NRSA allowance questions

[manpuku]

Hi,

I have an NRSA funding and having a difficult time figuring out how to spend my 'institutional allowance' based on a very vague policy posted at the NIH website. I already spent some on a travel to conference and some electronics. I was planning to purchase a tablet, and this was when my lab manager (haven't spoken to my PI yet) told me that I shouldn't spend all of my allowance on 'personal items' and 'give some back to the lab' (i.e. buy common equipment and leave it behind when I leave). Is this a common practice? Since they already took half of it for health insurance, I'd like to spend the rest on whatever I need. If anyone can point me to a source with some authority that says I can spend all of it for personal supplies, I would really appreciate it.

My funding mechanism doesn't allow me to carry it over when I return to medical school, but I was hoping I could figure out a way to put the allowance towards some of the Step II necessities. Has anyone faced the same situation? Any tips on worthwhile purchases right before leaving the lab would be appreciated.

Lastly, I'm planning to leave before my funding period ends. Specifically, I will only stay for a year into the funding period. My grants office told me that I would only receive 1/12th of the institutional allowance in this case, but I found this sentence at the NIH website:

However, if an individual fellow is not in a training status for more than 6 months of the award year, only one-half of that year’s institutional allowance may be charged to the grant. The NoA will be revised and the stipend and institutional allowance balances must be refunded to NIH.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2011/nihgps_ch11.htm#_Toc271265032​

Does this mean I would receive half of the institutional allowance, even if I only stay on for a month (or even less)? Again, if anyone has had a similar experience, please share your insight.

Thanks!

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[solitude]

Hi,

I have an NRSA funding and having a difficult time figuring out how to spend my 'institutional allowance' based on a very vague policy posted at the NIH website. I already spent some on a travel to conference and some electronics. I was planning to purchase a tablet, and this was when my lab manager (haven't spoken to my PI yet) told me that I shouldn't spend all of my allowance on 'personal items' and 'give some back to the lab' (i.e. buy common equipment and leave it behind when I leave). Is this a common practice? Since they already took half of it for health insurance, I'd like to spend the rest on whatever I need. If anyone can point me to a source with some authority that says I can spend all of it for personal supplies, I would really appreciate it.

My funding mechanism doesn't allow me to carry it over when I return to medical school, but I was hoping I could figure out a way to put the allowance towards some of the Step II necessities. Has anyone faced the same situation? Any tips on worthwhile purchases right before leaving the lab would be appreciated.

Lastly, I'm planning to leave before my funding period ends. Specifically, I will only stay for a year into the funding period. My grants office told me that I would only receive 1/12th of the institutional allowance in this case, but I found this sentence at the NIH website:

However, if an individual fellow is not in a training status for more than 6 months of the award year, only one-half of that year’s institutional allowance may be charged to the grant. The NoA will be revised and the stipend and institutional allowance balances must be refunded to NIH.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2011/nihgps_ch11.htm#_Toc271265032​

Does this mean I would receive half of the institutional allowance, even if I only stay on for a month (or even less)? Again, if anyone has had a similar experience, please share your insight.

Thanks!

I can't answer all of your questions, likely every university is different, possibly every NIH institute is different, and there is very little and somtimes no enforcement of most of these very vague and poorly written government regulations. That said, I do not agree with your lab manager about buying durable equipment. This is not common. Disregard him/her and buy yourself things. In my interpretation, you cannot use the money for Step II or anything related to MS3 unless you have funding that extends for the remainder of your MD-PhD training, which was being phased out, and may have been phased out altogether by now for all I know. You will have to pay for Step II with your own bling. I have no idea about if you stay for 1/12th of the year how much you can spend. You should ask your institutional grants officer, NOT your lab manager or PI.

I was in a similar situation where my 2nd year on the grant was going to cover the last 6 months of my time in the lab. I had no conferences or travel coming up to spend it on. I bought a $4000 Macbook Pro and a few bound copies of my thesis with the money and ensured that I was fully reimbursed before filing any paperwork to cancel the grant for the remainder of MS3/MS4.

 

[manpuku]

Thank you for the quick response, this was helpful. I'm disappointed to hear that I can't offset the MS3/4 costs, I guess I will end up doing something similar as you.

 

[Fencer]

You can buy some step II books now as preparation to school re-entry ... it is part of your path to become a clinician scientist even with F31 funding. You can't roll over monies, but you can spend now.

 

[Neuronix]

Can you buy a license for USMLE World that will last until you take it? That'd be clutch. Buy also what books you think you might need. I can't remember what I used, but check out the relevant SDN forum for step 2 ideas. I got all of that reimbursed through my grant if I recall correctly.

The details of how much you can spend and on what are institutionally specific. The NIH guidelines are often vague, so it's often left to institutions to determine where your money can and does go. Ask your grants manager.

 

[Maebea]

This might be shady, but you could buy something (ie computer), get reimbursed, return the item and pocket the money till you need it. 3rd/4th year are expensive with tests and residency interviews.

That would qualify as quite shady, i.e., fraudulent. Don't they teach ethics in school anymore?