Point of Contact Guidance
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on expectations and resources for IRB analysts serving as Point of Contact (POC) for the IRBs Office.
The IRBs Office uses the POC system as a way to provide daily support to study teams and other individuals external to the IRB that are seeking guidance. All IRB analysts are trained to serve as POC, in addition to other analyst duties.
What to Expect
- Questions – Expect to get a wide variety of questions from callers. There are some frequently asked POC questions that come in routinely, but also varying questions that range in complexity and content. In addition, callers may have multiple questions spanning several topics, such as an ARROW-related question, a content question and a question about application type. Resources, referrals, and a list of FAQ can be found here: Resources for Answering Study Team Questions.
- Detail - The level of detail callers provide will vary a great deal, along with their presentation of the information. Asking clarifying questions and requesting additional study details (e.g. IRB protocol number, PI name, study status) will help in answering these callers’ questions.
- Repeat callers - Callers may mention that they’ve spoken with someone else in the office previously about their question. If this is the case, it’s often helpful to check with that individual in order to verify information and ensure consistency in the advice given.
- Studies under review - Callers may utilize the POC system for a study that is already under review and has an assigned staff reviewer. In these cases, the caller should be directed to contact the assigned staff reviewer directly to address questions related to the specific study.
- Consultations - It may become evident during a POC call that the caller needs more assistance than a phone call discussion. In these cases, callers should be given information about requesting a consultation session with an IRB analyst, in order to have more time to discuss their questions and concerns.
What's Expected of You
- Professional customer service - Be polite, courteous and helpful when answering the phone and leaving messages. Callers may be anxious or frustrated at times, but they have reached out for assistance, which is highly encouraged by the IRBs Office. If callers are extremely frustrated and don’t appear to be asking for specific assistance, an IRB Director (IRBD) may be the most appropriate individual to speak with the caller at that point.
- Get help - If you don’t know how to answer a question, inform the caller that you need to obtain additional information and will contact them back. The IRBs Office has a list of Internal Expert POCs that can be utilized for help in answering questions about particular topics. An accurate answer, rather than a quick one, should be the priority.
- Return calls the same day - If you are unable to answer a question that same day, return the call in order to gather necessary information and provide the caller with an estimated day/time you’ll respond to their question (e.g., if you need to consult with an IRBD).
- Check voicemail throughout the day at voicemail.doit.wisc.edu. Delete any messages that you have already responded to. If unsure, review the POC log or contact POC from previous workday. For direct information regarding the voicemail system: How to Access the Main Telephone Voicemail.
- You can also access the voicemails through the irboffice@hsirb.wisc.edu email account.
- Please remember to delete voice messages, both via phone and email - see additional details below.
- When deleting a voicemail from the inbox, call: 608-262-2500.
- When the Cisco Unity voice begins talking, press *.
- Enter our “ID” 263-2362#. Password is 800105#.
- Press 3 to Fast-Forward.
- Press 33 to Skip to the end of a message.
- Press 7 to Delete the message.
- You can also access the voicemails through the irboffice@hsirb.wisc.edu email account.
- Complete the POC log - The POC log should be completed for each individual call you receive on your assigned POC day. The POC log is located in Box here. Ensure that all fields in the POC log are filled with the details you gather during the conversation. If possible, avoid using the “Other” category. The POC log should be filled-in by the end of your assigned POC day, as it will need to be used again the following day by another staff member.
- Reminder: The AsktheIRB team may forward emails to the designated POC to help even the distribution of incoming questions.