Coverage
Title 38 Physician and Dentist Pay (PDP)
Categorical Coverage
The following two categories of NIH physicians appointed under Title 5 at GS-15 and below are eligible for PDP:
- Physicians and dentists who provide direct patient care services or services incident to patient care. These physicians and dentists see patients on a regular basis (at least 10% of official time) as part of:
- an active research protocol; or
- the management of clinical research or service programs requiring clinical skills.
- Physicians and dentists who oversee large interventional clinical trials, i.e., trials that have or anticipate having enrollment of 1,000 patients or more. These physicians and dentists:
- are licensed or have obtained a waiver of licensure;
- spend at least 10% of official time in direct involvement in the clinical trial; and
- are medically responsible for the clinical trial.
Position Eligibility
Staff Clinicians may be paid PDP in conjunction with a Title 5 appointment by exception only. Such actions require the review and approval of the Deputy Director for Intramural Research.
For physicians and dentists in intramural programs, the NIH Office of Intramural Research (OIR) governs the circumstances when Title 38 and Title 5 may be appropriately used for certain professional designations.
Exclusions
Physicians and dentists in the following categories are not eligible for PDP:
- part-time employees with a scheduled tour of duty of less than 20 hours per pay period;
- intermittent employees;
- participants in internship or residency training programs;
- reemployed annuitants;
- physicians receiving Physicians' Comparability Allowance (PCA);
- senior-level systems employees such as SES, SL/ST, or SBRS;
- Title 42 employees; or
- current PHS Commissioned Corps officers.
