Welcome to SMPP. We hope your experience will be stimulating, educational, and rewarding. Below is some important information to make your start here move faster.
Action Items for starting work at SMPP:
- Confirm your U.S. Citizenship or authorization to work in the U.S. If you are a foreign national who will need a Visa to work at RIC, EMAIL Joan Ciapas, Director of Operations at jciapas@northwestern.edu to begin this process.
- Estimate your start date with your expected supervisor/mentor/advisor. If you are an RIC employee, your 1st day must fall on an orientation day which occur every two weeks.
- Determine whether you will be an RIC , Northwestern , UIC, or IIT Employee (we hire all 4 ways).
RIC Employees:
- An SMPP administrative support person should be your liaison with Human Resources and make sure your supervisor/mentor/advisor is doing the paperwork they need to do.
- 2-week minimum notification of RIC Human Resources (HR) is necessary. Ask your supervisor/mentor/advisor to email your resume & expected start date to your SMPP administrative support person to start the HR process.
Provide:
- Your Social Security Number and photo copy of your card
- References (preferably two written recommendations)
- Photo copy your driver's license and passport (or another picture id)
- HR will contact you about salary expectations/range, and Human Resources will make the formal offer.
- Work with your SMPP administrative support person to complete a Request to Hire Form and a RIC System Access Form to be submitted to HR.
- Schedule a physical, TB test, and drug screening with Employee Health (must be completed prior to starting).
- Work with your SMPP Administrative support person to make sure you have obtained appropriate signatures.
On the day of the physical, report to HR on the Mezzanine level to:
- Complete RIC Application
- Complete Tax forms
- Complete Health forms
- Complete other forms in the employment packet
- Obtain RIC Employee ID Badge
- HR will enroll into a 1 day Orientation Class (must be on your first day).
Northwestern, UIC, or IIT Employees:
- If you are being hired by Northwestern, UIC, or IIT there is a slightly different process, but your supervisor/mentor/advisor and Deborah Znajda will help you along in this process.
- If you will be working at RIC, Debbie, or your supervisor/mentor/advisor, will have to request your RIC Employee ID Badge for you.
All Employees:
- Encourage/remind your new supervisor/mentor/advisor to have a computer and a desk ready for you to use when you arrive.
- Make sure that either you or your supervisor/mentor/advisor informs, by email, the administrators below that need to know you are starting at SMPP. Please include your start date, who you will be working, your resume, your position, and a 2-sentence description of your area of expertise (click on any of the names below to send an email to all of these people).
- Review the website Northwestern HIPPA and IRB (opens new window) , and complete on-line course for Human Subjects Research Training. (Note that this takes about 4 hours!) (It may be acceptable with your supervisor/mentor/advisor for you to complete this after you start.)
What to find on our website:
Special Interest Groups meetings/seminars:
- EMAIL Deborah Znajda, d-znajda@northwestern.edu to add yourself to the Thursday meetings.
- Motor Learning and Biorobotics (MLB) sponsored by the SMPP Robot Lab. Meets Tuesdays (not always) 1-2:30 pm in the conference room. There they discuss motor learning and neuro-robotics related issues. The focus has typically been on upper-extremity control of movement and rehabilitation. EMAIL Santiago Acosta, s-acosta2@northwestern.edu, to have your email address added to their list.
- Physiology and Neurobiology Seminars. To be added to the NBP Seminar listserv in order to receive announcements, please send a subscription message to listserv@listserv.it.northwestern.edu, with the message SUBSCRIBE nbpseminar Firstname Lastname.
- Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences Department Seminars are on Fridays (not always) noon-1 pm in the Physiology conference room. EMAIL Phyllis Koerner, p-koerner@northwestern.edu to have your email address added to their list.
- Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences Reading Club. 645 N Michigan Avenue, Suite 1100, in the conference room. EMAIL Sheila Schindler-Ivens, s-schindler-ivens@northwestern.edu to have your email address added to their list.
Tools that you might find useful: