Educational Requirements

Each person conducting or assisting with a research project that involves human participants is first required to complete training on ethical and regulatory issues.

The course approved by TTUHSC El Paso is the web-based Course in the Protection of Human Research Subjects-Human Subjects Research administered by the University of Miami through the Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (CITI).

To begin the online course, go to www.citiprogram.org and select "Register for the Course." After selecting Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center-El Paso (not Texas Tech University) as your institution, you will be directed to select a username and password. You do not need an eRaider account to complete the training. If you have a TTUHSC email, please use this as the main email. You should include a secondary email as well. “On the CITI registration page you will need to select "Human Subjects Research Course” and “Conflict of Interest Course.  Research personnel (investigators and staff) who are working in a coordinator role will also need to complete the Clinical Research Coordinator Course.”

Please use your TTUHSC email for registration.

Upon successful completion of the course, you will be able to download a course transcript. TTUHSC El Paso is also notified of your successful completion of the course, but we are not provided with a copy of it. You will be required to achieve an overall score of at least 80% to successfully complete the course. You can also log back in at any time to print your completion report by clicking on “View previously completed coursework.”

All investigators and research staff are required to renew their education training on the protection of human research subjects at least once every three years. The ability to submit new projects or continuing reviews of ongoing projects may be limited if more than three years elapse between completion of the course. The renewal training is identical to the initial CITI course.

Training regarding financial conflicts of interest in research is required of all investigators and research staff involved in non-exempt human research.

TTUHSC El Paso is also using CITI (www.citiprogram.org) for this training. Instructions for completing the training can be found here.

TTUHSC EP OP 73.09 requires that principal investigators and research staff update their financial disclosure forms on at least an annual basis, or within 30 days of a change in significant financial interests. The annual disclosure form may be accessed through iRIS via the Conflict of Interest Module under "My Workspaces" at the top left of the iRIS dashboard. Guides for the submission of the financial disclosure through iRIS can be located here.

As part of the ongoing process to ensure proper informed consent procedures are being followed, as of July 27, 2018, all TTUHSC El Paso research personnel involved with research studies that will involve obtaining informed consent, will also be required to complete Informed Consent Training. For existing studies, this new requirement will be enforced at continuing review or by Sept. 1, 2018, whichever comes first.

Information about the training is available online at: elpaso.ttuhsc.edu/research/compliance/Training.aspx. Please contact Jacqueline Roberts, the Research Compliance Officer at jackie.roberts@ttuhsc.edu to request additional information or to obtain access to the training through ACME. The training is also available in person for groups or departments. Certificates should be retained as proof that the training was completed.

The CRC course provides clinical research professionals with basic training tailored to the conduct of clinical trials. It includes the planning aspects of clinical trials, including the overall clinical trial process, associated activities, and the roles and responsibilities of the clinical team members. The CRC training is required of all research coordinators and investigators, and other research personnel who are performing similar duties. The training is available through CITI.

NIH guidelines now require Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training for NIH funded investigators and clinical trial site staff who are responsible for the conduct, management and oversight of NIH-funded clinical trials.

As of July 1, 2018, all TTUHSC El Paso research personnel involved with drug and/or device studies will also be required to complete GCP training, regardless of funding. For existing studies, this new requirement will be enforced at continuing review or by Sept. 1, 2018, whichever comes first. The training is available through CITI.