Within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) is the major health component of the U.S. Government and is under the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Corps officers may apply to a variety of positions throughout the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and certain non-HHS Federal agencies and programs such as:

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
• Indian Health Service (IHS)
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• Office of the Secretary/Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS)
• Program Support Center (PSC)

Nurses in the PHS have a variety of opportunities from which to choose. Nurses work in roles ranging from clinical to administrative and research among the PHS (OpDivs), although the majority of nurses work in clinical settings.

PHS nurses in the Commissioned Corps also have opportunities to be detailed to non-HHS programs such as the:

• Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Department of Homeland Security (DHS) including Federal Emergency Management Agency, US Coast Guard, and the Division of Immigration Service
• DoD/Tricare/Management Activity/Health Affairs
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• National Park Service (NPS)
• US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• DOJ/ U.S. Marshals Service (USMS)
• DOJ/ Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)

For more information about joining the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, go to http://www.usphs.gov/applynow/.