Pandemics and Protections: How to Keep It All Together in 2020

Pandemics and Protections:How to Keep It All Together in 2020 Gabrielle Rebillard is not unusual for even the most experienced, well-resourced IRBs HRPPs be survival mode. The churn of requests priority review, funding academic deadlines help with applications never cease. staff must juggle their own workloads perfect craft without sacrificing customer service. Meanwhile QA/QI initiatives seem finished other areas research operations need your assistance, too. old adage "if want something done, ask a busy person" seems standard operating procedures HRPs. topic at hand what happens when more chaos challenges are thrown into mix an already difficult job. Collectively we may avoid questioning whether could get much worse fear knowing answer "Yes." We left wonder if our will become victims or champions circumstances. Maybe human protections relatively insignificant world so upside down? truth that we, members very entities responsible protecting safety wellbeing others, ourselves human. This pandemic has changed "where" "how" but essential nature "what" do. still "go-to" compliance experts researchers trying keep projects going launching new ones. remain key partners machine operations. Now just meet responsibilities makeshift home offices. try focus on reviews while competing internet connectivity, tuning out family activity, caring mental physical health. COVID created real existential risks personal lives all same standards place. While dealing COVID-19 than enough its own, fact it one many serious institution faced last year. Prior March lockdown, university medical centers was turmoil. were (and are) closure hospital system establishment partnership another simultaneously also undergoing process AAHRPP re-accreditation. Did I mention replacing electronic software system? So, adding hypothetic. "norm." How getting work done? Let's start basics. somewhat anti-climactic because previous flood damage HRPP's building. (Yet fun part this year). Staff [End Page E13] moving towards remote finding temporary workspaces running business online as possible. What stopped impromptu door-way conversations in-person training sessions students. Without commute, some started earlier, later intermittently accommodate revised home-work life balance. monthly meeting three IRB Committees went virtual. On whole type balance review shifted radically pandemic. Instead emerged. Initially began seeing clinicians scrambling submit Emergency Use Expanded Access applications. got early Saturday morning call from Dean about hot opportunity collaboration which lead weekend's worth conference calls, regulatory debates, Monday deadline. have confess prior 2020, did expect ever situation see project where needed dig Revised Rule: "(2) Public health surveillance activities, including collection testing information biospecimens, conducted, supported, requested, ordered, required, authorized by public authority. Such activities limited those necessary allow authority identify, monitor, assess, investigate potential signals, onsets disease outbreaks, conditions importance (including trends...