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COMPLIANCE

Is It Necessary for Me to Repeat Training That I’ve Already Had?

Reader Question: I just transferred to a new animal-research institution and they want me to sit through hours of training — the same material I covered at my last organization. How can I get out of sitting through these boring classes?

Expert Comments: You can’t get out of it, nor should you. There are very good reasons why you need to take these classes again:

1. Institutions dealing with laboratory animals have standard operating procedures, and these can vary widely from place to place. That alone makes the need for retraining essential. You’ll need to learn the new standard operating procedures (SOPs) and be trained in different ways of doing things at the new institution. You'll almost certain to learn something new.

2. During the interview process, taking the training was undoubtedly one of the requirements for your position. While there may be some overlap, what’s new is essential to learn — and it can’t hurt to get a refresher on what you’ve already learned. You may hear something you knew presented in a different and interesting way, or learn a different approach to a technique. That said, if you don’t want to accept the training, don’t take the new job.

To take some of the pain out of it, find out if your institution has online courses where you can work on the material at your convenience and at your own pace. That will allow you to focus primarily on what's new — the new SOPs and new institutional duties — and get through the familiar material more quickly.

Expert comments by Lee Krulisch, executive director, Scientists Center for Animal Welfare (SCAW), Greenbelt, Md.