Consultation Scheduling
This page describes the process for handling study team consultation requests.
Overview
- The process begins when a research team or research staff member submits an online Consultation & Group Presentation request using the Qualtrics form posted online.
- The process ends when the consultation has been completed and post consult surveys have been sent out.
- This SOP does not apply to:
- Emails sent to the AskTheIRB account requesting that an IRB analyst call them. These requests will be forwarded to the day’s point of contact (POC) and logged as a POC call.
- Research community members who contact an analyst directly because, for example, they have worked with that reviewer in the past. These should be handled outside the formal consult scheduling process and logged in the IRB Engagement Tracking Spreadsheet in Box.
- IRB team managers and analysts carry out these procedures.
Procedure
- After a consult request has been received in the AskTheIRB email inbox, team managers review the request to determine the submission type (i.e., whether the study would be assigned to the MRR or HS board, or if the study would qualify exemption or expedited review.)
- The appropriate team manager will perform a brief pre-assignment assessment, considering the following items:
- Any requests for a specific analyst.
- The usefulness of specific reviewer expertise. See: Internal Expert POCs.
- If the request is regarding a change of protocol, the IRB analyst who completed the initial review should be assigned, if possible.
- Timing/urgency issues and availability of staff (e.g. vacation or other commitments)
- If the study is multisite, the need for IRB Reliance staff to participate.
- If the consultation request involves only IRB Reliance issues, the requestor should be directed to the Reliant Consultation form.
- The team manager assigns a IRB analyst, forwarding the consultation request as an email to the assigned analyst from the AskTheIRB email account. In this email, they will remind the analyst to inform them when the consultation is ultimately scheduled.
- Before or after assigning the consultation to IRBS, the team manager will enter the consultation request in the Microsoft Planner Task Tracking tool under the “Consultation Requests – Unscheduled” bucket.
- Select the template task and “copy task.” Uncheck the “labels” box.
- Edit the name of the requester and PI if applicable, assigned analyst initials if determined, and the date the request was received.
- Copy the text of the submitted request and enter it as a comment in the task.
- Within one business day of receiving the consultation request, the assigned analyst will review the list of times and dates provided in the consult request and email the requester to schedule an agreeable time to meet. If the requester has not provided dates or the assigned analyst is not available during any of the requested times, the analyst will provide a list of options to the requester.
- During this contact, the analyst should clarify, if necessary, any issues that are unclear or that suggest the presence of additional staff member(s) may be helpful (e.g., There are IRB Reliance issues not previously identified). If additional staff members will attend, the assigned analyst and other staff member(s) should work together with the requester to identify a mutually agreed upon time to hold the consultation.
- If the requester’s question is answered simply (e.g., via the initial email) and no formal consultation is required, the assigned analyst will reply to the AskTheIRB email, noting that no formal consult was required.
- If the consultation will be held in person, the assigned analyst should schedule a meeting room using Outlook and verify that the requester has office location information.
- If the meeting will be held by teleconference, the assigned analyst is responsible for confirming which meeting software (e.g., Zoom, Teams) will be used, and sending a link to the meeting to attendees ahead of time.
- During this contact, the analyst should clarify, if necessary, any issues that are unclear or that suggest the presence of additional staff member(s) may be helpful (e.g., There are IRB Reliance issues not previously identified). If additional staff members will attend, the assigned analyst and other staff member(s) should work together with the requester to identify a mutually agreed upon time to hold the consultation.
- Once the consultation is scheduled, the assigned analyst will reply to the email forwarded from the AskTheIRB email account to notify the appropriate team manager that consult is scheduled.
- The team manager will edit the task created in 5.4 to enter the consult date (Due date), and move the task to the “Scheduled Consults” bucket.
- When the analyst has completed the consultation, they will send a Post Consultation Survey to the attendees. The survey can be found in the Research Community Education and Outreach Teams channel.
- Team managers mark the consultation as completed once they have actually occurred (i.e., the “due date” has passed).