Fast Facts 2011 March
March 2011 Fast Facts
Spring Edition
1. Has your contact information changed? The best way to ensure that you are not missing important e-mail information is to keep us up-to-date on your current e-mail address, home address, and phone number(s). Please e-mail us your updated information at OH@med.navy.mil.
2. Tax Season Preparation: Tax Season is here!! Do you have your W2? It should have already been sent to you from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) to the postal address we have on file. If you have not received it, we must not have your current mailing address. Requests to reissue W2's take several weeks to process and may delay the processing of your tax return. Please email OH@med.navy.mil immediately and provide us with your correct mailing address if you have not received your W2 Form in the mail.
NMMPT&E is receiving numerous inquiries from students that are filing their taxes with professionals advising participants that the stipend is tax exempt. We know of no law or regulation to substantiate this claim and therefore cannot concur with this advice.
3. Tax Changes: As a result of the expiration of the stimulus package on 31 December 2010, all Scholarship students are being taxed approximately $20 more per pay period. This caused your bi-weekly stipend to decrease slightly.
4. MyPay: MyPay is coming! MyPay is a web based system that allows you to directly access your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) and/or W2. HPSP students will be given access to this website within the next few months and it will be your responsibility to view, print, and maintain copies of your LES and/or W2 for your records. Once MyPay is available to program participants, the Accessions Department will no longer be involved in providing you copies of your W-2. For more information about MyPay, please visit https://mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx
5. Did you get married, divorced, or have a child? Please notify Systems/Personnel Section and provide them with the required documentation (Marriage Certificate, Birth Certificate, etc.). Failure to notify the Systems/Personnel Section of dependency changes may impact allowances while on AT (Annual Training). Name change request instructions and templates are located at http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/navmedmpte/accessions/Pages/Forms.aspx. Please note that the process takes about 4-6 weeks.
6. Travel Claims: Upon completion of AT, in addition to filing your travel claim, you are required to complete an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) certificate with your bank information. Due to the slow turnaround of travel claim processing (currently taking approximately 3 months), you may have changed your bank before your travel claim was processed. If this is the case, you must submit a new EFT certificate to the Travel Section which will be used to replace the previous one submitted with your travel claim.
7. Reimbursements: All reimbursement claims should contain the three following documents:
• A completed and signed SF1164.
• Proper receipts and or proof of purchase/payment.
• A signed Dean's Certificate (required for all reimbursements except required exams such as the USMLE and COMLEX).
For assistance and information on completing a reimbursement, please visit our website at
http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/navmedmpte/accessions/Pages/HSPSFAPBookandEquipmentReimbursment.aspx .
8. Planning for Travel: Plan ahead for your Travel Annual Training by having enough money or credit to cover your expenses. Although you will be reimbursed, it will not be done immediately, and you will need to pay up front for items, such as your rental car, food and housing. You can request PSD Bethesda to advance you per-diem and expenses 10 days prior to your annual training orders travel date. Contact the Travel Section via OH@med.navy.mil at least 2 weeks prior to your travel if you would like to request the advance. The Annual Training Request form and instructions can be found on our website: http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/navmedmpte/accessions/Pages/HPSPandFAPAnnualTraining.aspx .
Note: You must have travel orders in hand BEFORE you leave for your destination. If you do not have your travel orders one week before your travel date, please contact OH@med.navy.mil. Please be aware that no one is in the office on the weekends, so please plan accordingly.
Reminders
1. Academic Requirements: Per the HPSP contract, all participants are required to pass their professional boards before coming on active duty. All participants are required to provide scores for USMLE/COMLEX I and II, NDBE I and II, NBEO I, II, and III, and PANCE per the dates specified in the HSPS contract. Failure to pass must be reported immediately to the Student Programs Section at OH@med.navy.mil. An opportunity to retake the failed exam will be allowed. NCP students please submit your official transcripts at the end of each quarter/semester.
2. Record Maintenance: You will be asked many times in your career for official documentation. For example, when applying to programs such as residencies or fellowships, you will be asked to provide copies of Board Scores. To save yourself money and inconvenience, save all official documents in a safe, accessible place with your other important papers.
3. Email Etiquette: E-mail has replaced typed correspondence as the "usual" mode of communication in the military. Official letters are still written, but the work of the day is performed through e-mail communication. Additionally, how an e-mail is written conveys some of the personality of the sender. A hastily written, misspelled and jargonized text message may convey to your reader that you are too busy and they are not important enough to have your full attention. Attention to proper address, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation reveals a lot about the sender. It is always to your advantage to put your best foot forward.
Here are some suggestions to keep you safe and professional when responding by email:
• Always be polite and courteous. Never call anyone names or make fun of them in an e-mail. Email can be sent to a million people, one of whom you may need assistance from or will interact with in the future. Just as with your physical appearance, you are judged by your e-mail, and e-mail can be kept for a VERY long time.
• Always address people by their title (Dr., Ms., Mr.) or their rank (CAPT, CDR, YN3, HM2, etc.) and never by their first name. This shows respect to the recipient.
• Don't use abbreviations and acronyms that your reader may not know without putting a definition somewhere.
• Always use sentence case. Never capitalize all your words. This is “shouting” in e-mail.
• Always reread your e-mail before pushing "Send." Be sure you are saying what you want to say. Never send an e-mail in anger. (See #1 above.)
• Always spell check carefully.
• Please use a subject heading! If the question or issue is yourself, please include your name in the subject title and a key word or phrase about the issue.
• Always sign your e-mail with your name and rank.
Please limit your emails to a maximum of 5 MB of attachments total per e-mail. Please use the lowest resolution for any attached scans and use several e-mails with appropriately sized attachments to send your larger submissions. OH@med.navy.mil is the best way to send documents or ask questions. Please limit yourself to one question area per e-mail. Multiple questions about multiple areas cannot be copied and sent to knowledgeable individuals in the e-mail system we use.
Information and Points of Contact
1. Correspondence: Please do not “reply” to emails directly sent from the Response Manager system. Use OH@med.navy.mil or the email provided in the signature block. All Accession Department staff emails are in the following format: First.Last@med.navy.mil Any email that deviates from this exact email address format will not reach us.
2. Student Handbook: It is VERY important that you read it. The handbook is the official policy guide for students and we update it every year. The student handbook may be found at: http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/navmedmpte/accessions/Documents/NAVMEDMPTEINST%201520.1D%20STUDENT%20PROGRAMS%20HANDBOOK%201520.1D.pdf
3. Website: Please familiarize yourself with the website, as it contains all the forms, directions and information you need while in the program. Information on the website is updated frequently. Our website address is: http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/navmedmpte/accessions/Pages/default.aspx
4. How to reach us: While we prefer the use of OH@med.navy.mil, you may certainly call directly. We will do our best to return your call within 2 working days. If you leave a voicemail and do not receive a call back within 2 working days, send an e-mail to OH@med.navy.mil with “Escalate” in the subject. Please refer to the following page for a comprehensive guide to the various points of contact.
Points of Contact for MDAD
Program Manager Dr. Yerkes 301-295-9950
Student Affairs LCDR Sanchez 301-295-1217
Registrar Mrs. Smith 301-319-4526
Systems Mr. Hughes
Ms. Copeland
YNSN Ransom 301-319-4529
301-295-3042
301-319-4532
Personnel Section Fax 301-295-6865
Tuition Mr. Woodard
Ms. Cuenca 301-295-9977
301-295-5315
Travel
Mr. Green
Ms. Elliott
Ms. Mathis 301-319-4538
301-319-4540
301-319-4542
Books and Equipment Reimbursements HM2 Torres
YNSN Small 301-319-4527
301-295-9978
Travel/Reimbursement Fax 301-295-1811
Professional Affairs Mr. Pelot
(Medical Students)
Mrs. Sampson
(Dental, MSC Students)
Ms. Moore (NADDS,FAP)
Ms. Flowers (NADDS,FAP) 301-319-4517
301-295-1594
301-319-4118
301-319-4117
Medical Records
HM2 Hulsey
HM3 Acosta 301-319-4541
301 295-3772
Medical Records Fax
301-295-5954
