Helen should listen to George. The use of alternate IACUC members can be a very effective way to spread the Committee's workload and to have a contingency for absences. However, the practice comes with some risks, and its implementation should include some thoughtful planning. An alternate member may be called at a moment's notice to fulfill the responsibilities of a regular IACUC member. As such, it should be obvious that the alternate member must meet certain requirements to function adequately; for example, he or she should be an appointee of the CEO or Institutional Official and have training consistent with that provided for the regular IACUC members. The manner in which they are 'activated' is important as well.
In the absence of official guidance, some institutions in the past had developed rather creative ways to employ alternate members. One extreme practice placed the alternate IACUC members in a pool of extras from which individuals could be called to substitute freely for any absent regular member to achieve a quorum at a convened meeting or as a member of the team conducting semi-annual inspections of facilities. Of course, this raised questions about whether a nonscientist alternate could substitute for a scientist regular member and similar questions about the 'equivalency' based on the expertise of the alternate relative to the regular member. In addition, the pooled-alternate practice could be construed as a means for an institution to achieve a quorum with, say, 25% plus one of the total IACUC appointees (assuming an equal number of regular and alternate members).
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