Policy No. 459
Administrative Policies Affecting the School of Nursing
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Nursing Students as Research Participants

Date Effective
August 2, 2024
Date Reviewed / Revised
August 2, 2024
Program Level
Administrative

POLICY:

Students as participants in projects are considered a vulnerable population by Pitt’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). To address student burden, this vulnerability and the special requirements of involving students as project participants, ALL projects that involve Pitt Nursing students as participants must be approved by the Nursing Students Review Committee. This committee will consist of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, the Associate Dean for Graduate Clinical Education, the Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship, and ad hoc members as needed. This approval includes projects that do not require IRB approval.

Requests to share studies with Pitt Nursing students that come from outside of the School of Nursing are NOT to be shared with students unless a Pitt Nursing faculty member is a collaborator, and the study has been approved by the Nursing Students Review Committee.

PROCEDURE:

  • Projects being conducted by Pitt Nursing students or Postdoctoral Scholars must be thoroughly vetted with their Pitt Nursing faculty advisor before submission to the Nursing Students Review Committee. A brief letter from the faculty advisor indicating that the project and proposal materials have been thoroughly vetted and they agree with the project moving forward should be submitted with the proposal materials for review.
  • Research projects: Refer to Pitt IRB guidance regarding students as research participants when developing the protocol and consent documents: Research Involving Students as Research Participants
    • All components of the protocol (including consent, recruitment documents, procedures, scripts, etc.) should be submitted as a PDF version of the protocol drafted in the PittPro system.
    • Proposals should be sent directly to the Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship via email or OneDrive link.
    • The IRB will have a hard stop on protocols involving Pitt Nursing students as they will require the approval of the Nursing Students Review Committee before the protocol can move forward in the PittPro system.
    • Allow for 2-3 weeks for this review in your submission timeline.
  • Other projects: Non-research projects (e.g. projects that utilize anonymous course surveys or projects that recruit students for educational, process improvement, or quality improvement protocols) require review by the Nursing Students Review Committee before submission to a facility’s quality review committee or an organization. 
    • A proposal that details the project sufficiently so that it can be reviewed for role of the student as a participant should be submitted.
    • Proposals should be sent directly to the Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship via email or OneDrive link.
    • Allow for 2-3 weeks for this review in your project timeline.