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The U.S. Department of State is developing a rank-ordered list of eligible hires for a limited number of Regional Medical Officer (RMO) positions. Learn more about Foreign Service careers at https://careers.state.gov.
There is more to joining the Foreign Service than just salary. Refer to the Benefits section for more information on total compensation.
Learn more about this agency01/08/2025 to 01/21/2025
$172,696 - $195,200 per year
FP 01
No
No
50% or less - Foreign Service Specialists generally spend the majority of their careers assigned to overseas posts and may, at times, live away from family and/or in difficult or isolated conditions.
Yes—Upon completing orientation and initial training in Washington, D.C., employees are assigned to two sequential tours, typically two-years each, directed by the Department. These entry-level assignments may be overseas or in the United States. After the initial two tours, employees have greater choice as to the location, length, and substantive nature of assignments.
Permanent - Permanent after tenure granted by a Foreign Service Specialist (FSS) Tenure Board.
Full-time
Excepted
MC
Yes
Yes
RMO-2025-0001
826508500
Must be a U.S. citizen. Candidates should read the entire announcement to ensure they meet all requirements. Candidates may reapply one year after their most recent date of application submission for the same position. Candidates may not apply if a U.S. State Department Suitability Review Panel denied suitability in the last two years for any position, (except if the denial was for a DS Special Agent (SA) candidate whose denial was based solely on the unique requirements for SAs).
A Regional Medical Officer (RMO) works either independently or as a member of a team of FS Medical Specialists to provide medical support for USG employees and their eligible family members (EFMs).
An RMO is considered essential personnel and is expected to be available on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. RMO’s duties may include, but are not limited to:
Clinical Responsibilities
Administrative Responsibilities
Coordinating Emergency Medical Response
Embassy or State Department Specific Responsibilities
The Bureau of Medical Services (MED) in the Department of State safeguards and promotes the health and well-being of American's diplomatic community, which consists of employees and their accompanying family members who represent United States government agencies abroad. The Department assigns Foreign Service Regional Medical Officers (RMOs), Regional Medical Officer Psychiatrists (RMOPs), Medical Providers (MPs), and Regional Medical Laboratory Scientists (RMLS) to selected posts overseas. Many of these posts have significant health risks and local medical care that is inadequate by U.S. standards.
Essential Physical Requirements
The most important physical requirements of the job are speaking, hearing, vision, mental endurance, tolerance for extreme environmental conditions, physical endurance, dexterity, and mobility.
RMOs may need to perform essential functions effectively in environments that pose physical or other occupational challenges. These duties may include:
Licensure and Board Certification
The candidate must be currently board certified in Family Practice (preferred) or Internal Medicine or Emergency Medicine (accepted) by the American Board of Medical Specialties or Osteopathic Board. American Board certification and re-certification, state medical licensure, and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration must be maintained for the duration of employment. Once hired, the candidate will be required to obtain and maintain a District of Columbia license.
Specialized Experience: (8000-character limit)
The candidate must have a minimum of five (5) years of full-time post-residency clinical experience within the past seven (7) years, in providing primary care to adults, children, and infants, with at least 75% of the time involved in direct patient care. Otherwise qualified clinicians who have practiced primarily emergency medicine, hospital based practice or other non-ambulatory settings must demonstrate thorough understanding of primary care practice fundamentals as defined in the next paragraph.
"Primary care” encompasses adult and pediatric diagnosis and treatment of acute illness and management of chronic diseases, routine gynecologic care, prenatal care, adult health maintenance and preventive health care, well child care and immunization management. It embraces the total family unit across the lifespan, including emotional and physical aspects that impact overall well-being. The primary care physician utilizes and coordinates sub-specialty professional consultations when needed.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
The Department has conducted extensive job analysis research to determine Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) and other attributes conducive to successful performance in this position. A candidate’s education level, work experience, and other qualifications will be considered as part of the hiring decision-making process based on these KSA criteria.
The candidate must have demonstrated a high degree of clinical and management expertise. The patient population covered is unique because of background and lifestyle as part of a diplomatic community overseas. This population also differs in terms of clinical and administrative needs and the national security concerns inherent in their employment. Previous experience working in an occupational setting and/or in an overseas setting is advantageous.
The candidate must demonstrate the ability to manage administrative aspects of an HU as well as the ability to cope with extraordinary medical crises, often in remote and isolated settings. Education and experience must demonstrate that the candidate can function as a public/community health provider.
The candidate must be a skilled and experienced primary health care practitioner with excellent interpersonal skills. The candidate must be able to function well within a complex organization and have experience working in a high stress environment. They can also recognize and understand the problems of delivering healthcare to Americans posted in locations where local medical resources are limited or non-existent. The ability to logically and objectively analyze patient problems, and apply sound clinical judgment is required. Experience in providing long distance triage and care via electronic communications such as telephone, telemedicine, radio, and e-mail is preferred.
The candidate must have the capacity to gain the cooperation and confidence of patients, co-workers, supervisors, and subordinates. Individuals must have experience working in a multidisciplinary practice as well as experience in team building, leadership, and management. Effective written and oral communication skills are essential, as well as the ability to present medical findings in a clear and concise manner to medical and non-medical personnel. Demonstrated ability to teach or lecture to groups on medical issues is preferred.
The candidate must be able to develop, coordinate, and administer health care delivery programs. These include but are not limited to individual and community health promotion and disease prevention programs to include teaching health topics to both small and large groups. The candidate must provide comprehensive health assessments and medical care to individuals and families across the lifespan.
the candidate must be able to organize and supervise a diverse group of health care providers with varying degrees of expertise, education, and command of English. The candidate must understand the unique cultural differences related to health care delivery in varied countries and address these differences in a positive manner. The candidate must be able to assess, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases within the scope of primary care.
The candidate must possess a high degree of integrity, decisiveness and fairness in order to equitably apply the regulations and policies of the medical program to all eligible persons.
Knowledge and hands-on familiarity with computer systems are preferred.
Specific medical knowledge areas required for successful job performance include pediatrics, orthopedics, vaccines, infectious diseases, gynecology, gastroenterology, dermatology, emergency techniques, clinical pharmacology, laboratory medicine, obstetrics, general surgery, psychiatry, health-related environmental factors, alcoholism and drug abuse, pulmonology, urology, radiology, otorhinolaryngology, occupational medicine, food and water safety, epidemiology, air quality, health insurance, and medical information resources.
Specific medical skills required by the job include medical history-taking, physical examination, planning of evaluation and treatment, electrocardiography, operating medical equipment, minor surgery, triage, intravenous access, medical communication, data interpretation, research techniques, and medical software use.
Management skills required by the job include staff supervision, training and development of employees, mentoring, time management, management of personnel, financial, and other resources, including working with limited resources, and managing a diverse staff in terms of cultures, backgrounds, and skills.
Personal skills required by the job include reading comprehension, active listening, active learning, oral and written communication, public speaking, complex problem identification, critical thinking, judgment and decision making, social perceptiveness, interpersonal skills, giving critical feedback, persuasion, service orientation, monitoring, coordination, and process operation and control.
Other attributes required by the job include compassionate, unflappable, self-confident, firm convictions, independent but integrated with the department, interest in continuous learning and change, interest in foreign service work, tolerance of on-call and emergency demands, tolerance of travel, worldwide available, and tolerance of living away from family.
Further desirable attributes include a willingness to deploy to high threat environments to provide care and consultation to USG employees and EFMs, ability to consult with senior leaders, officials, and EFMs with tact. Recognizing the limited role of the physician in a non-medical organizational environment, capability to work effectively with colleagues from other cultures, and ability to create supportive and effective professional relationships in overseas environments.
Openness to an international career: Accepting assignments based on the needs of the Foreign Service, experiencing frequent global travel.
At the time of application, applicants must possess:
Subsequent to obtaining a MD or DO degree, a candidate must have completed formal residency training. Qualifying graduate training programs include only those residency programs within the U.S or Canada and which are approved by an accrediting body recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA).
You must submit a copy of your university transcript(s) with your application. If you do not submit this documentation to demonstrate your educational achievements, your candidacy will not continue. Please review below the full list of required documents.
Official or unofficial transcripts may be submitted with your application. Your transcript must include your name, the school’s name, the degree and date awarded, and have no missing pages. A transcript missing any of these elements will not pass the minimum qualifications and the candidacy will not continue. Copies of diplomas may not be submitted in lieu of transcripts for education above high school level. PDF documents are strongly recommended; illegible documents will not be accepted.
Education from a program or institution within the United States must be accredited at the time of program completion by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation.
Education completed in foreign high schools, colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Only accredited organizations recognized as specializing in the interpretation of foreign education credentials that are members of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE) are accepted. If documentation from an accredited organization is not provided, your candidacy will not continue.
NACES: https://www.naces.org/index
AICE: https://aice-eval.org/
For further information on the evaluation of foreign education, please refer to the Office of Personnel Management and the U.S. Department of Education. The U.S. Department of State neither endorses nor recommends any individual evaluation service.
OPM: www.opm.gov
U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov
*EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (E-Verify) – Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required.
U.S. law requires organizations to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States – either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization. This agency utilizes E-Verify to compare information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility. If the employee’s information does not match DHS and/or SSA records, the employee is given an opportunity to resolve the problem. If eligibility cannot be verified, employment will be terminated.
**The Department of State Suitability Review Panel and standards are defined in Chapter 3 of the Foreign Affairs Manual. For more information please visit: https://fam.state.gov/.
***For more information about Veteran’s Preference and how it is applied in the selection process, please visit: https://careers.state.gov/about/diversity-inclusion/veterans-program-office/.
No applicant will be considered who has previously been separated from the Foreign Service under sections §607, §608, §610 or §611 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended, or who resigned or retired in lieu of separation under these provisions. In addition, no applicant will be considered who has previously been separated for failure to receive a career appointment under section §306 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended, or who resigned or retired in lieu thereof.
A Foreign Service Specialist separated for failure to receive a career appointment under section 306 may not re-apply to be a Foreign Service Specialist in the same skill code but may apply for another skill code or to be a Foreign Service Generalist.
Executive Branch agencies are barred by 5 US Code 3303 as amended from accepting or considering prohibited political recommendations and are required to return any prohibited political recommendations to sender. In addition, as mandated by 5 US Code 3110, relatives of federal employees cannot be granted preference in competing for these employment opportunities.
It is the policy of the Federal Government to treat all employees with dignity and respect and to provide a workplace that is free from discrimination whether discrimination is based on race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity or pregnancy), national origin, disability, political affiliation, marital status, membership in an employee organization, age, sexual orientation, or other non-merit factors.
The Department of State provides reasonable accommodation to qualified candidates with disabilities. Procedures vary by test type, and all candidates must request reasonable accommodations in advance. For more information visit https://careers.state.gov/faq-items/what-is-the-assessment-centers-policy-on-reasonable-accommodations-for-persons-with-disabilities-or-those-who-have-medical-conditions-or-other-needs-such-as-the-use-of-medical-devices-or-acc/.
For information on FS Salary, visit https://careers.state.gov/faqs/faqs-wiki/foreign-service-salary-matching-pay-tables-danger-pay-overseas-moving-expenses-and-taxes.
Please visit https://careers.state.gov/med for more information on Foreign Service medical careers.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Candidates will be evaluated on their total background including experience, education, awards, training, and self-development as it relates to the position. Selection for this position will be made only from among candidates possessing the best qualifications. Part-time work experience will be prorated.
The Department of State prohibits candidates from plagiarizing any portion of their employment application materials to include responses to questions in which candidates must provide a narrative response. Candidates must create their own responses originally and not copy or adapt them from other sources. The Department analyzes candidate submissions for plagiarism and will discontinue any individual’s candidacy if found to have violated this plagiarism policy.
While the Department of State encourages candidates to create their narratives with great care, including correct use of grammar and style, candidates are prohibited from using any artificial intelligence (AI) tool, to include but not limited to ChatGPT, to aid in their written responses. The Department will discontinue any individual’s candidacy if found to have violated this prohibition on use of AI tools in the application process.
Medical Credentialing and Indemnification
Candidates are subject to a credential verification process conducted by the Quality Management Staff Unit of the Bureau of Medical Services. This process includes query of the National Practitioner Data Bank and independent verification of state licenses and national certifications. Once hired, medical personnel are indemnified for official duties only through the U.S. Federal Tort Claims Act, so long as they are acting within their scope of work.
Active Bureau of Medical Services clinical privileges, specific to the position, are a condition of employment for all Foreign Service Medical Specialists.
The candidate must ensure required documents are uploaded and application is complete before the closing deadline. PDF documents are required.
2. Statement of Interest
This required narrative should discuss:
Submit documentation to demonstrate the educational level required.
Transcripts must comply with the following:
The application submission deadline is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date of this announcement.
It is the candidate’s responsibility complete and submit the application and all required documents before the closing deadline. There are no exceptions.
1. From this Vacancy Announcement, click on “Apply.” Go to the USAJobs Login screen and log in to your USAJobs account or follow the link and instructions to create an account.
2. Follow the USAJobs Application Process and provide your required USAJobs federal online resume.
3. USAJobs will transfer you to the U.S. State Department agency online application site, Monster Government Service (MGS). Follow the instructions to answer the online questions. The Accomplishments Questionnaire and Statement of Interest responses must be completed in the online application. You may save your work and can return to the application from USAJobs at any time prior to the deadline.
4. Submit required documentation using one of the three methods the application system allows:
a. Transfer documents from a USAJOBS portfolio;
b. Upload documents from your computer; or,
c. Resubmit documents from a previous application.
5. After attaching all required supporting documentation, answering all required application questions, and completing the application steps, review the entire application packet, including the submitted documents. Multiple transcript documents can be scanned into one pdf document.
6. Confirm and submit your application package, which will be used to evaluate your qualifications for this position.
Candidates experiencing technical difficulties with the application must contact the Monster Help Desk by calling 1-866-656-6830 or by emailing mgshelp@monster.com. The Monster Help Desk is available Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
For more information on the Foreign Service Specialist hiring processes, please visit our FAQs at http://careers.state.gov/faqs.
After the close of the announcement, the application status in USAJobs will say "Reviewing Applications." This status on USAJobs will not be updated further. You can click on "Track this application" for more information.
Candidates should use a personal email address to which they will have regular, long-term access throughout the hiring process. Candidates who are current U.S. government employees may not use their U.S. government email addresses for the Foreign Service application, testing, and assessment process.
Candidates will be notified by e-mail from the U.S. Department of State about the outcome of the initial application review and if they will be further considered for this Foreign Service position. Candidates should add the U.S. Department of State domain (@state.gov) as an approved sender.
Due to the high volume of applications, we ask all candidate to remain patient and await communication. It is not uncommon for several months to pass before candidates are informed of the application results.
The Department of State will invite candidates who pass the qualifications review process to participate in the Virtual Foreign Service Specialist Assessment (VFSSA). For more information, please visit our FAQs at http://careers.state.gov/faqs.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/826508500. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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