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FDA recruitment official says Trump’s policies are making hiring difficult

pharmafile | September 7, 2018 | News story | Medical Communications FDA, Trump, US, hiring, recruitment 

Melanie Keller, Acting Associate Commissioner for Scientific and Clinical Recruitment at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said that the Trump administration restrictions on hiring those who have lived outside of the United States, has made it difficult for the agency to attract top talent.

Keller criticised Trump’s policies at a conference organised by the Association for Accessible Medicines, the generic drug trade industry group.

“[The policy] definitely has created an additional challenge, I think, for us. The U.S. just doesn’t graduate the number that we need to fill our vacancies,” Keller said in reference to a policy which requires the FDA to restrict the number of offer of employment they make to people who have lived outside of the United States for three of the past five years.

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Keller continued in saying that the FDA is pursuing an “exception” process for individuals who they feel are particularly desirable as she claimed that the agency had “escalated” the issue up to the Department of Health and Human Services.

However FDA spokeswoman Tara Rabin contested the claims in commenting “I wouldn’t characterize it as a challenge. It’s a policy we need to navigate with HHS’s help, in order to attract our talent.” She added that “There’s no complaints being escalated.”

Louis Goss

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