|
|
 |
__________________________________________
The Fellowship
Each
year, up to two individuals will be selected for the fellowship. Fellows
will conduct their research and work collaboratively with NCHS staff on
joint projects of mutual interest while in residence at NCHS in Hyattsville,
Maryland. New fellows will attend AcademyHealth's Health Policy Orientation
program aimed at providing a broad perspective on health services research,
health policy issues, and how the political process affects the health
care system. During the orientation, they will have the opportunity to
meet and network with other health policy fellows in the Washington, D.C.
area. Fellows may also participate in AcademyHealth's Annual Research
Meeting and National Health Policy Conference. Positions
are filled either by appointment to NCHS, whereby fellows become (temporary)
employees of the Center, or through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act
(IPA), whereby the fellows remain employees of their home institutions.
Under the IPA, applicants must be employed in a permanent career position
by their home institution for a minimum of 90 days prior to appointment,
and the applicants' home institutions must be eligible to participate
in the IPA program. All appointments and IPAs must meet applicable federal
laws and regulations, in addition to DHHS, CDC, and NCHS policies and
procedures. All applicants will receive equal consideration without regard
to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation,
political affiliation, age, disability, status as a parent, or any other
nonmerit factor.
Eligibility
Applicants must demonstrate training or experience
in health services research in disciplines
such as public health, public administration,
health care administration, sociology, health
economics, health statistics, anthropology, and
behavioral sciences, or clinical care, including
medicine, nursing, dentistry, and pharmacology.
Applicants may be at any stage in their career
from doctoral students to senior investigators.
Doctoral students must have completed course
work and be at the dissertation phase of their
program. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents with a work authorization.
Stipend
and Length of Fellowship
Salaries are commensurate with qualifications and experience. Doctoral student fellows may qualify for salaries based on a GS-9/11/12 civil service equivalent, which in 2008 ranged from $48,108 to $90,698. Post-doctoral, health professional, and faculty fellows may come to NCHS as service fellows or on IPAs. The maximum salary for a service fellow would be the highest category for a GS-15, which was $149,000 in 2008. An alternative in some cases may be an IPA negotiated with the fellow's home institution. The maximum salary that the fellowship would cover under an IPA is the maximum that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is reimbursing for an investigator on a grant, which was $191,300 in 2008.
The duration of the full-time fellowship is 13-24 months, depending on the expected time to complete the proposed project. Travel and transportation allowances may be provided, subject to Federal regulations and the availability of funds.
Fellowship
Expectations
The following
are specific goals for the program:
- Doctoral students will work on their dissertation
research project. By the end of the fellowship,
each student will also prepare a report on
the approach and methodology they used for his
or her project and experience using NCHS data
systems. Doctoral students are strongly encouraged
to seek opportunities to work with NCHS
staff on collaborative projects of mutual interest.
- A post-doctoral or faculty scholar will pursue
his or her proposed research leading to the
publication of at least one journal article or
NCHS publication. Visiting scholars will also
work with NCHS staff on projects of mutual
interest. Collaborations might include participation
in analytic or methodological development
projects leading to publications.
- Fellows
present their work at an NCHS seminar. Fellows are also encouraged to
present their research work and findings at the AcademyHealth Annual
Research Meeting.
- At the conclusion of the fellowship,
each fellow is asked to provide an evaluation of
the program, his or her NCHS mentor, and an
assessment of the program's contribution to
their professional development.
- Fellows will conduct their work in residence
at NCHS, Hyattsville, Maryland.
Mentors
Integral to the program is a commitment by
NCHS that fellows will work closely with an
NCHS staff member who can provide technical
expertise related to the fellow's research, assist
in accessing NCHS data systems and other
resources, and help identify other collaborative
opportunities within the Center.
For doctoral fellows, mentoring relationships with their home institutions
are expected to continue. In addition, they will be paired with an NCHS
staff mentor.
For senior
fellows, the program encourages co-authorship of papers and articles with
NCHS staff as appropriate.
|
