2024-03-12 New MRRC Safety Training Policy

Hi All,

The MRRC has adopted a new safety training policy based on the recommendation of our medical advisor. All PIs, research coordinators, research assistants, lab managers, graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and any other individual that wants access to zones II and III of the MRRC must complete the following three steps to be fully compliant with MRRC policy. Zones II and III are the areas of the MRRC not open to the public: participant screening room/technologist office (II), mock scanner (II), changing areas (II), hallways connecting all scanners (II), control rooms (III), and scanner rooms (III). PIs, please ensure all current and future staff are compliant with the MRRC’s MRI safety training policy. All individuals – whether a user of the MRRC for one month or one decade – must complete this process. Starting April 1^st, any individual not in compliance with this new process will be prohibited from entering zone II and III of the MRRC.


Step 1. Training Video
Please watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuC3tXnZ0jk


Step 2. Quiz
Please complete the following quiz, print the results (you must answer all 5 questions correctly), and bring the results to the MRRC to be filed by a technologist:
https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4YJCaKXMMhPi3Z4


Step 3. Safety Screening Paperwork
Please print and fill out the following form. Bring it to the MRRC. If you have any questions, MRRC technologists can assist with the completion of this form.
Staff Safety Screening Form


The MRRC website has been updated with a summary of the new safety training policy:
https://www.rad.pitt.edu/mrrc-safety-training-for-research-staff.html

The MRRC will be responsible for keeping the screening forms, quiz results, and a list of study team members that complete all three steps. PIs are responsible for making sure all team members follow MRRC policy. When you hire someone new, please make sure MRI safety training is part of onboarding.

If you have any questions about MRI safety, please feel free to ask the MRRC’s very knowledgeable and skilled technologist team. To promote an atmosphere of safety awareness and learning, a bulletin board has been created in the main MRRC hallway which provides additional, advanced MRI safety information using resources recommended by the International Society for MR Radiographers & Technologists.

The MRRC understands there is an administrative burden on PIs associated with being a user of the center and remaining in good standing regarding this and other policy. We created a helper document “Annual PI Requirements” (attached) which contains a checklist for all PIs to use annually. We will not explicitly track compliance with this checklist. It is simply a resource for PIs to better optimize their experience with the MRRC.

Best,
Andrew Reineberg