If the IACUC, along with the Attending Veterinarian (AV), is responsible for assuring that personnel performing a surgical procedure are properly qualified and trained, then when should this training and qualification occur? This was the question facing the Great Eastern University IACUC when Dr. Larry Sturkie's protocol was being reviewed. Sturkie, an established researcher, proposed performing cardiac artery ligation on mice. He indicated on his protocol that, although his research team had no surgical experience, all members had taken and passed the vivarium-sponsored basic surgical training program and would be taught the artery ligation procedure by personnel from the Fitzgibbons lab, who were proficient with the technique and had IACUC-approved protocols that included performing that procedure. Further, the Fitzgibbons lab would train the Sturkie lab by having them practice on animals euthanized for other purposes, and then allow them to advance to non-recovery arterial ligation practice before having them perform the procedure on mice that would recover from anesthesia. During this time, other non-surgical aspects of the protocol would proceed.

With that information in hand, a full committee meeting of the Great Eastern IACUC was ready to discuss the protocol. Only one person, the AV, spoke up. He said that although the IACUC had often approved training in the manner described in the protocol, he was still uncomfortable approving a protocol when personnel were not yet proficient in a surgical technique. For example, he said, “what would the IACUC do if the Sturkie lab staff simply wasn't up to snuff with the procedure? How would you know this? Would you stop the study if you did know this?” Larry Covelli, the IACUC chair, quickly interrupted and said that the IACUC could always have a veterinarian do the training or watch the procedure being performed. But the AV said that the veterinarians did not have experience with the procedure, but that wasn't the intent of the question. The question was whether the IACUC should even approve a protocol when a major facet of the study (the arterial ligation training) had not happened. “Let me give you another example,” said the AV. “Would you approve a biocontainment study before you had the approval from the biosafety committee or a radiation study before approval from the radiation safety committee? If you would not, then why is the IACUC ready to approve this study?”

What is your opinion? Is it necessary for surgical training and qualification to be completed before the IACUC approves a study with surgery as part of the protocol?

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Post-approval monitoring

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Teamwork

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Approve protocol