Trainee Procedures and Information

Trainee Travel
Individual UW Travel Charge Cards
Purchases / Reimbursements for Supplies
UW Graduate School Student Resources
Trainee Health Insurance
Student Life Resources (housing, etc.)
Childcare Assistance Program
Trainee Payroll and Tax Information
Trainee Tuition Benefit
AHRQ Training Grant Information
Citing Support in Publications
Library Resources
Study and Research Space
After Hours Building Access
Required Human Subjects Training
Required Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research

Trainee Travel

You are provided with travel funding for conferences and meetings each year, as indicated in your welcome letter and statement of appointment. Please follow these procedures:

1. Prior Approval: obtain approval from Diane Martin for your proposed travel.
2. Authorization to Travel: fill out page one of the Department of Health Services Travel Authorization form and submit it to the Counseling Services Coordinator.
3. Air Travel: you may handle your airfare in one of two ways: a) you may purchase your own ticket and submit the ticket (with a complete itinerary and breakdown of the airfare) for reimbursement after you return, or b) you may request that your airfare be purchased through the Department of Health Services Travel Account. To have the Department purchase your ticket, e-mail Peggy Shull at Global Express (peggy.gx@vacation.com) and copy the Counseling Services Coordinator in your message. Once you have confirmed that a particular itinerary and price is acceptable to you, the Counseling Services Coordinator will give approval for the Department Travel Account to be charged.
4. Conference Registration: you may handle your conference registration in one of two ways: a) you may register yourself and then submit your receipt for reimbursement after the conference, or b) you may request that the Department pre-pay your registration. Fill out the conference registration form and bring or mail it to the Counseling Services Coordinator, who will fill in the payment information and fax the form into the conference registrar.
5. Hotel: you must handle your own hotel reservations and pay, if applicable, any registration deposits. Consult the UW Travel Office web site for maximum hotel rates, which vary from city to city (there are exceptions in which you may stay at a hotel whose rate exceeds these maximums; consult the Counseling Services Coordinator for details). Turn in your hotel receipt for reimbursement after travel has been completed. If you have your own Individual UW Travel Charge Card, you can put hotel reservations on that credit card. If you do not have an Individual UW Travel Charge Card, you can request a Per Diem Advance, which will provide you with funds for your estimated hotel and meal expenses. Consult the Counseling Services Coordinator about applying for a travel advance. Advances are issued no more than 10 days prior to your departure date.
6. Meals: you must pay for your own meals during travel, but you do not need to save receipts: eligible meals are reimbursed at a standard per diem meal rate, which varies according to the city in which you'll be staying. For the policy on which meals can be reimbursed, and for the per diem meal rates, visit the UW Travel Office web site. If you have your own Individual UW Travel Charge Card, you can put your meals on that credit card. If you do not have an Individual UW Travel Charge Card, you can request a Per Diem Advance, which will provide you with funds for your estimated hotel and meal expenses. Consult the Counseling Services Coordinator about applying for a travel advance. Advances are issued no more than 10 days prior to your departure date.
7. Miscellaneous Expenses: you can be reimbursed for some miscellaneous travel expenses, such as local transportation (bus, taxi, or other transit fare), business charges for limited internet or telephone use, parking fees, mileage reimbursement, etc. Please check with the Counseling Services Coordinator if you're in doubt about what kinds of expenses are reimburseable, and be sure to save your receipts.
8. Reimbursement: When you return, fill out page two of the Department Travel Authorization Form (Travel Reimbursement page) and bring all of your receipts (except for meals), your airline ticket copy and itinerary, your conference registration, and printed materials on the conference proceedings (schedule) to the Counseling Services Coordinator, who will fill out a Travel Expense Voucher (TEV) on your behalf, obtain your signature and Department signatures, and forward it to the UW Travel Office.
9. Questions: please feel free to check in with the Counseling Services Coordinator with any questions you may have about travel: (206) 616-2977 or ahrqhsrt@u.washington.edu.

Individual UW Travel Charge Cards

Because you are on the UW payroll, you are eligible for an Individual UW Travel Charge Card that you can use when you are traveling on UW business. After you send in the application form, you will receive your card in about 10 business days. Please review the charge card policy to be sure that you understand the circumstances in which this account may be used along with restrictions on its usage.

Trainee Purchases and Reimbursements for Supplies

You are provided with a small fund for research supplies and expenses each year, as indicated in your welcome letter and statement of appointment. Please follow these procedures:

1. Prior Approval: please obtain prior approval for all purchases. Check with the Counseling Services Coordinator, who will obtain authorization from Diane Martin if necessary.
2. Department Purchases: in some cases, you may ask the Counseling Services Coordinator to make the purchase on the Department credit card, if the purchase can be made over the internet or by telephone.
3. Reimbursement for Purchases: if you purchase the item yourself, please bring the receipt to the Counseling Services Coordinator, who will fill out a check request form or a petty cash form, obtain your signature on the form, and submit it on your behalf.
4. Questions: please feel free to check in with the Counseling Services Coordinator with any questions you may have about purchases or expense reimbursements: (206) 616-2977 or ahrqhsrt@u.washington.edu.

Trainee Health Insurance

Trainee health insurance is provided through the Graduate Appointee Insurance Program with the premiums paid by the grant for the trainee. You should enroll yourself and any dependents you opt to cover each autumn by October 31.

Student Life Resources

For information about student life (housing on and off campus, meals, communiting, parking, etc.), visit the Graduate School Student Life web resources.

Childcare Assistance Program

The University of Washington has a childcare assistance program for eligible students. Please visit their web site at http://depts.washington.edu/ovpsa/childcare/.

Trainee Payroll and Tax Information

Trainee stipend amounts are determined annually by the NIH and are detailed in the Statement of Training Appointment notices you will sign each year at the start of your appointment. Payroll for trainees is administered by Lynn Gose, Payroll Manager, Department of Health Services.

Note on Tax Withholding: the University of Washington does not withhold federal taxes, social security, etc., from stipend checks. In many instances, however, stipend amounts are considered taxable income. Trainees should consult the UW's Student Tax Information page along with IRS Publication 970: Scholarships and Fellowships, and all trainees should definitely plan for any potential tax liability. In January of each year, the UW will send you a form 1098-T to report stipend income to the IRS.

Trainee Tuition Benefit

Trainee tuition and fees are paid by the training grant, with the exception of certain ineligible fees (including the uPASS fee, the student activities fee, and the student technology fee). Trainees should expect to pay approximately $200.00 per quarter out of pocket for these fees.

AHRQ Training Grant Information

1. Sponsor: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) through a National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Training Grant. AHRQ is an agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
2. Grant Name and Type: AHRQ/NRSA Health Services Research Training Program, a National Research Service Award (NRSA) T-32 Institutional Training Program.
3. Grant Number: T32 HS13853
4. Grant Period: July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2008.
5. UW Budget Number: please check in with the Counseling Services Coordinator for the current UW grant budget number if you are asked to provide it for internal UW purchases or registrations: (206) 616-2977 or ahrqhsrt@u.washington.edu.

Citing AHRQ Support in Your Publications

Please cite AHRQ support in your publications if all or part of the research and writing was accomplished during your training period.

Sample citation: "[Trainee] gratefully acknowledges funding received from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (T32-HS013853) for [some of] the work on this study."

Library Resources

The Department of Health Services librarian and research assistant is Yuki Durham, whose office is in the Department of Health Services Library, H-668E Health Sciences. Yuki is available to help trainees with library research projects: (206) 616-2936 or yukid@u.washington.edu

The Health Sciences Library is located on the second and third floors of the T wing in the Health Sciences Complex. The online resource, Healthlinks includes reference tools such as PubMed and eJournals. For a complete listing of the UW's 26 libraries and online tools, visit http://www.lib.washington.edu/.

Research and Study Space

A three-office suite in T-329 Health Sciences is dedicated to trainee research and study. The study space is equipped with computers and printers, meeting/conference space, telephone, ethernet, and, in addition to the usual set of software, current versions of STATA and EndNote. There are also filing cabinets and a collection of books and manuals available for trainee use. To obtain a key for this space, see the Counseling Services Coordinator.

After Hours Building Access

Visit the Department of Health Services page for information on Health Sciences photo ID badges and after-hours access cards. Forms and assistance can be obtained from Steve Leigh, H-668A Health Sciences: (206) 616-2931 or sleigh@u.washington.edu.

Required Human Subjects Training

Please consult the page detailing Trainee Requirements.

Required Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research

Please consult the page detailing Trainee Requirements.