Commissioned Officers
The members of the Commissioned Corps number over 6,600 officers in 11 professional categories:
- Dentist
- Dietitian
- Engineer
- Environmental health officers
- Health Service Officers
- Nurse
- Medical
- Pharmacist
- Scientist
- Therapists (including physical, occupational, speech)
- Veterinarian
The Health Services Officer (HSO) category comprises over 50 specialties, including audiology, social workers, physician assistants, optometrists, statisticians, computer scientists, dental hygienists, medical records administrators, medical technologists and others.
The Corps uses the same commissioned officer ranks as the United States Navy and Coast Guard from ensign to admiral, uniformed services pay grades O-1 through O-10 respectively. USPHS Commissioned Corps officers are appointed via direct commission and receive the same pay as other members of the uniformed services. They cannot hold a dual commission with another service but inter-service transfers are permitted.
| Commissioned officer ranks, titles and abbreviations of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admiral | Vice Admiral | Rear Admiral | Rear Admiral (lower half) |
|||||||
| O-10 | O-9 | O-8 | O-7 | |||||||
| Assistant Secretary for Health | Surgeon General | Deputy Surgeon General or Assistant Surgeon General |
Assistant Surgeon General | |||||||
| ADM | VADM | RADM | RADM | |||||||
| Captain | Commander | Lieutenant Commander |
Lieutenant | Lieutenant (junior grade) |
Ensign |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O-6 | O-5 | O-4 | O-3 | O-2 | O-1 |
| Director | Senior | Full | Senior Assistant | Assistant | Junior Assistant |
| CAPT | CDR | LCDR | LT | LTJG | ENS |
Before reforms in the 1960s, the ranks of the service with their naval equivalents were as follows:
- Surgeon General - Rear Admiral
- Assistant Surgeon General, Medical Director - Captain
- Senior Surgeon - Commander
- Surgeon - Lieutenant Commander
- Passed Assistant Surgeon - Lieutenant
- Assistant Surgeon - Lieutenant Junior Grade
- Intern - Ensign
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