Submission to the IRB: Will Modified Training Improve the Probability of Successful Submission of IRB Protocols?

The ability to design, conduct, and oversee of a research project has becoming essential for the pharmacy residents to become pharmacists. Each year, pharmacy students undergo training on the specialized institutional review board (IRB) program at Baylor Scott and White Research (BSWRI) and how to submit their research application to the IRB. It is crucial for the pharmacy residents to undergo the IRB training since they typically struggle to submit their research applications due to lack of research background during undergraduate years. This year’s training was modified to test whether the change will improve the submission process compared to the training in 2014 by implementing memory aids such as skeleton outlines and emphasis on important materials by the presenter. The effectiveness of the training was measured by the average number of times that the residents submitted to the IRB, as tallied by the iRIS database. The residents in 2016 performed the same compared to the residents in 2014. Further investigation needed to improve submission numbers.