U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Site Map   Contact Us   
America's Health Responders U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Photo of a Therapist Officer
Video Tours Duty Station Map Core Values News and Features Officer Video Profiles
Answering the Call Photo of a Therapist Officer
Apply Now E-mail a Question Questions & Answers
Profession

Therapist

Print Print      Send this page by email Send

All Commissioned Corps officers must meet several basic qualifications: you must be a U.S. citizen, be less than 44 years of age, and pass a physical examination. To be a therapist officer, you also need the following qualifications:

  • For occupational therapy, you must have a bachelor's degree, master's degree, or doctoral degree in occupational therapy (entry level). The qualifying degree must be earned from a school or college of occupational therapy accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) at the time of graduation. You also must possess a current, unrestricted, and valid certification/registration by the American Occupational Therapy Association.
  • For physical therapy, you must have a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral (D.P.T.) degree in physical therapy earned from a school or college of physical therapy accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). You also must possess a current, unrestricted, and valid license/registration as a physical therapist by any State.
  • For speech-language pathology, you must have a master's degree in speech-language pathology earned from a school or college of speech-language pathology accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA). You also must possess a current, unrestricted, and valid certification by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
  • For audiology, you must have a master's or doctoral degree in audiology earned from a school or college of audiology accredited by the CAA. You also must possess a current, unrestricted, and valid certification by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
  • For respiratory therapy, you must have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in respiratory therapy from a school or college of respiratory therapy accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Respiratory Care (CoARC) or Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) at the time of graduation. You also must possess an active, current, unrestricted, and valid Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) license from any U.S. State, territory, commonwealth, or District of Columbia, and the RRT program must be recognized by the National Board of Respiratory Care (NBRC). It should be noted that a certified or registered pulmonary function technician/technologist is not a qualifying certification.

If you are a therapy student or a therapist interested in the Commissioned Corps, take the next step! E-mail us your questions, call us at 800-279-1605, or apply online now.

Officers Bios
Site Map  -  Contact Us  -  Linking to USPHS.gov  -  Privacy Notice  -  Accessibility  -  Web site Disclaimers
Freedom of Information Act  -  USA.gov  -   Office of Public Health and Science -  Office of the Surgeon General
Department of Health and Human Services  U.S.Public Health Service

Last updated on 6/10/2008