Updating Personnel Experience

Although IACUC compliance and occupational health training completed by individuals at Penn State is entered in CATS IACUC by IACUC program staff, all protocol team members must provide a summary of their animal experience in CATS IACUC. Training and experience information then appear on every protocol on which the team member is listed and is used during IACUC review to determine if personnel are qualified to conduct the procedures they are performing on various protocols.

This article provides instructions on how to enter experience and provides an example of experience summary that has adequate detail for IACUC reviewers. If you are unsure about what to enter for experience, consult with the Principal Investigator(s) of the project(s) on which you are working. Principal Investigator(s) may also provide this verbiage to protocol team members directly when requesting them to add their experience in CATS IACUC.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Log into CATS IACUC https://iacuc.psu.edu. At the Penn State sign-in screen, sign in with your Penn State userID followed by “@psu.edu” (e.g., abc123@psu.edu) and click Next. Then, enter the password associated with your Penn State userID and click Sign in. If you are not able to log in, please email iacucadmin@psu.edu to verify that your contact profile has been set up correctly in CATS IACUC. (NOTE: Users with Penn State limited accounts must still add @psu.edu after their userID on the Sign in page, even if they do not have a Penn State email account.)

2. When you enter the system, you will be in My Inbox, which can also be navigated to using the My Inbox link in the dark blue CATS IACUC banner at the upper right corner of the screen.
 

3. In the upper right hand corner of the screen, you will see your name. Click on your name and then select My Profile.

 

4. You will now be on the page for your “Profile”. Click Edit Details in the left sidebar Next Steps menu.

 

5. Scroll to the bottom of the "Edit Details” view. You will see a list of your completed IACUC training as well as a box labeled Experience.  Enter your relevant training and experience in the Experience box. When you are finished, click the OK button in the lower right hand corner.​

Tips and Notes:

• This training and experience will populate on every protocol to which you are added. Make sure your experience is not protocol-specific but rather covers all your experience and training for all applicable species and procedures.
• If any specific personnel will NOT be involved in animal handling, they will need to state this in their 'Experience'.
• If any personnel are new to animal research, certain species, or certain procedures, they will need to clearly state that they are new to working with [species name], and/or will be trained on these components (e.g., new species or procedures) by, for example, the PI and/or senior members of the research group, or veterinary staff until proficient.
• Overall, ‘Experience’ should detail:
  • All specific species with which you will work on all PSU protocols. In other words, do not state "animals" or "rodents"; rather, state each species specifically (e.g., mice, rats, hamsters).
  • When you began working with each species. Use terminology like “experience since May of 2015 with [species name]” instead of “for the last 2 years."
  • Overview of the types of procedures that you have experience performing with each species listed.
• This experience will stay with your profile and will need to be updated as your training progresses.
   

Here is an example of ‘Experience’ with adequate detail:

I am a PhD student. I have been working with mice since June 2020 and will be new to working with rats as of July 2023. I have experience with mouse behavioral studies. My duties may include assisting in mouse and rat catheter surgeries, running behavioral studies, catheter maintenance, assisting in stereotaxic surgery and injections. I will receive extensive training in all new procedures and for all work with rats from the PI or senior members of the research group until proficient.
 

6. Your entered experience will now appear in the Properties tab of your profile (scroll to the bottom to view if desired).

 7. Click on the Dashboard tab in the top navigator bar to return to your Inbox or click on your name in the upper right of the screen again (see Step 3) and select Logoff to exit CATS IACUC.