Committees and Task Forces

Responsibilities: The purpose of the Student and Trainee Section is to promote the interests of students and other members who are currently in training (e.g. postdoctoral fellows, medical residents) and to provide them with a forum for communication about relevant interests, activities, or programs.

Approved formation of a Student Section May 7, 1995.
Approved Student Representative financial assistance to attend Annual Meeting December 5, 2001. Approved Student Section Policies and Procedures Manual revisions June 22, 2002.

Composition & Designated Members: The Student and Trainee Section is represented by two positions: Chair and Vice Chair, as representatives to the Board of Directors.  Terms are for 2 years with an election held for an electronic student vote. The two students or trainee representatives must be members in good standing and have been voted into office every two years.

Authority (including limitations): The Student and Trainee Section may include relevant information on the Web site and
promote their activities there and/or via broadcast e-mail. The Student and Trainee Section may not incur expenses, other than for conference calls, without prior approval.

Society Policies Impacting Function:

5/23/06:  Board of Directors Meeting Motion: Approve Guidelines for Special Recognition awards in ISTSS as follows: Permanent organizational units within ISTSS (e.g., Special Interest Groups; Student Section; Committees) can bestow annual honorific awards in recognition of particular achievements or contributions by individuals. Such awards will be established by and ascribed to the particular organization unit (e.g., the ISTSS Student Section, or a particular ISTSS SIG) rather than to ISTSS in order to avoid confusion with the major annual awards conferred by the Society. The establishment of a new award to be bestowed by an ISTSS entity requires the approval of the ISTSS Board.

Requirements for such special recognition awards are as follows:
1. The activity honored by the special recognition award must be consistent with the ISTSS mission.
2. There must be a formal, documented process (e.g., in the ISTSS Policies and Procedures Manual) for identifying potential honorees and determining who will receive the award. The process must include provisions for evaluating and minimizing potential conflict of interest on the part of those who make the award decision.
3. The award must be at no cost to ISTSS and should involve no more than modest or token cost to the awarding unit.
4. Except under unusual circumstances, each unit should bestow no more than one special recognition award annually.
5. Special recognition awards maybe formally bestowed at a time and place selected by the awarding unit. Announcements of recipients of special recognition awards will generally be timed to occur in conjunction with the ISTSS Annual Meeting. ISTSS will announce special recognition awards and recipients in a suitable manner.

Interactions with Other Committees: The Student Research Grants Committee reviews and selects the winner of the Outstanding Student Achievement Award for the Student Section.

Products: At the annual meeting, the Student and Trainee Section prepares presentations or schedules a speaker for the Student and Trainee Luncheon and invites exhibitors to participate in the luncheon setting for a Student and Trainee Internship and Networking Fair.  The Outstanding Student Achievement Award is presented at the luncheon. The student and trainee representatives are responsible for contacting presenters, organizing panels/symposiums and submitting abstracts to ISTSS.  Additionally the student and trainee representatives are responsible for organizing the networking fair.  This involves recruiting training sites from across the country to participate in the event (via advertisements on list-servs, hard copy mail outs, etc) as well as making sure the event runs smoothly at the annual meeting.  One member of the leadership is also asked to help ISTSS staff in arranging and organizing the Student and Trainee Volunteers for the annual meeting. 

OUTSTANDING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

• Description: The Award for Outstanding Student Achievement is designed to recognize a graduate student member of ISTSS who has made a significant contribution to the field of traumatic stress through research, clinical activity, or advocacy. 
• Requirements for Consideration: Nominees for the Outstanding Student Achievement award must be current student members of ISTSS or have been a student within the past year and been a student member when completing the activity for which they are nominated.  Student members are not eligible for this award while occupying a student leadership position. Nominees must be nominated by an ISTSS member.  The nominating member must provide the name, program, and contact information for the nominated student member as well as confirm that the nominee is a student member of ISTSS.  In addition, the nominating member will complete a 1-2 page nominating letter describing the outstanding achievement of the nominee and reasons the member believes the student should be considered for the award.
• Award Determination: The ISTSS student leadership will evaluate all completed nominations on the basis of their contribution to the field of traumatic stress.  The student leadership will select no more than 5 possible recipients and submit these nominations to the Student Grant Committee. This committee will make the final decision as to the recipient of the award.  Nominated students and nominating members will be notified of the final decision and the recipient will be notified of his or her selection to receive the award.  The recipient will receive a plaque recognizing the achievement and the honor will be presented at the annual ISTSS conference student luncheon.  It is the responsibility of the Student Section Leadership to organize this plaque.  Reimbursement will be made by ISTSS. 

Staff Resources Available (from Sherwood scope of work): Staff will assist in promoting the Student and Trainee Luncheon, Internship and Networking Fair and the Outstanding Student Achievement Award for the Student and Trainee Section.

Financial and other resources available: The Student and Trainee Section must confer annually with their liaison to the Executive Committee to determine if funding is available for the student luncheon.  Any expenses anticipated by the Student and Trainee Section must be pre-approved by the Board of Directors.  It should be noted that there is no financial support available for travel to annual meetings for the Student and Trainee Section Chair or Vice Chair.  (Many students ask about this),

Processes/procedures:
Composition and Elections (See Nominating Committee): All student and trainee members of the Society are members of the Student and Trainee Section. The Student and Trainee Section is governed by a three-member committee, headed by a Chair, who serves as Student and Trainee Representative to the ISTSS Board of Directors. The Student and Trainee Committee consist of the Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary who are collectively responsible for the section’s day-to-day governance. All committee members must be qualified and have paid dues for student membership during the entirety of their term.

Both the Chair and Vice Chair are elected directly by the Student and Trainee Section members. Terms begin and end during the ISTSS annual Board meetings. The outgoing Chair and Vice Chair terms end after the current President’s Board Meeting and the incoming Chair and Vice Chair terms begin at the opening of the future President’s Board Meeting. The Chair and Vice-Chair Student and Trainee Representatives to the Board positions have a term of two years and may stand for re-election.  If re-elected to serve, they may serve two consecutive terms.

Meetings: The Committee meets at the ISTSS annual meeting and members communicate regularly to coordinate projects and address section business. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Student and Trainee Section are both responsible for the section’s day-to-day governance. They meet at the ISTSS annual meeting and communicate regularly to coordinate projects and address section business. Both must be qualified and have paid dues for student membership during the entirety of their term.

Processes and Procedures: The Student and Trainee Section will promote the interests of students and suggest relevant activities or programs for students to the Board of Directors. The Student and Trainee Section may also participate in the Membership Committee. The budget allows for a stipend of $200 to be allocated to the Student Representative to help defray the expenses they incur while attending the ISTSS Annual Meeting. The role of the Student and Trainee Chair is to preside over the student meeting to represent the needs and interests of the section to the Board of Directors, and to serve as a liaison between the Board and students. In addition, the Chair is charged to ensure that the Student and Trainee Section organizational structures, process, and philosophies are consistent to the mission statement of the ISTSS. The Chair shall be elected for a two year term. In the Student and Trainee Election, the candidate receiving the most votes will become the chair and the candidate receiving the second most votes will become the vice-chair. The position of Chair and Vice Chair can be held by the same individual or two individuals, as circumstances dictate.

The Vice Chair is the Chair’s administrative and strategic collaborator. The Vice Chair plays a key role in addressing long term and strategic issues such as establishing section priorities. The Vice Chair will take over when the Chair is not available and will be designated with specific tasks at the Chair’s discretion.  The Vice Chair will also be elected for a two year term.
The Secretary is the keeper of the student sections archives, the collective history of committee actions taken and those under discussion, as well as all official documents at the student section. It is his/her responsibility to keep these materials updated and current. The Secretary takes minutes of the annual student section meeting and is responsible for distributing minutes and announcements via the student list serve in a timely manner. The Secretary will be appointed by the Section Chair.