CAREER DEVELOPMENT SUB-COMMITTEE

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Save the Date: USPHS Nursing Recognition Day will be held Friday, May 4, 2012, at the Natcher Conference Center in Bethesda, MD.

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Featured Nurse

The United States Public Health Service, A Wonderful Career!!!

Please celebrate with us as we highlight and honor nurses who have achieved successful professional careers with the US Public Health Service.

This Term's Honoree is:

CDR James LaVelle Dickens

Commander James LaVelle Dickens serves in the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Regional Office, Office of the Secretary, Region VI Dallas, TX.

CDR Dickens is a Doctoral Candidate at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas. The focus of his doctoral research involves low birth weight and very low birth weight infants in District’s 7 & 8 of Kabul, Afghanistan.

In 2008, he was selected to participate as a clinical team member for the Afghanistan Health Initiative (AHI) in Kabul, Afghanistan. The mission of the AHI is to improve quality of care, and maternal and infant mortality rates at the Rabia Balkhi Womens’ Hospital. CDR Dickens deployed to Afghanistan multiple times, and was responsible for training of over one hundred nurses and lay midwives in the clinical standards of practice of the operating theater. CDR Dickens a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

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Current Perspectives in oncology nursing conference

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Emergency Nurses Association Leadership Conference

Wed Feb 22
Southern Nursing Research Society 26th Annual Conference

Thu Feb 23
American Psychosocial Oncology Society 9th Annual Conference

Thu Mar 01
SUNA’s annual symposium

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CAREER DEVELOPMENT SUB-COMMITTEE

The Career Development Sub-Committee serves as a resource and advisory group to aide in communicating career development and training information to PHS nurses. The sub-committee provides information that will encourage and support career development as a nurse officer in the PHS, civil service, and tribal nurse employees. The sub-committee encourages professional development through various resources to include website, continuing education, training, etc.

Career Development Sub-Committee Goals

Strengthen nursing practice within USPHS through development of the careers of HHS Nurses.
Identify and disseminate relevant career development information to systematically enhance individual performance and potential.
Identify pathways and information for officers choosing clinical, applied public health, research, and mental health or any combination.
Integrate educational training for all Commissioned Corps Nurses through resources as applicable.
Develop and implement a Career Development Mentoring Program.
Inform HHS Nurses about global health activities.
Develop and maintain dynamic relevant Career Development web pages.

Career Development Resources

Career Development Guidance

Career Development Timeline (UNDER REVISION 10/2011)

CV Assistance

For help formatting your CV, here are some helpful documents:

CV Covers (updated May 2011)

CV Format (updated May 2011)

CV Instructions (updated May 2011)

Career Resources

2012 Benchmarks pdf logo (111 Kb)

Education Resources

The N-PAC Career Development Subcommittee is pleased to announce a new initiative: Career Education Resources Project. The subcommittee has been working diligently to find the latest most useful educational resources to meet the needs of PHS nurses’ career development. These education resources are mainly information about CEU offerings (most of them are free) and certification programs from various sources. The links will be posted to the Responder e-Learn website. This project will be on-going with postings of different education resource links. Please take advantage of this tool to promote your career. In order to visit the Responder e-Learn, sign-in is required. Here is how:

Responder eLearn
http://www.respondere-learn.com/
(After clicking the link, please see the log-in instruction on the upper right side of the page)

Civil Service Nurses: Responder e-Learn to be consistent is currently only available to Commissioned Corps Nurse officers. However, the links below are accessible to all HHS nurses.

Chesapeake Health Education Program
http://www.chepinc.org/upcoming_events/local_programs.asp

Free Online Education for the Healthcare Professional
https://www.freece.com/freece/index.asp

Nursing Online CEU
http://www.ceufast.com/

U.S Department of Agriculture Graduate School
http://graduateschool.edu/

American Management Association Online Training
http://www.amanet.org/training/live-online-seminars.aspx

Mentoring Program

If you are interested in becoming a mentor or if you would like a mentor, please refer to the following information:

Regional Mentor Map 2011 (83KB)
Regional Mentor Coordinators List 2011 (22KB)

Download a Mentor Application: PDF document (42KB) Word document (30KB)

If you would like to be assigned a mentor, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

USPHS Commissioned Corps Mission Statement

"Protecting, promoting, and advancing the health and safety of the Nation"

As America's uniformed service of public health professionals, the Commissioned Corps achieves this mission through:

Rapid and effective response to public health needs,
Leadership and excellence in public health practices, and
The advancement of public health science.

Career Development: Definition

Career Development defined is a focused effort or process in which an officer obtains needed experience and utilizes the most current knowledge and tools available to enhance his/her capacity to serve and to make choices that will guide him/her through a successful and fulfilling Public Health Service (PHS) career. Successful Career Development is dependent on a combination of experience and training. The purpose of career development for PHS commissioned officers is to enhance the mission of the PHS and the Commissioned Corps by providing opportunities for professional growth for officers (CC25.2.C.2).

Difficult Decisions

Within the Commissioned Corps, responsibility for career development lies with the commissioned officer. It is necessary for the officer to define his/her career goals early in his/her career. In selecting a career track an officer should avail him/herself of career counseling by the Chief Professional Officer (CPO) and Professional Advisory Committee (PAC) of the officer’s discipline, the assigned Agency/Program, and from the Office of Commissioned Corps Operations (OCCO) (CC25.2.C.3).

The "Officer" Difference

Commissioned Corps officers are not just 8-to-5 employees. First, PHS officers must excel in performing their duties within the Agency they are assigned. Second, PHS officers are expected to take an active role within their work section and the PHS to promote and enhance the Agency’s mission and the image of the Commissioned Corps. Third, an officer must also juggle a large assortment of other responsibilities in order to perform their PHS mission successfully.

Documents sent to OCCO for processing include:

Many documents need to be sent to an officer’ paper file kept in OCCO and archived to an officer’s eOPF. Read below what documents should be placed in your official file.

Physical Examinations

Once on continuous active duty, an officer is required to have periodic complete physical examinations. Currently, these examinations are required every 5 years during an officer’s career.

Professional Credentials

Officers that belong to categories in which licensure and/or certification is a part of their appointment standards, job performance responsibilities, and/or pay requirements are required to maintain those credentials. It is the officer’s responsibility to make sure that OCCO / OCCFM / OCCSS and/or CCSB receive the necessary documents when required. In addition, it is highly encouraged to obtain and maintain additional certifications that will enhance your performance as a PHS Officer in your job function, professional capacity, or deployment status. Additional professional licenses and certifications may also be suggested/recommended through the officers Category Benchmarks.

Category Professional Tracks (CC25.2.E)

No two Commissioned Corps officers will have the same professional goals, training, or experiences. Because of this, each officer will be responsible for choosing his/her own career track. A Career Track is a distinct direction an officer chooses to go professionally. The six Career Tracks established within the PHS Commissioned Corps include: