Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
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The Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is the uniformed division of the United States Public Health Service (PHS) and one of the seven Uniformed Services of the United States. Members of the PHS Commissioned Corps wear uniforms of the United States Navy with special corps insignia and hold rank similar to that of Naval officers (Commander, Admiral, etc.).
The stated mission of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is to "provide highly-trained and mobile health professionals who carry out programs to promote the health of the United States, understand and prevent disease and injury, assure safe and effective drugs and medical devices, deliver health services to Federal beneficiaries, and furnish health expertise in time of war or other national or international emergencies."
The uniformed services component of the PHS (then the Marine Hospital Service) was formalized by legislation in 1889, which established the Commissioned Corps under the Supervising Surgeon (later Surgeon General). At first open only to physicians, over the course of the twentieth century, the Corps expanded to include dentists, sanitary engineers, pharmacists, nurses, sanitarians, scientists, and other health professionals.
The agencies and programs of the PHS CC are designed to:
- Help provide healthcare and related services to medically underserved populations: to Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and to other population groups with special needs;
- Prevent and control disease, identify health hazards in the environment and help correct them, and promote healthy lifestyles for the Nation's citizens;
- Improve the Nation's mental health;
- Ensure that drugs and medical devices are safe and effective, food is safe and wholesome, cosmetics are harmless, and that electronic products do not expose users to dangerous amounts of radiation;
- Conduct and support biomedical, behavioral, and health services research and communicate research results to health professionals and the public; and
- Work with other nations and international agencies on global health problems and their solutions.
The PHS Commissioned Corps is led by the Surgeon General and consists of approximately 6,000 officers in the following professional categories:
- Dentist
- Pharmacist
- Dietitian
- Physician
- Engineer
- Scientist
- Environmental Health
- Therapist (including Physical, Occupational, Speech, Audiology)
- Health Services (including Social Works, Physician Assistants, Optometrists, Statisticians, Computer Scientists, Dental Hygienists, Medical Records Administrators, and other)
- Veterinarian
- Nurse
External links
- United States Public Health Service website (http://www.usphs.gov/)