» Training Resources
Training about animal welfare, regulations, and procedures is required for all persons intending to use animals in research, training, or testing. Training includes both the study of fact-based curriculum as well as demonstrating competency with procedures and techniques.
The IACUC at Chapman asks for specific documentation of investigator training in the protocol application. Investigator training needs to be appropriate, at minimum, to the animal species, the technique(s), the risks posed by the animal usage, and the demands by regulatory authorities. The IACUC recognizes that training comes from many sources, including CITI (see "CITI" tab), AALAS (see the "Related Training Items" tab), conferences, training received from experts (e.g., surgical procedures), and experience at other institutions.
Staff members engaged as animal care providers and research associates must be trained in husbandry, safety, and methods to do their work. Organizations like PRIM&R, AALAS, AVMA, and scientific professional societies provide educational resources, licenses, and certifications. Individuals are expected to participate in continuing professional development.
Members of the IACUC obtain training, too. Topics include a full understanding of their responsibilities, the ins and outs of protocol review, engagement in the overall mission of the animal care and use program, inspecting and evaluating both facilities and the conceptual program, serving as a liaison with the animal research and teaching community, and being an advocate for ethical and responsible conduct in the uses of animals. References (such as the ILAR Guide, ARENA/OLAW IACUC Guidebook, the AVMA euthanasia guidelines as included in the Forms and Links section), webinars, conferences, and list-serves are utilized.
Please talk with IACUC Staff about your training and how it fits with the aims and objectives of the grant, protocol, and animal welfare concerns. The 3Rs principles of reduce, replace, and refine apply directly to training when using animals in research. Training improves both data reproducibility and animal welfare.
CITI
The Basics
What is CITI:
The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) is a leading provider of research education content. The CITI Program was established in 2000 to provide training content in areas related to animal research including Animal Care and Use (ACU) and Biosafety/Biosecurity (BSS), as well as on other regulatory compliance topics like Conflicts of Interest (COI) and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). Access the CITI Program homepage.
Cost:
CITI is free of charge to you. The Office of Research at Chapman pays the subscription fee.
Availability:
The courses are available on-line, 24/7. You may log out and return at a later time, but it is suggested that you complete the module you are working on, including the quiz, first. Experience shows that each module takes 10 to 20 minutes. Faculty: It's available to be used in classrooms as well.
Steps:
1. Before you begin:
It is recommended that you review the CITI Program registration process tutorial (PowerPoint; version January 2021) developed for Chapman. Note: CITI may have made changes to its screens, so the PowerPoint screenshots may not match exactly. Navigate through the "General Information" area, and become familiar with the site.
2. Registration:
Register with CITI Program for the first time using your name and any password you choose. Select Chapman University as the institution.
3. Using the CITI site:
Once registered, provide your user name and password each time you log-on and you will go to the appropriate learner's group. You can change your learner's group, should it be necessary. You may also affiliate yourself with other institutions that recognize CITI training.
4. Selecting courses:
Select the group in which you must train as defined by the IACUC (e.g., for a particular purpose like oncology or wildlife, for the basic Chapman introduction to animal care “101” for investigators such as PIs, faculty, students, for the IACUC member). If you are unsure which group you should choose, please contact your professor, PI, supervisor, or the IACUC administrator (as appropriate) for further assistance.
- You may enroll in additional modules at any time. Simply click on "Chapman University Courses," then click on "Add a course or update learner groups" which is on the CITI main menu page. A passing score, as set by the Chapman IACUC, is 80% combined over all of the modules.
5. Course validity:
A transcript (known as a completion report) is generated when you complete the required group of modules. Use it to show evidence of training when submitting an animal use protocol, for a classroom activity, or something else.
- The IACUC has set three (3) years as the length of time for which the training is valid. This is subject to change should there be changes in regulations, campus policies, or research methodology. Investigators may be asked to complete additional training to fulfill requirements for other kinds of animal activities.
6. Obtaining, sending, or printing your CITI training report:
The CITI Program does not offer CE (continuing education) certificates. Upon course completion you are issued a completion report, which will be e-mailed to the institution(s) you designated when registering. That should of course include Chapman. It is also available to print directly from your account within the CITI software. This report serves as the official document issued by the CITI Program upon completion of a course. View instructions that explain where to find your CITI Program report and printing options.
Training in Specific Laboratory Animal Practices
In addition to CITI training, all research/teaching personnel must display proficiency in the performance of the specific procedures described in each animal-use protocol. Evidence of training, such as degrees, certifications, and hands-on training, should be included in the protocol application form. Competency is a measure of knowledge, skills, and aptitudes (KSAs) and will be requested. When writing and describing your training, please be specific to the techniques, manipulations, and animals which are to be used in the specific protocol.
Many types of hands-on training are available from the vivarium manager and laboratory animal veterinarian at Chapman. For example, the general vivarium training program includes Vivarium Access Training, General Surgery Training: Aseptic Technique and Survival Surgery, Animal Biosafety & Containment, Mouse and Rat Biomethods (hands-on workshop in teams). Advanced training sessions (e.g., perfusions) can be arranged, too.
Teaching with Animals
While it’s often perceived that laboratory animal science is research-oriented, especially bio-medical, there are other aspects to the usage of animals in academic settings. These include teaching about animals by bringing them into a classroom setting, incorporating animals into the curriculum for instruction on, for example, animal behaviors, and engaging with animals in disciplines like the human-animal bond.
Concepts of teaching with animals apply equally to public outreach presentations and science fairs.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recognizes too that animals have an important role in education “for continued improvement of human and human health and welfare.” Many organizations including the Federation of Animal Science Societies (Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching, 3rd ed. Champlain, IL: FASS), American Psychological Society, American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS), American Physiological Society, and AVMA provide resources and guidelines to consider when using animals in the classroom.
Thereby, the institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) has oversight in these aspects as well. The ILAR Guide “strongly affirms the principle that all who care for, use, or produce animals for research, testing, or teaching [italics added] must assume responsibility for their well-being.” Further the Guide states that, “The use of laboratory animals in research, teaching, testing, and production is also governed or affected by various federal and local laws, regulations, and standards; for example, in the United States the Animal Welfare Act (AWA 1990) and Regulations (PL 89-544; USDA 1985) and/or Public Health Service (PHS) Policy (PHS 2002) may apply.”
In sum, persons contemplating teaching with animals should consider the need for training on the topic and completion of an animal use protocol application. This paper from AALAS (Vemulapalli et al, 2017) will provide worthy advice.Related Training Items
Selected resources. Please contact IACUC Staff to suggest additions.
- From Penn State University, a video on mouse handling
- The AALAS Learning Library, known as ALL, is a good source of training material. There are both free courses and others needing a paid subscription.
- Digital resources for veterinary trainers from a UK source, http://researchanimaltraining.com/
- From Newcastle University, IAT, and the NC3Rs, Procedures with Care tutorials
- The Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) provides unique techniques which may be of interest to particular researchers, although not all of them involve animals.
- Educational resources from the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) at the NIH.
Training for literature searches for the IACUC animal study protocol
Link to the IACUC guide at the Leatherby Libraries: https://libguides.chapman.edu/iacuc
Recording of the training session (held 2/10/21) to complete a literature search related to animal research. It was conducted by Chapman librarians with experience on the Chapman IACUC. video