March 2010

Pay Levels for Clinical Fellows Effective July 2010

sent to supdssworkgroup and director_finance_administration_meeting lists on 3/29/2010

TO: School of Medicine Directors of Finance and Administration; Postdoctoral Administrators; Fellowship Program Directors

RE: Pay Levels for Clinical Fellows Effective July 2010

Effective July 1, 2010, all clinical postdoctoral trainees appointed through the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) will be subject to their appropriate PGY levels set by the Graduate Medical Education (GME) office at the SHC. This applies to any trainee who will be seeing patients at the hospital, in accredited programs, in non-accredited programs, or in advanced training. This decision follows School policy of 2008 which stated that trainees should be paid based on the established SHC PGY levels and benefits, and which further suggested that departments develop an implementation plan to meet this mandate by 2009. In the last two years, most departments and divisions successfully developed such plans and the majority of trainees today are funded at or near their appropriate PGY level. This memo establishes the PGY scale as the required pay scale for all trainees at the School with clinical responsibilities.

While this policy addresses the concerns raised by trainees with respect to compensation, other issues regarding benefits remain. Differences in the benefits offered to clinical trainees who are on SHC payroll and those offered through the Stanford University Postdoctoral Benefits Plan are a point of malcontent for fellows. The problem arises when fellows drop from SHC payroll to less than 50% FTE, which results in their loss of SHC benefits. The impact is also in loss of eligibility to receive social security or the state-funded Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits when the switch to OPA changes the trainee’s funding from salary to stipend (this has been a problem for women trainees in particular who become pregnant towards the end of their training only to realize that their PFL eligibility is affected as a result of receiving stipend rather than wages).

While a systemic solution is currently under consideration, departments should address the benefits inequity in the coming year through one or more of the following approaches:

1. Make every effort to maintain at least a 50% FTE on SHC payroll for every clinical trainee, including the utilization of inter-entity transfer mechanisms when using unrestricted SoM funding sources.

Structure the funding sources such that it remains possible for future trainees to maintain at least 50% effort on SHC payroll.

Pay for 100% of the trainee health insurance plans, rather than 70%, for dependent plans. This solution in particular must be a uniform policy within the department (i.e., where all trainees with dependents are treated the same). This can be up to approximately $400/month for a trainee with family in after-tax out-of-pocket expense that did not exist when the fellow was covered on the SHC plan.

OPA and GME are currently considering various solutions to the benefits issues. Cost considerations are taken into account, as well as a variety of logistical and legal concerns within Stanford and also with the insurance carriers.

Additional Information Regarding the Appointment Process of Clinical Fellows:

- Clinical Instructor Appointments: departments may hire clinical fellows in a 90/10 or 80/20 split between a postdoctoral fellow and clinical instructor provided that it is allowable within the program guidelines, that the PGY level is met, and that compensation corresponds to job responsibilities.

- OPA and GME will communicate their respective deadlines to submit appointment paperwork for the trainees. For OPA appointees, there will be revisions to the forms used. Stay tuned!

- The calculation to determine the PGY level continues to be based on accredited years of experience as is currently done for fellows appointed though the GME office. For example GME and OPA do not count a Chief Resident year for a trainee who is completing an ACGME year of required clinical or research training.

- In the rare case of fellows who short track their residency program and owe two additional years of research (which include ½ day/week of continuity clinic and possible on-call): These additional years are not reportable to ACGME, therefore, will the new policy apply to these fellows? OPA and GME would consider this to be an exception, (not frequently occurring), and we would ask for a justification.

- The PGY levels are available from GME Office: gme@med.stanford.edu

Rania Sanford, Ed.D.

Assistant Dean for Postdoctoral Affairs

1215 Welch Rd., Modular A, Room 86

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305-5402

Tel: 650-725-5075

Fax: 650-725-6106

Email: raniasanford@stanford.edu
Web: http://postdocs.stanford.edu

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Postdoc Administrator Update – March 2010

Postdoc Administrator Update – March 2010
(sent by email to supdssworkgroup on March 24)
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In this Issue:
1. Mark Your Calendar: Administrator Quarterly Meeting: April 19, 9:30 – 10:30
2. Procedure Updates: Calculating Funding Amount on DS-2019 Extensions
3. Workplace Injuries: How to Report Them for Postdocs
4. Orientation Sessions in April
5. Upcoming Talks
6. Upcoming Training Sessions for Administrators

(Access this issue, archives of past issues and other important memoranda from Postdoc Affairs online at the Administrator Blog http://postdocs.stanford.edu/admin/blog/)

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1. Mark Your Calendar: Administrator Quarterly Meeting: April 19, 9:30 – 10:30

The topic of the upcoming Administrator Quarterly Meeting will be “Tips & Tricks.” The meeting will cover several key areas related to procedures, policies plus effective and efficient time-saving ways to manage your postdoctoral business. There will also be a policy update, and hopefully time for an open forum and Q&As. Join us in the Clark Center, room S360 at 9:30 on April 19.

2. Procedure Updates: Calculating Funding Amount on DS-2019 Extensions

This may be a procedural change for some of you, and a clarification for others. Regarding the funding amounts listed in reappointment letters and in DS-2019 extensions, just like the start and end dates of the reappointment period in the reappointment letter and in the DS-2019 must match, so should the funding amount listed in both.

This means that as you prepare reappointment letters for your postdoc, first verify the salary against the Salary Scale Table in order to confirm that your reappointment salary meets the university’s minimum based on the postdoc’s years of experience at the time of reappointment. Indicate that amount in the reappointment letter. Indicate the same amount in the DS-2019 extension request. Make sure you always include the mandatory sentence regarding the October increase in the reappointment letter (template).

What about reappointments that are less than a year-long? Or those that span different fiscal years? How to account for the October adjustment in the DS-2019? What if the Salary Scale for the next fiscal year is already available, what amount should I use?

Answers to those questions will be discussed at the Postdoc Administrator Meeting on April 19!

3. Workplace Injury Reports for Postdocs (salaried vs. stipend)

In the rare occasion you may have to report a workplace injury for a postdoc, two different forms are used depending on how the postdoc is funded:

• SU-17 Accident, Incident or Exposure Report (salary-paid postdoc) available online at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/Risk-Management/docs/forms/su-17.html.

• SU-17B Non-Employee Incident Report (stipend-paid postdoc reporting work injury) available online at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/Risk-Management/docs/forms/su-17b.html.

Either form should be sent to Risk Management, Mail Code: 6207. Questions about those forms or reporting work place injuries may be directed to Janet Bleecker, Workers’ Compensation, Risk Management at 723-7400.

4. Orientation Sessions in April

Orientation sessions in April are scheduled on April 1, 15, 22 and 29th. If enrollment is under 5 in a given session, the session will be canceled and registrants will be moved to the following week.

The session on April 8th is canceled due to renovation work at 1215 Welch Road. Please plan accordingly for your new appointees!

5. Upcoming Talks – Please forward to your postdocs!

Scientific Management Series: Virginia Walbot on Getting Published, Thursday, April 1, 2010. 5 - 6 pm. Always Building, Room M106 (School of Medicine, Dean’s Courtyard).

Postdoc Academic Chat with Tobias Meyer, John Krumboltz and Stephanie Eberle: Applying for Academic Positions – And You Thought Getting a Postdoc Was Hard. Friday, April 9, 2010. 12:00 -1:30 pm. Terman Engineering Building, Room 217.

Registration required for both talks. To register, follow the appropriate link at http://postdocs.stanford.edu/events/.

6. Training Sessions for Administrators
OPA will offer four upcoming training sessions—open to all administrators, new as well as those who would like a refresher.
Two back to back sessions this Monday, March 29th:
Appointing New Postdoctoral Scholars (10-11:30)
This 90-minute training session will cover the nuts and bolts of bringing new postdocs at Stanford. Topics covered will include the administrator role in reviewing and submitting the appointment paperwork, how to initiate and complete a visa request for foreign scholars, and what to do after you submitted the appointment paperwork in order to prepare for your postdoc’s arrival and after the postdoc arrives. Monday, March 29, 2010, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Register in STARS (OPA-1301-032910). Led by Alistair Murray.
BISNet Training & Refresher for Administrators (11:30 – 12:30)

Another small session BISNet training is being held for those who either need access to the system (because they are replacing a BISNet admin who has since departed) or for those who would like a refresher on the system and all of its fine quirks. Monday, March 29, 2010, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Register in STARS (OPA-1501-032910). Led by Shannon Monahan.

April 12th, GFS Entry & Policy

This training session will cover the basics of policy and entry of postdoctoral funding. Topics include: determining correct funding levels for postdocs; fellowship vs. salary; entry of pay lines in GFS, including multiple sources of funding, salary and fellowship combinations, information lines for externally-supported/direct-paid scholars; when and how to terminate pay lines; making retroactive adjustments; and all you need to know in order to administer your postdoc financial support! Note that this training does not fulfill the requirement for entry access to the GFS system. Monday, April 12, 2010, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Register in STARS (OPA-1051-041210) starting Friday, March 26. Led by Alistair Murray.

April 26th, Appointment Processing for Clinical Fellows

There are several policy and procedural changes in the appointment of clinical fellows this year. Be sure to attend this session if this is part of your responsibilities. This 90-minute training session will cover the nuts and bolts of hiring clinical fellows, coordination with the Graduate Medical Education Office, mandatory training requirements for the fellows, issues of pay and benefits, and the policies applicable to the fellows on the SHC and SoM sides of the house! Monday, April 26, 2010, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Register in STARS (OPA-1201-042610) starting Friday, April 9. Led by Alistair Murray.

Happy Spring!

Produced by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, Stanford University, 1215 Welch Rd., Stanford, CA 94305 | postdocs.stanford.edu | postdocaffairs@stanford.edu

New J-1 Submission Process – Training Session Thursday 3/18/2010. 10-11 am

To Postdoc Administrators---

New J-1 Submission Process – Training Session for Postdoctoral Administrators and for Faculty Affairs Administrators

Clark Center Auditorium, Thursday 3/18. 10 -11 a.m. (Arrive early. Session will start promptly at 10; location: http://biox.stanford.edu/clark/operations_map.html. You can take the staircase, next to the Nexus Café, down to the lower level or there is an elevator in both wings.)

The process to submit DS-2019 requests for J-1 visas for postdocs, visiting researchers and visiting scholars is moving to PeopleSoft in a few weeks. If you submit DS-2019 requests, plan to attend this training session in order to familiarize yourself with the new interface and workflow. This system, when it goes live, will replace the current web form you use. The new process will be an improvement for departments and we are excited to show you how it will function. Bechtel will also be asking soon for volunteers to test it from a departmental level. Some of the functions of the new system include:

--the ability to save a form and complete it later

--see a history of transactions

--highlighting mandatory fields

--drop down menus

OPA strongly encourages you to attend this important session order to in prepare yourself for a smooth transition to the PeopleSoft interface! If you attended any of the sessions offered earlier at the Bechtel Center, you do not need to attend this one.

Bechtel Staff