Veterinary Medical Officer, GS-0701
Definitions:
EXPERIENCE: One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows: 2 yrs = 24 months. 24 months x 75% [percentage of time spent on budget duties] = 18 months of qualifying experience.)
GRADUATE EDUCATION: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.
Basic Requirement for Veterinary Medical Officer GS-0701-11 & Higher:
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or equivalent degree, i.e., Veterinary Medical Doctor obtained at a school or college of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education.
**OR Graduation from a foreign veterinary medical school; AND can provide proof of proficiency in the English language by successfully completing one of the nationally and internationally recognized exams that incorporate assessments of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills; AND meet one of the following requirements: (a) possess proof of certification of final transcript by the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates; OR (b) possess a permanent, full, and unrestricted license to practice veterinary medicine in a State, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or a territory of the US that includes successful completion of the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination or its predecessors, the National Board Examination and the Clinical Competency Test; OR (c) possess proof that the education obtained in a foreign veterinary medical program is equal to one accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education.
For GS-12:
In addition to the basic requirements as stated above, applicants must meet the following to qualify for the GS-12 level:
Possess 1-year of progressively responsible professional veterinary experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level that demonstrates the ability to independently perform the veterinary medical duties required of the position. Examples may include: examining bacterial or viral biologics produced/proposed by firms for animal immunization; developing standards for laboratory biologics; diagnosing viral, bacterial, mycotic, parasitic, toxicogenic and nutritional diseases; examining tissues to isolate/characterize infectious agents; conducting autopsies for pathological changes, abnormalities; developing standard diagnostic reagents.
**OR A Master's degree in an area of specialization, including but not limited to, animal science, avian medicine, food safety, infectious diseases, veterinary clinical sciences, pathobiology, biomedical sciences, veterinary anatomy, veterinary preventive medicine, comparative biological sciences, epidemiology, veterinary parasitology, molecular veterinary biosciences, public health, microbiology, pathology, immunology, laboratory animal medicine, toxicology, wildlife, zoological animal medicine, or sciences related to the work of a veterinary medical officer position.
**OR Successful completion of two years of an internship, residency program, or fellowship training program in a discipline related to the position.
For GS-13:
In addition to the basic requirements as stated above, applicants must meet the following to qualify for the GS-13 level:
Possess 1-year of progressively responsible professional veterinary experience equivalent to at least GS-12 level. Examples may include veterinary medical officer-in-charge of a major ante mortem, post mortem, and allied inspection program; or a laboratory program with full range diagnostic functions of viral, bacterial, mycotic, parasitic, toxicogenic, and nutritional diseases; or a program of full range disease control, eradication and animal health activities in counties or states for amphibians/birds.
**OR A Ph.D. degree in an area of specialization, including but not limited to, animal science, avian medicine, food safety, infectious diseases, veterinary clinical sciences, pathobiology, biomedical sciences, veterinary anatomy, veterinary preventive medicine, comparative biological sciences, epidemiology, veterinary parasitology, molecular veterinary biosciences, public health, microbiology, pathology, immunology, laboratory animal medicine, toxicology, wildlife, zoological animal medicine, or sciences related to the work of a veterinary medical officer position.
**OR Successful completion of three years of an internship, residency program, or fellowship training program in a discipline related to the position.
**OR Successful completion of all requirements for Diplomate status in an ABVS-recognized veterinary specialty organization. Such specialties may included, but are not limited to, veterinary toxicology, laboratory animal medicine, poultry veterinary medicine, theriogenology, veterinary anesthesiology, veterinary behaviorists, veterinary clinical pharmacology, veterinary dermatology, veterinary emergency and critical care, veterinary internal medicine, veterinary microbiology, veterinary nutrition, veterinary ophthalmology, veterinary pathology, veterinary preventive medicine, veterinary radiology, veterinary medicine, and veterinary dentistry.
For GS-14:
In addition to the basic education requirement as stated above, applicants must meet the following to qualify for the GS-14 level:
**One year of progressively responsible professional veterinary experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the Federal service.
Examples of such experience may include veterinary medical officer-in-charge of a large geographic area (e.g. several states) developing methods to investigate epidemic and endemic diseases, designing and evaluating programs for the prevention and control of diseases found in economically important animals, or transmissible to humans; evaluating new veterinary medical drug application to determine the safety and efficacy of the drug under the conditions of prescribed use, significance of dangers of use as compared to therapeutic benefits, and adequacy of directions; recommending approval or rejection of the new drug application; evaluating procedures presently in use and developing new procedures for examination of specific category (e.g., large animal) of viral, anaerobic, and aerobic biologics, and related products in connection with licensing and release of biological products; monitoring the application of test procedures and correlating findings to ascertain that such problems assure safe and potent products; and recommending that such procedures become standard requirements.
For GS-15:
In addition to the basic education requirement as stated above, applicants must meet the following to qualify for the GS-15 level:
**One year of progressively responsible professional veterinary experience equivalent to at least the GS-14 level in the Federal service.
Examples of GS-14 level work may include: (1) Developing and coordinating major interdisciplinary projects that may impact regional scientific objectives; 2) developing or directly influencing the scientific, administrative and technical policies, standards, procedures, and instructions necessary for the effective direction and operation of a multi-discipline scientific program; 3) resolving critical problems resulting from the unprecedented complexities of a multi-discipline scientific study; 4) serving as the principal contact with other Federal agencies, state and local government organizations, and other groups that may affect the success of a major interdisciplinary scientific program. The work involved advising or counseling other recognized senior technical experts.