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    2010

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Read Task Force 2010 Report

Future Directions
STATUS OF THE 685 SERIES

In recent years, Watsonian Society members and non-Watsonian Society public health advisors, as well as many high level non-PHA management officials at CDC, have expressed concern about how CDC/ATSDR management positions will be filled in the future now that CDC is no longer hiring PHAs. Traditionally CDC, over the past four decades, filled most of their field and headquarters upper management positions with PHAs. To address this issue, the 1996-1997 Watsonian Society Executive Committee and several past presidents of the Watsonian Society met with key CDC Office of the Director staff, as well as members of the CDC Epidemiology Program Office (EPO)* on April 25, 1997. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the status of the PHA series (685), CDC's new Public Health Prevention Service (PHPS) positions (designed in part to provide an additional source of recruitment for the PHA series,) and the recruitment and training of persons to fill CDC management positions in the future.**

At the meeting on April 25, 1997, CDC Associate Director for Management, Mr. Arthur C. "Jack" Jackson, emphasized that the need for public health advisors for management and other positions at CDC will continue and, therefore, the public health advisor series will continue. However, the way people are recruited, trained, and assigned to the series, however, may differ in the future as compared to the past.

At the time of the meeting, there were two new efforts at CDC related to enhancing the public health advisor series. One was the Graduate Certification Program (GCP) in Public Health which was initiated by the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention and was open to PHAs throughout CDC. The intent of this effort was to offer PHAs the opportunity to enroll in one of four universities to take courses in public health that would provide educational opportunities beyond what PHAs had been previously provided. Courses included epidemiology, health policy, communications, statistics, and lead to a certificate in public health. The GCP courses represented about one-half the courses a student needed to earn a masters degree in public health. The instructional methods involved distance-based learning via the Internet, several on campus sessions, and a practicum. Participating schools were Emory University, Tulane University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Washington. This effort lasted three years. By the second year, nearly all interested and eligible PHAs had enrolled. The program was expanded in the second year to eligible state employees. By the third year, nearly all students were non-federal personnel, and the program was discontinued after the third year. There has been no evaluation or assessment of this program, nor is there any tangible evidence of its impact.

The second program at CDC, as previously mentioned, was the new PHPS job series. This program was a product of the Bradford-Bales Report which recommended that CDC develop staff able to design, implement, and evaluate scientifically sound intervention programs. The report recommended broad-based training and experience in different programs and at different operating levels as contrasted to the traditional training of public health associates in the sexually transmitted disease program. The intent was for CDC to hire PHPS persons, who successfully complete the training, for either headquarters or field positions, some of which could be PHA positions. Persons who complete the training would also have the option of working for State and local health departments.

A three-year training structure was developed for entrants to the PHPS series. The first year of training would be spent at CDC in two different program rotations. In years two and three, the fellows would then be assigned to a single state or local health department field assignment. Persons selected for this program had to have - in addition to the basic competencies - good communication skills, a desire to serve, flexibility, resourcefulness, and other characteristics of public health professionals. The first 25 accepted at the GS-9 level for the three-year training program entered on duty in the fall of 1997. Of the 25 who started, 19 completed the full three years of training. Of these, 9 gained employment at CDC, and 3 of the 9 entered on duty in a Public Health Advisor "685" position. Of the remaining 10 persons, 6 are involved in public health programs outside CDC and 4 are no longer employed in public health.

The PHPS program was not intended to develop seasoned managers during the three-year training program. However, during training and in subsequent assignments, it is anticipated they will be acquiring the experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to assume management positions.

There was discussion at the April 25, 1997 meeting about other details of the PHPS and the future of the PHA series. Jack Jackson said that the "685" series will continue to be an important personnel classification at CDC through which management and other positions would be filled. The PHPS is to be a pool from which persons can be recruited for positions in the PHA as well as other job series.

Mr. Jackson emphasized that the Watsonian Society would remain an important employee organization and should encourage the qualifying members of the PHPS to join. Both the GCP and the PHPS were developed as programs intended to produce future management staff for CDC positions, including those in the "685" series.

Lastly, in the fall of 2000, the Watsonian Society convened its own internal review of the Society by establishing the Task Force 2010 Committee. This committee published their findings in the summer of 2000. Their report will provide the guidelines for future directions of the Society.

Read Task Force 2010 Report

* In attendance at the meeting:

1996-97 officers: CDC Management Staff.
Gerald Naehr, President Jack Jackson, Associate Dir. for Management
John Miles, President Elect Joe Carter, Deputy AD for Management
Mack Anders, Recorder

Past presidents: EPO Management Staff
Jack Benson Steve Thacker, Director
John Seggerson Barbara Holloway, Deputy Director
Tom Ortiz Andy Dannenberg, Dir., Div. of Applied PH Tng.
Paul Turner Pam Chin, Deputy Dir., Div. of Applied PH Tng.

(Jack Jackson, Joe Carter, Pam Chin, and Barbara Holloway are PHAs and members of the Watsonian Society)

** Recruitment of employees to the public health advisor series last occurred in 1993. For most of the previous 35 plus years, people (co-ops and public health associates) were recruited annually. Indeed, the first PHAs were hired nearly 50 years ago [1948]. This drought - last seen similarly in the mid 1980's prior to an independent study by Coopers & Lybrand in 1987- is of considerable concern among our society members. [The comprehensive C&.L study reflected overwhelming support of PHAs by CDC management and State and local health agencies and resulted in hiring an average of 100+ public health associates through 1993.]