Therapist Professional Advisory Committee

Strategic Planning & Development Committee

 

The mission of the Strategic Planning and Development Committee is to identify, analyze, plan and organize appropriate responses to present and future public health challenges for therapists.

Chair: CDR Henry McMillan        henry.mcmillan@hhs.gov

Subcommittees under this committee include:

        
  • Strategic Growth Subcommittee
  •         
  • Recruitment Subcommittee
  •         
  • Retention Subcommittee
  •         
  • COSTEP Subcommittee
  •         
  • IHS Scholarship Contact
  •         
  • Appointment Standards Subcommittee
  •  

    Strategic Growth Subcommittee

    Chair: Chair: CDR Scott Gaustad        scott.gaustad@ihs.gov

    The mission of the Strategic Growth Subcommittee is to pursue additional opportunities for therapists to provide care to underserved populations and to address initiatives and barriers affecting category growth. The subcommittee maintains a database of non-traditional billets for Therapists Officers to facilitate category growth in non-direct patient care roles.

    This committee also generates statistics on category demongraphics, distribution, professional credentials, and other information of interest. Their most recent report is included in the attached graphs in pdf format.

    Future category growth likely will be affected by the transformation process underway within the Commissioned Corps of the USPHS. Officers are urged to become familiar with this on-going process. Several documents from 2004 are attached for review including general information, a statement of work, and a presentation from the Lewin group (all in pdf format).

     

    Recruitment Subcommittee

    Chair: LCDR Michelle Baker        M3Baker@bop.gov

    The mission of the Recruitment Subcommittee is to recruit officers into the Therapist Category and help them through the process of entering the Corps. Supporting materials to assist recruitment efforts include the old category brochure, a new printable flyer, information specific to the Indian Health Service. Additional information about the US Public Health service and its OPDIVs are available in the Links section of this site. This subcommittee also maintains a list of vacancies for therapists throughout the PHS and publishes a bimonthly report of these vacancies.

    In addition, the Therapist Category supports the U.S. Public Health Service Associate Recruiter Program.

    Finally, to optimize recruitment efforts, the TPAC and Associate Recruiters and Category members interact with Career and Assignment Managers or CAMs in the Office of Commissioned Corps Operations. CAMs serve as a point of contact for applicants and officers within each category on applicant issues. The Therapist Category has been assigned to the Blue Team which also Health Services, Medical, Environmental Health, Engineer, and Veterinary Categories.

     

    Retention Subcommittee

    Chair: LCDR James Cowher        james.cowher@tcimc.ihs.gov

    The mission of the Retention Subcommittee is to help retain and promote the professional growth of officers within the Therapist Category. In 2004, this committee conducted a survey of officers to identify factors that contributed to career satisfaction and to identify areas for improvement.

     

    COSTEP Subcommittee

    Chair: LCDR William Pearce       whpearce@anmc.org

    The mission of the COSTEP Subcommittee is to identify sites that can place a student in the COSTEP program in order to expose these students to career opportunities in the US Public Health Service. Additional information on the Junior and Senior COSTEP Programs can be found on the US Public Health Service website.

    THe Junior Officers Advisory Group has provided a sample letter that can be used by preceptors to formally thank students who have participated in the COSTEP program. The sample is attached in a pdf format document.

     

    IHS Scholarship Contact

    Chair: LCDR Lori Lee       lori.lee@ihs.gov

    While this is not a TPAC function, the purpose of the IHS Scholarship contact is to increase understanding of the US Public Health Service throughout the Native American community. Additional information about the scholarship programs conducted by the IHS to train professional health personnel necessary to staff IHS health programs serving the Indian people may be found on their website.

     

    Appointment Standards Subcommittee

    Chair: LCDR Robert Roe       robert.roe@ihs.gov

    The mission of the Appointment Standards Subcommittee is to monitor and recommend changes of appointment board standards as professional licensing requirements evolve. Additional information for current appointment board standards may be found at the Commissioned Corps Management Information System Web Site 2007 Standards.


    Therapist Category Home | CPO | TPAC | Administration | Information | Readiness | Strategic Planning | Professional Development | Links

    Comments or Questions
    Last updated March 2009