Institutional Review Board

Human Subjects Protection Training

Investigators and staff conducting human research must complete human subjects protection training.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) first required this training for all key personnel on NIH grants and contracts. It is the goal of Seattle Children’s that all researchers and their staff who do human subjects research receive training in human subjects protection.

There are a number of training opportunities for researchers and research team members conducting research at Seattle Children’s or with Seattle Children’s patients to meet the requirements for human subjects protections training.

Training Opportunities at Seattle Children’s

Dr. Douglas Diekema, Seattle Children’s IRB chair, provides training seminars in human subjects protections. The focus of these seminars is on research with children.

A broad spectrum of topics is covered, including:

  • The history of research ethics
  • Federal regulations
  • Institutional policies
  • IRB processes and procedures
  • Special topics in the field of research and research ethics, e.g., federal privacy rules (HIPAA) and conflicts of interest
  • Topics specific to research in children, e.g., assent of children
  • Changes to regulations associated with the Revised Common Rule

Educational materials are provided at the training sessions. Upon completion of the seminar, attendees receive a certificate showing they have been trained in human subjects protection. Please contact us for additional information.  

Training Opportunities at Other Local Institutions

Seattle Children’s also accepts human subjects protection training provided by the University of Washington or Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.

Web-Based Training: CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative)

Seattle Children’s also accepts the web-based training through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program. Follow the CITI instructions to register and/or complete a course. Please note: Either the Biomedical or the Social/Behavioral Research course can be taken to fulfill the requirements of human subjects training, depending on what type will be most useful for your area of research

This training is available to staff and students of the University of Washington and staff at Fred Hutch.

CITI plans to introduce a course called “Revised Common Rule” as of January 21, 2019, to help educate researchers with regulatory changes effective on that date.

Other HSP Training

  • Human subjects protection training workshops provided by recognized agencies, including:
    • U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
    • Association for Applied Research Ethics (ARENA)
    • Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R)
  • IRB member training provided by the institution of the IRB member.