23, 2003 Executive Board meeting.

 

Mentoring Subcommittee - LCDR Kathleen McDuffie

No report

 

Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee - CDR Kevin McGuinness

The subcommittee is planning to get together to write a draft frame work shortly for the mental health response team concept.  LCDR Moffett is also working on the CCRF discipline/expertise designations and will report on progress at the next meeting.

 

CCRF Subcommittee – CDR Doug Thoroughman

An email message to remind all scientist officers to join CCRF will come out shortly.  LCDR Moffett is working on the message and it will go out from CAPT Joseph to all Scientist Officers.

 

Associate Recruiter Program - LCDR Nelson Adekoya

Please contact LCDR Adekoya for recruitment materials.

 

COA Category Day – LCDR John Mosely Hayes

An email message was sent out to scientist officers on September 29, 2003 related to suggested topics and speakers for this event.

 

F.  NEW BUSINESS

 

Due to time constraints of the call, CDR Thoroughman listed the major activities scheduled for this year and only brief discussion followed.

Scientist Survey

SOP/Charter Review

Welcome/Orientation for new officers (potentially existing officers not plugged in also)

CV Review commencement – An email for CV review will be sent out soon to all officers eligible for this year promotion cycle.

 

Each of the activities fall into the purview of the various Subcommittees and so will be included in their activities lists.  Subcommittee Chairs were requested to forward to CDR Thoroughman (douglas.thoroughman@mail.state.ky.us) at their earliest opportunity the following in a brief format (bullets or short descriptions):

 

1) Primary initiatives/activities you have in mind for the 2003-2004 year for your subcommittee;

 

2) Specific goal (or goals) for each item listed in #1;

 

3) Measurable outcome(s) for each goal; and

 

4) Any products that you expect to produce as a result of your subcommittee's efforts (papers, presentations, tools, survey, etc).

 

CDR Thoroughman noted that Subcommittee Chairs might want to rough out a timeline for themselves to determine if their goals are reasonable and achievable and to give some specific points to aim for completion of their goals.  He encouraged Chairs not to go overboard in writing long descriptions or in making unattainable goals.  Just think about what could reasonably be accomplished in the next year or so, and send it in so we can get a picture of what is happening and where we are headed.  When Pal Littleton gets the retreat report finished we can add in any other items that we might have forgotten along the way.

 

G.  ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

The next scheduled meeting: Executive Committee – October, 23, 2003

The next scheduled meeting: Full SciPAC – mid-November or early December 2003

 

Schedule of Executive and Full SciPAC meetings will be voted on at the October meeting.  The proposed schedule is as follows:

 

 

 

F. ADJOURNMENT

 

The SciPAC meeting was officially adjourned at 1600 HOURS.

 

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