U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Associate Recruiter Program – Nurse Category 

Overview

In response to a growing need for health professionals in the Commissioned Corps, the Office of Commissioned Corp Operations (OCCO), specifically the Division of Commissioned Corps Recruitment (DCCR), with support from the Office of the Surgeon General has reactivated the Associated Recruiter Program (ARP). Though this revitalized program is supported by a structure created by OCCO, the category leads work with the Associate Recruiter Coordinator to manage, administer and maintain the program on an on-going basis and coordinate recruitment activities in their respective categories.

Many of you have been actively recruiting for the Commissioned Corps with or without a formal program in place and your efforts are appreciated. Enrollment in the new ARP/Nurse Category will provide structure to the Commissioned Corps efforts and assure that such efforts receive proper credit. All participants, to be fair and to assure program success, must meet eligibility criteria and enrollment process guidelines.

For several years the Nurse Category has had a program in place called the Nurse Applicant Committee. The focus of this committee is to personally contact new nurse applicants and facilitate connection between the applicant and potential DHHS or other Federal agencies regarding employment opportunities. This committee has been highly successful in their mission as evidenced by having105 calls to active duty in fiscal year 2005. Their efforts have contributed to the Nurse Category becoming the largest category of all the 11 categories in the Commissioned Corps.

Associate Recruiters are encouraged and expected to recruit for not only the Commissioned Corps but also the agencies they work for. Although these recruitment activities help increase the Commissioned Corps, they also augment the recruitment efforts of each agency, and help the agencies meet their staffing needs through volunteer recruiters in this program.

To understand the relationship of the Category Leads, Agency Leads and the Associate Recruiter, please review the ARP organizational chart. An Associate Recruiter is expected to coordinate recruitment activities with their Category Lead and to keep current with N-PAC and the activities and initiatives of the Commissioned Corps.

Training for Associate Recruiters is currently under development. Officers interested in applying to the Associate Recruiter Program may contact their Category Leads for further information. Also, you are encouraged to review the revised Associate Recruiter Policy in the CCPM, Chapter CC23, Subchapter CC23.1- Recruitment, Personnel Instruction 6 - Associate Recruiter Program .

Nurse Category Leads:

CAPT Sherry Meyers - Nurse Applicants
(301) 496-9456
smeyers@cc.nih.gov

CAPT Beverly Dandridge – Recruitment
Associate Recruiter Category Lead
Phone: (240) 453-6059
Fax: (240) 453-6127
beverly.dandridge@hhs.gov

ARP Contact Information by Agency (Word format)

ARP Contact Information by Agency (PDF format)

Mission & Goals

The mission of the Commissioned Corps Associate Recruiter Program (ARP) is:

 “…to attract and retain highly desirable, motivated and qualified professionals to the Commissioned Corps.”

In order to achieve this mission, the Nurse Category goals are to:

1. Participate in HHS agency recruitment opportunities.
2. Facilitate contact with HHS agency recruiters / contacts.
3. Serve as a resource for potential applicants regarding the Commissioned Corps and the application process.
4. Maintain tracking system for the ARPs and applicants.

Process for Applying

Individuals interested in applying to the Associate Recruiter Program/Nurse Category can download enrollment information (Associate Recruiter Enrollment Form and the 3 Reference Request Forms) from the www.dcp.psc.gov/DCCOS/asp. Click on Services, then click on ARP materials. When applying for enrollment, the applicant should submit three of these Reference Forms and an ARP Enrollment Form. (The individual's immediate supervisor [Corps or civilian] and two co-workers who are Commissioned Corps officers should complete the references. Applicants may contact Ms. Cyndia Harroway at 240.453.6135 for initial questions. Processed ARS may contact LT Carolyn Oyster, DCCR Associate Recruiter Program Coordinator, at 240-453-6059. Alternatively, you may also call 240-453-6057 and speak with CDR Stephen Blackwell, a recruitment specialist.

Within approximately 4-6 weeks of enrollment, the participants will receive an Associate Recruiter badge along with an official certificate indicating their enrollment into the ARP, a letter of acceptance by the CNO and an Associate Recruiter brochure. Only when you have completed this process and received notification that you have been accepted into the Associate Recruiter Program can you present yourself as such.