IRB Education

Education in Human Research Subject Protection

All Children's Hospital Institutional Review Board is committed to maintaining high standards of research integrity. To insure a common foundation in the knowledge of the ethical and regulatory issues of the protection of human research participants, a mandatory research education requirement has been instituted for all ACH investigators and research personnel. This includes, and is not limited to, IRB committee members, investigators, coordinators, pharmacists, fellows, students, and any other research team members who interact with study participants and/or access their protected health information.

The mandatory education requirement includes: An initial Foundation requirement; and An annual Continuing Research Education requirement

For affiliated USF investigators and research personnel, the mandatory education requirement required by the university meets the ACH IRB requirement. Copies of the certifications of completion should be sent to the Administrative Office of the ACH IRB (ACH Box 9496).

Initial Foundation Requirement

For ACH research personnel, completion of the NIH web-based course is a one-time only requirement. Proof of completion must be submitted to the Administrative Office of the ACH Institutional Review Board (ACH Box 9496). 

• NIH Protecting Human Research Participants Web-Based Course - 1.5 hours. Available on-line. Register online to access the course.  You may begin as soon as you register. Save and print the certificate of completion that is displayed when you complete the course. Send a copy of the certificate to the Administrative Office of the ACH Institutional Review Board (ACH Box 9496).

Annual requirement

There is an annual requirement of one educational course or event each year of involvement in human subject research. A copy of the certification of completion should be sent to the Administrative Office of the ACH Institutional Review Board (ACH Box 9496).

Options for annual requirement include:

• Attend 1 hour internal program in conducting human research such as the monthly Research Seminar.  Attendance at these sessions is documented.
• Attend 1 hour of external program in conducting human research such as a conference workshop. Documentation must be forwarded to the IRB office.
• Complete 1 hour minimum on-line seminar or computer-based training with content beyond general foundation requirements for the protection of human subjects in research. Certification of completion is required.