AUTHORITY: §§ 21.1 to 21.360 issued under sec. 215, 58 Stat. 690; 42 U. S. C. 216. Statutory provisions interpreted or applied are cited to text.

SUBPART A-DEFINITIONS

§ 21.1 Meaning of terms. As used in this part, the term:

(a) "Act" means the Public Health Service Act, 58 Stat. 682, as now or hereafter amended.

(b) "Administrator" means the Federal Security Administrator.

(c) "Agency" means the Federal Security Agency.

(d) "Service" means the Public Health Service.

(e) "Surgeon General" means the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service or such other officer of the Service to whom the Surgeon General delegates any of the authority conferred herein.

(f) "Commissioned officer" or "officer", unless otherwise indicated, means both an officer of the Regular Corps and an officer of the Reserve Corps. [E. O. 9993, 13 F. R. 5096]

SUBPART BTITLES

SOURCE: §§ 21.11 to 21.13 contained in E. O. 9993, 13 F. R. 5096.

§ 21.11 Officers other than medical officers. The titles of officers, other than medical officers, in the junior assistant, assistant, senior assistant, full, and senior grades shall be "dental surgeon", "sanitary engineer", "pharmacist", "nurse officer", "scientist", "dietitian", "therapist", "sanitarian”, veterinarian", or a similar term descriptive of the specialty of such class of officers. The titles of officers, other than medical officers, in the director grade shall be the term "director" preceded by the term "dental", "sanitary engineer", "pharmacist", "nurse", "scientist", "dietitian", "therapist", "sanitarian", "veterinarian", or a similar descriptive term. The titles of officers, other than medical officers, in the grade of Assistant Surgeon General shall be "Assistant Surgeon General", except that following such title there shall be added a parenthetical identification, such as "dental" or "sanitary engineer".

(Sec. 206 (b), 58 Stat. 685; 42 U. S. C. 207 (b))

§ 21.12 Designation of specialties. Scientist officers and other officers hav

ing generally descriptive titles, in using their titles in correspondence outside the Agency and in the programs of scientific meetings, may designate their specialties in parentheses following their names and titles, as, for example, Richard Roe, Senior Scientist (Entomologist).

(Sec. 206 (b), 58 Stat. 685; 42 U. S. C. 207 (b))

§ 21.13 Military titles. An officer in uniform may use, for purposes of identification and address, the military or naval title of rank corresponding to the grade markings worn. An officer detailed for duty with the Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, or Coast and Geodetic Survey may use in official correspondence the title of military or naval rank corresponding to the grade markings worn, as, for example, Richard Roe, Major, U. S. P. H. S., or Richard Roe, Lieutenant Commander, U. S. P. H. S.

SUBPART C-APPOINTMENT

NOTE: §§ 21.21 to 21.59 interpret or apply, sec. 208, 58 Stat. 685, as amended; 42 U. S. C. 209.

SOURCE: §§ 21.21 to 21.59 contained in E. O. 9993, 13 F. R. 5096.

PROVISIONS APPLICABLE BOTH TO REGULAR AND RESERVE CORPS

§ 21.21 Meaning of terms. The term "approved" as used in this subpart in connection with "school", or "college", "postgraduate school", or "training course" means, except as otherwise provided by law, a school, college, postgraduate school, or training course which has been accredited or approved by a professional body or bodies acceptable to the Surgeon General for such purpose, or which, in the absence of such a body, meets generally accepted professional standards as determined by the Surgeon General.

§ 21.22 Submission of application and evidence of qualifications—(a) Application form. Every candidate for examination for appointment as an officer shall submit a written application on such form as may be prescribed by the Surgeon General.

(b) Documentary evidence and photograph. The application shall be accompanied by: (1) Documentary evidence of (i) date and place of birth (birth certificate if obtainable); (ii) completion of educational and professional training; (iii) United States citizenship in the case of an applicant of foreign birth; and (iv)

current registration as a graduate nurse under a nurse practice act of a State, Territory, or the District of Columbia in the case of a nurse; (2) such other documentary evidence as may be required by the Surgeon General, and (3) a recent photograph.

§ 21.23 False statements as disqualification. Willfully false statements shall be cause for rejection of the application or, as provided in Subpart N of this part, for dismissal.

§ 21.24 Physical examinations. Every candidate for appointment as an officer shall undergo such physical examination as the Surgeon General may direct, and no candidate who is not found to be physically qualified shall be appointed as an officer.

§ 21.25 Eligibility; junior assistant grade-(a) Requirements; all candidates. Except as provided in § 21.54 and as otherwise provided in this section, every candidate for examination for appointment in the grade of junior assistant:

(1) Shall be a citizen of the United States;

(2) Shall be at least 18 years of age; and

(3) Shall have been granted an academic or professional degree from an approved school, college, or postgraduate school, and, unless the required professional training has been otherwise obtained from an approved school, college, or postgraduate school, shall have majored in the profession in which the examination is being held.

(b) Additional requirement; nurse officers. Every candidate for examination for appointment as a nurse officer shall be currently registered as a graduate nurse under a nurse practice act of a State, Territory, or the District of Columbia.

(c) Special requirement; therapists. Every candidate for examination for appointment as a therapist shall have received a certificate from an approved school of physical therapy or an approved school of occupational therapy.

(d) Temporary substitute for academic or professional degree; nurse officers and therapists. Every candidate who applies for examination for appointment as a nurse officer or therapist in the junfor assistant grade prior to January 1, 1949, and who has received subsequent to July 1, 1943, a certificate in his pro

fession from an approved school, may substitute such certificate for the requirement of an academic or professional degree. In the case of a candidate for examination for appointment as a nurse officer, the certificate which may be substituted for the requirement of an academic or professional degree shall have been granted by a State-accredited school of nursing connected with a hospital having a daily census of not less than 50, and offering adequate nursing experience in medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics at the time of graduation of the candidate.

§ 21.26 Eligibility; assistant grade(a) Requirements; all candidates. Except as otherwise provided in this section, every candidate for examination for appointment in the grade of assistant:

(1) Shall meet the requirements for eligibility for examination for appointment in the grade of junior assistant;

(2) Shall be at least 21 years of age; and

(3) Shall have had at least 7 years of educational and professional training or experience subsequent to high school, except that a candidate who applies for examination for appointment in the Reserve Corps to serve as a medical or dental intern may be examined for such appointment upon the completion of 6 years of such education, training, or experience.

(b) Additional requirements; dietitians. Every candidate for examination for appointment as a dietitian shall have successfully completed an approved training course for dietetic interns.

(c) Temporary substitute for academic degree; nurse officers and therapists. Every candidate who has received subsequent to July 1, 1943, a certificate in his profession from an approved school, who applies for examination for appointment as a nurse officer or therapist in the assistant grade prior to January 1, 1953, and who has had, during the 5 years immediately prior to the date of such application, 4 years or more of experience as a nurse, physical therapist, or occupational therapist in the Army, Navy, or Public Health Service with a satisfactory record of active service, may substitute such certificate and experience for the requirement of an academic degree.

(d) Temporary substitute for dietetic internship; dietitians. Every candidate

who applies for examination for appointment as a dietitian in the assistant grade prior to January 1, 1949, who has had, prior to such date, 3 years or more of experience as a dietitian and who has received an academic degree from an approved college with a major in foods and nutrition or institutional management in the field of dietetics, may substitute such education and experience for the requirement of successful completion of an approved training course for dietetic interns.

§ 21.27 Eligibility; senior assistant grade. Every candidate for examination for appointment in the grade of senior assistant shall meet the requirements for eligibility for examination for appointment in the grade of assistant and shall have completed at least 10 years of educational and professional training or experience subsequent to high school.

§ 21.28 Eligibility; grades above senior assistant grade. Every candidate for examination for appointment in grades above that of senior assistant shall meet the requirements for eligibility for examination for appointment in the grade of senior assistant. Candidates for examination for appointment in the full, senior, or director grade shall have completed at least 7, 14, or 15 additional years, respectively, of postgraduate professional training or experience. When officers of the Service are unavailable for the performance of duties requiring highly specialized training and experience in special fields related to public health, the Surgeon General may specify that a candidate for appointment to the Regular Corps with such highly specialized training and experience shall be examined for appointment in the full or senior grade upon completion of at least 5 or 12 additional years, respectively, of postgraduate professional training or experience, except that the total number of such appointments during a fiscal year shall not exceed three.

§ 21.29 Eligibility; all grades; academic and professional education and professional training and experience. The Surgeon General is authorized, subject to the other provisions of this subpart to adopt additional standards by which the education, training, and experience required under this subpart, and evidence thereof, shall be of such specific kind and quality, pertinent to the particular profession concerned, as in his

judgment are necessary to limit the examination to qualified candidates.

§ 21.30 Boards; appointment of; powers and duties. The Surgeon General shall from time to time appoint boards and subboards of officers to consider the qualifications of candidates for appointment as officers, and shall refer to such boards the applications of those candidates who are eligible for examination for appointment. Such boards and subboards shall consist of three or more officers, the majority of whom, so far as practicable, shall be of the same profession as the candidate. The Surgeon General shall prescribe the duties of boards and subboards in relation to the examination process not otherwise prescribed in this subpart.

§ 21.31 General service. Officers shall be appointed only to general service and shall be subject to change of station.

§ 21.32 Certification by candidate; requirement of new physical examination. If a candidate for appointment in the Regular Corps or an officer of the Reserve Corps on inactive service has passed a physical examination within a period of 6 months from the date on which it is contemplated that he will be appointed or called to active duty, he shall, prior to being appointed or called to active duty, certify that to the best of his knowledge and belief he is free from all disease or injury not noted in his record at the time of his examination and that he is willing to serve in any climate. If a candidate for appointment in the Regular Corps, or an officer of the Reserve Corps on inactive service, has not passed a physical examination within a period of 6 months from the date on which it is contemplated that he will be appointed or called to active duty, he may, prior to being appointed or called to active duty, be required to undergo such physical examination as the Surgeon General may direct to determine his physical qualification for appointment or call to active duty in accordance with standards prescribed for original appointment, or he may be appointed or called to active duty after executing the certificate described in this section, but shall be physically examined to determine his physical qualification for continued active service in accordance with standards prescribed for original ap

pointment within a period of 15 days after reporting for duty at his first station.

PROVISIONS APPLICABLE ONLY TO REGULAR

CORPS

§ 21.41 Professional examinations, holding of; subjects to be included. From time to time the Surgeon General may order examinations to be held in such professions and for such grades as he deems necessary for the purpose of providing merit rolls of eligible candidates for appointment in the Regular Corps and shall, if a professional examination is to be required, prescribe the subjects relating to each such profession in which candidates will be examined.

§ 21.42 Examinations; junior assistant, assistant, or senior assistant grade. The examination for appointment to the junior assistant, assistant, or senior assistant grade in the Regular Corps shall consist of (a) a written professional examination relating to the fundamentals of the candidate's profession and their realtionship to the activities of the Service, and (b) an examination as to the candidate's general fitness, which shall include an oral interview, and a review and evaluation of the candidate's academic and professional education and professional training and experience, and may include other written tests to determine the candidate's fitness for appointment as an officer.

§ 21.43 Examination; full grade and above. The examination for appointment to the full, senior, or director grade in the Regular Corps shall consist of a review and evaluation of the candidate's academic and professional education and professional training and experience. The Surgeon General may, however, direct that the examination of a candidate for appointment to any such grade shall also include an oral interview, a written or oral professional examination, or both.

§ 21.44 Clinical or other practical demonstration. In the discretion of the Surgeon General a candidate for appointment to any grade up to and including the senior assistant grade in the Regular Corps may be required to perform successfully a clinical or other practical demonstration which, if required, shall constitute a part of the professional examination.

§ 21.45 Rating values. The examination of every candidate for appoint

ment to any grade in the Regular Corps shall be rated by a board appointed pursuant to § 21.30 in accordance with such relative values for each part of the examination as are prescribed by the Surgeon General. No candidate who receives a final rating below 80 shall be appointed in the Regular Corps.

§ 21.46 Merit roll. Each board appointed pursuant to § 21.30 to consider the qualifications of candidates for appointment as officers shall assign a numercial rating to each candidate for appointment in the Regular Corps who passes the examination, and shall submit a report to the Surgeon General of the ratings and the relative standing of all such candidates for each grade in each profession. The Surgeon General shall submit each such report with his recommendations to the Administrator, and, if approved by the Administrator, the report shall constitute a merit roll from which the Administrator shall, in accordance with relative standing, recommend available persons to the President for nomination as commissioned officers of the Regular Corps. A board may consider any newly discovered evidence relating to the physical, professional, or personal qualifications of any candidate examined for appointment. Upon recommendation of such board after review of such evidence, the Surgeon General, with the approval of the Administrator, may correct the rating of a candidate or may qualify or disqualify a candidate. The placing of a candidate's name on a merit roll shall give no assurance of an appointment. A merit roll shall expire when a new merit roll in the same profession and grade has been established, but no merit roll shall continue in effect longer than two years after its approval by the Administrator. Every candidate who has not been nominated by the President for appointment prior to the expiration of a merit roll on which his name appears, shall, unless he requests the opportunity to be reexamined, be rated with the next group of candidates of the same profession for appointment in the same grade and shall be given the same rating he had on the expired merit roll. If two candidates who were examined at the same time receive the same numerical rating, the elder candidate shall assume relative standing on the merit roll over the younger candidate. If a candidate whose name is being transferred from an expired to

a new merit roll has the same numerical rating as a candidate whose name is being placed on the new merit roll for the first time, the former shall assume relative standing on the merit roll over the latter. The name of a candidate may be removed from a merit roll in the event that he refuses an appointment when offered. No candidate's eligibility for appointment shall exceed two years unless he again becomes eligible as the result of another examination.

§ 21.47 Examination; anticipation of meeting qualifications. A potential candidate for appointment in any grade in the Regular Corps may be examined within a period of nine months prior to the date upon which it is anticipated that he will qualify for appointment under this subpart. Upon successful completion of the examination, his name will be entered on a merit roll. In the event that his name, in order of relative standing among all candidates, precedes that of fully qualified candidates, his name, for purpose of appointment, shall be passed over in favor of fully qualified candidates until such time as he becomes fully qualified, but in no event shall he otherwise lose his relative standing on the merit roll, except as provided in § 21.46 If the candidate fails to qualify for appointment at the time that it was anticipated that he would qualify, his name shall be removed from the merit roll.

§ 21.48 Reappointment of former officers of the Regular Corps. If a candidate for appointment to the Regular Corps is a former officer of the Regular Corps and if he applies for reappointment to the Regular Corps within two years from the date of the termination of his commission in the Regular Corps, he may be appointed to the Regular Corps without regard to the merit rolls after passing an examination which shall consist of a physical examination and a review and evaluation of his record with the Service. If reappointed, such candidate shall be reappointed in the permanent grade held by him at the time of the termination of his commission, and shall, for purposes of promotion, pay and pay period, seniority in grade, and retirement, be credited with the same credits he had at the time his commission was terminated. For purposes of § 21.114 a reappointment shall be considered as an original appointment.

PROVISIONS APPLICABLE ONLY TO RESERVE

CORPS

§ 21.51 Appointment of officers having specialized training or experience in administration and management. The Surgeon General may recommend for original appointment in the Reserve Corps candidates who have specialized training or experience in administration and management relating to the functions of the Service. All such candidates shall be subject to the same eligibility requirements for original appointment as are applicable to other candidates, except that such a candidate may substitute experience in administration or management for the requirement of professional training or experience.

§ 21.52 Waiver of entrance qualifications for original appointment in time of war or national emergency. If, in time of war or national emergency proclaimed by the President, the Administrator determines that there is need for commissioned personnel to meet the needs of the Service, other than persons eligible for examination for original appointment under the eligibility requirements prescribed in this subpart, he may prescribe standards of eligibility for examination for the original appointment of officers in the Reserve Corps without regard to such eligibility requirements. Such standards shall, however, authorize the examination only of candidates with specialized experience in administration or management or candidates with training or experience in fields relating to public health. The permanent grade of an officer who becomes eligible for examination for appointment pursuant to such standards and who becomes eligible for appointment after passage of an examination shall be limited to the junior assistant or the assistant grade, except that, if upon examination a candidate is found to be exceptionally qualified for the performance of highly specialized duties with the Service pursuant to § 21.55, he may be recommended for appointment to any grade up to and including the director grade. Any appointment made pursuant to this section shall be terminated not later than 6 months following the termination of the or the national emergency proclaimed by the President.

war

§ 21.53 Examination. The examination of candidates for original appointment as officers to any grade in the Reserve Corps shall consist of a review