Being uninformed on informed consent: a pilot survey of medical education faculty

An anonymous survey was distributed to medical educators in a variety of venues. Two brief scenarios of typical student assessment or curriculum evaluation activities were presented and respondents were asked to indicate their likely course of action related to IRB approval. The questionnaire also asked respondents about their knowledge of institutional policies related to IRB approval.A total of 121 completed surveys were obtained; 59 (50%) respondents identified themselves as from community-based medical schools. For the first scenario, 78 respondents (66%) would have contact with the IRB; this increased to 97 respondents (82%) for the second scenario. For both scenarios, contact with the IRB was less likely among respondents from research-intensive institutions. Sixty respondents (55%) were unsure if their institutions had policies addressing evaluation data used for scholarship. Fifty respondents (41%) indicated no prior discussions at their institutions regarding IRB requirements.Many faculty members are unaware of IRB policies at their medical schools related to the use of medical student information. To the extent that policies are in place, they are highly variable across schools suggesting little standardization in faculty understanding and/or institutional implementation. Principles to guide faculty decision-making are provided.The Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) expects medical schools to implement strategies for student assessment and curriculum evaluation that facilitate educational program management and improvement. In addition there is an expectation that faculty involved in these activities will reflect on what is learned and participate in the community of scholars to share this knowledge [1]. In practice, this has created confusion among faculty members involved in educational evaluation. Many faculty members are not clear under what circumstances institutional review board (IRB) approval is necessary. In some cases they conduct edu