The Foreign Service Journal, October 2014

24 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL O cer and Regional Medical O cer, respectively). And if someone’s an FMO, how do we know if she’s a Financial Man- ager or a Facility Manager? As technology has changed, specialist jobs—the required skill sets—have changed, as well. Often, this is re ected in their new titles. For instance, Information Technology Digital and Telephone Specialists have been combined into a new “uni ed communications” specialty, ITMS-UC, and Foreign Service Secretaries are now O ce Management Special- ists. It was in the late 1990s, says O ce Manager Llywelyn Graeme, that “we went from ‘Foreign Service Secretary’ to OMS, which I don’t think many of us liked. I have a heck of a time explaining my job title to host-nation sta .” OM Elizabeth Babroski adds: “A few years ago, they gave us a new job title; I’m still not sure why. So now all administrative support sta at the State Department are called OMSs. I call myself Executive Assistant to the Ambassador, or Personal Assistant, and usually Ambas- sador’s Secretary to my counterparts, especially in other languages. [Whatever the title,] everyone seems to know what I do.” Making a title clearer to people of other nations—as well as to U.S. citizens—is also part of the reasoning behind a potential name change for Foreign Service Health Practitioners. Jeri Lockman, director of the O ce of Medical Services’ Foreign Service Health Practitioners Program, which oversees both nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants, laments: “We have been struggling for years to nd a title that encompasses both profes- sions and one that also clearly de nes what we do and who we are.” at may soon change, she says: “ e job title ‘Health Practitioner’ is not recognized by anyone outside of the State Department. We are considering ‘Foreign Service Medical Provider,’ so you may be seeing this title in future references to NPs and PAs.” In the case of Information Resource O cers, not only has their title changed, but the places where they work have been drastically revamped. ese former “Regional Librarians” used to be based in American libraries and press/cultural centers in capitals and other major cities around the world. Now IROs work with the newly minted American Spaces, which can take various forms, including American Corners—spaces in remote locations provided in cooperation with the host nation. Unlike generalists, specialists cannot enter the Foreign Service without expertise in their field. Division Director David Jesser, at left, from FSI’s School of Applied Information Technology, discusses curriculum changes for the Regional Emergency & Evacuation class with Instructor Tim Timmons. Courtesy of David Jesser