FDA hires 1,300 new doctors and scientists
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Associated Press
September 12, 2008
Page 2 of 2
Certain positions, such as cancer specialists, were hard to fill. The FDA hired nine, but another 20 rejected offers. "They could not make the money they would be making on the outside if they came into public service," said Holden. The agency could offer as much as $275,000 a year, she said, but oncologists can make $400,000 annually in that endeavor.
Congress approved the hiring drive and the Bush administration gave the FDA special authority to make on-the-spot offers. The drive was launched in the spring, with a goal of hiring 1,300 staffers by Sept. 30.
The campaign shows that public service is still attractive for highly specialized professionals, said Arthur Levin, director of the Center for Medical Consumers in New York. But he cautioned that the FDA has a history of letting such gains slip away. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the agency hired food inspectors to guard against the threat of bio-terrorism. But then it gradually cut the program back. As a result, the FDA was caught flat-footed by outbreaks of foodborne illness.
"Cost-of-living increases don't ever seem to be part of the funding from Congress," said Levin. "It may be that they hire all these people now, but they can't afford them down the line."
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