Training Programs - Standards

  1. An ACLAM Diplomate must serve as director of the training program. Programs must have at least one affiliated Diplomate per three residents in the program, and an ACLAM Diplomate must provide oversight of the program for at least 24 months of the program. The faculty must, in the aggregate, possess competency in all requirements for credentialing.
  2. The institution or affiliation of institutions that comprise the training program must provide the majority of the training components described in the following standards. If some elements of the training program will be provided at other institutions or venues (e.g., externships or short courses), there must be a mechanism to ensure the content and quality of these activities.
  3. Training programs must reside in institutions that are committed to the humane care and use of animals. This institutional commitment must include AAALAC-International accreditation, or a CCAC Certificate of Good Animal Practice, for a majority of the biomedical research programs that support the training effort.
  4. Trainees must complete at least twenty-four (24) months of formal training in laboratory animal medicine, and the training program must provide documentation of satisfactory completion of the training program (i.e., certification of residency, graduate degree, etc.).
  5. The Training Program must provide the knowledge to safely and effectively perform the tasks of a laboratory animal medicine specialist. This knowledge, which is outlined in the ACLAM Role Delineation document, will be conveyed by a combination of didactic instruction, supervised experience in the practice of laboratory animal medicine, and a mentored research project.
    1. The Training Program must include a didactic component consisting of seminars and/or courses with at least 200 hours of direct faculty involvement during the course of the training program.
    2. The Training Program must include at least 2000 hours of supervised experience in the practice of laboratory animal medicine. Experience should involve rodents, rabbits, primates and other species that fairly represent the current practice of laboratory animal medicine, and must include participation in the following: disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention; clinical and diagnostic pathology; administration of the institutional animal care and use program; interaction with investigators; and animal resource management.
    3. The Training Program must ensure that each trainee has had a mentored research experience that involves the application of the scientific method to a basic or clinical research project. Experience should include experimental design; data collection, management, and analysis; searching and critical review of the literature; and manuscript preparation. The extent of trainee effort spent on research may vary among trainees, based on their prior research experience, and among training programs. However, the Training Program must provide sufficient time and support for each trainee to complete a manuscript suitable for satisfaction of the credentialing requirement.
  6. Training programs that do no meet the standards set forth above may be considered for recognition by appeal to the BOD.

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