Federal law requires that the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) make recommendations to the Institutional Official (IO) for development and administration of animal care and use training programs for all personnel involved in the use of animals in teaching or research. Employees of Laboratory Animal Resources (LAR) require training in order to understand the safe application of principles of basic and advanced animal husbandry, veterinary medical treatment, research design, and regulatory requirements. It is the policy of The University of Montana-Missoula IACUC to provide and document a comprehensive training program for all LAR employees.
Policy Procedure
Administrative Responsibility
It is the responsibility of the Director of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR)/Attending Veterinarian (AV) to design and implement the training program for LAR employees.
It is the responsibility of the IACUC Coordinator to
maintain records of LAR training,
provide instructions for use of the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) web training site, and
provide occupational health and safety (OH&S) materials, including a summary of hazards and instructions for OH&S program participation.
Documentation of Training
The IACUC Coordinator will maintain individual files for all LAR employees that will include
Training received by LAR employees,
Formally scheduled training sessions and meetings
LAR employees will also maintain records of on-the-job training that will be photocopied twice yearly (January and July) and added to their individual training files
Training provided by LAR employees to other employees or to animal users, including topic, trainee, and time required, and
Service in organized laboratory animal medicine, such as participation on an IACUC subcommittee or regional [Northern Rocky Mountain Branch (NRMB)], district (District VIII), or national professional association [American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS)].
All training documents will be made available by the IACUC Coordinator to the IACUC, federal regulatory personnel, or any other qualified inspector on demand.
Training Program
New LAR employees should receive within 1 week of employment
Orientation notebook or web references to employee handbook, new employee orientation meetings, LAR employee policy, AALAS certification programs, parking information, and Griz card information,
Facility tour,
Information on occupational hazards in the work place and access to medical surveillance forms, including specialized safety training as applicable,
Material safety data sheet training,
Review of IACUC web site home page tutorial with the AV or the IACUC Coordinator,
Daily supervision and training by LAR employees approved by the DLAR/AV until competency demonstrated to these individuals, and
On-going training by AV and approved LAR employees.
All permanent LAR employees
Progression through established career ladder that includes promotions and raises (~9% salary increase per level) based on, at a minimum, successfully passing national certification examinations sanctioned by AALAS
Laboratory Animal Technician I (entry level)
Laboratory Animal Technician II (ALAT certification)
Laboratory Animal Technician III (LAT certification)
Laboratory Animal Technician IV (LATG certification)
Laboratory Animal Manager (CMAR certification)
CMAR certification can be pursued by employees at the Laboratory Animal Technician IV level for achieving a raise (~4.5%), but promotion to Laboratory Animal Manager is only possible when a single position is funded, available, and advertised
AALAS training materials and the cost of the first exam attempt for each certification level will be provided by the employer
