Medical directors and area and district occupational health nurse administrators implement and manage the Occupational Health Program and are responsible for ensuring the highest level of service performance and for ensuring adequate medical staffing within their respective locales.
The Postal Service medical staffing consists of a national medical director, medical directors, area and district occupational health nurse administrators, staff occupational health nurses, along with community-based contract medical facilities, physicians, nurses, and consultants.
All physicians must have a current, unlimited license to practice medicine in a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States. All nurses must have a current registered nurse (RN) certification and certification in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The full description of qualifications and requirements is found in the standard position descriptions.
The national medical director:
- Plans and develops policy for the National Medical and Occupational Health program.
- Provides guidance to the area Human Resources managers and area medical directors.
- Evaluates the performance of all aspects of the National Medical and Occupational Health Program.
The national medical director is administratively responsible to the manager of Injury Compensation and Medical Services.
Medical directors provide functional guidance in matters of policy and program requirements to district medical personnel and to postal management. They are also responsible for management of complex cases and issues.
As specified in 5 CFR 2635 (see ELM 662.1), an employee may not engage in outside employment or activities, including seeking or negotiating for employment, that conflict with official government duties and responsibilities. Medical directors are usually scheduled to work a minimum of 8 hours per day, 5 days per week.
Medical directors perform the following duties:
- Manage professional medical and medically related services for the area.
- Establish and act as custodian for all employee medical records within their area of responsibility.
- Review all serious job-related injuries and fatalities to help determine if the employee’s medical condition contributed to the injury or fatality (see 822.2).
- Work with the Human Resources staff and coordinate medical activity with safety and injury compensation staffs.
- Participate in management meetings, particularly those related to health, safety, and injury compensation.
- Serve as consultant or expert witness in administrative appeal proceedings, as required.
The occupational health nurse administrators are responsible for the administration of the National Medical and Occupational Health Program within their assigned locales. The duties include but are not limited to:
- Providing administrative and policy guidance to local management.
- Managing all aspects of health services office activity, including supervision of the staff occupational health nurses.
- Designing and implementing programs of preventive health education.
- Managing medical contract services and monitoring the quality of work provided by the contractors.
- Providing guidance to injury compensation specialists in work–related injury cases.
- Assisting in ensuring that resources are available for obtaining emergency medical care.
- Serving as medical record custodian for assigned locales.
- Generating qualitative and quantitative statistics and data.
- Providing statistical analysis of data relating to all elements of the National Medical and Occupational Health Program.
- Ensuring compliance with the regulatory requirements of the:
- Department of Transportation,
- Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs,
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and
- Other entities for which program compliance is required.
- Providing emergency care as needed.
Health services office occupational health nurses are functionally and administratively responsible to the district occupational health nurse administrator and to the district Human Resources manager. The duties of the occupational health nurses include but are not limited to:
- Assisting the occupational health nurse administrator in Occupational Health Services Office duties as assigned.
- Maintaining medical records.
- Counseling and referring employees to health-related programs.
