Resources and Links

The EM Research Committee meets once a month and serves as the streamlined entry point for research involving the emergency departments affiliated with Western, ie LHSC University Hospital, LHSC Victoria, and St Josephs/Urgent Care. The committee fulfills several functions. One, residents present their proposal, along with their supervisor, to the committee and receive methodology support as well as assistance with research ethics submissions, finding a supervisor, and other steps of bringing their project through to completion and resentation/publication. Two, faculty researchers internal and external to Western EM bring their protocols here to seek support/agreement from the emergency department to participate in the study; this committee serves as the Clinical Research Impact Committee as well as assisting with dissemination of surveys and recruitment etc. Proposals should be brought the Research Committee well in advance of any intended start date. Three, a portion of each meeting agenda is dedicated to a Pitch/Propel your Research section, during which a researcher or an interested non-research can ask for input and advice, and brainstorm, a proposed project, and also research teams can seek collective input on overcoming issues that may arise during the conduct of research, or seek advice on next steps (for example low recruitment, issues with data access, etc.) Anyone interested in presenting to the research committee is welcome to reach out to Kristine, Nick or Alix to discuss and get on the agenda.

Is your project research or quality improvement? The Division of Emergency Medicine undertakes both types of inquiry.

Projects that are considered Quality Improvement do not require REB review; they do still require review by the Division Research Committee and may require privacy or LHSCRI for contracts. To help determine whether your project is research or QI, please complete this questionnaire. ARECCI - The Alberta Innovates Ethics Screening Tool

Projects that are considered “research” must undergo review and be approved by the Research Ethics Board at Western. This is separate from the review by the Division Research Committee or LHSC privacy, or LHSCRI. This consists of either a full review board or a delegated review board depending on the scope and risk of the project. Research that is deemed minimal-risk to patients and participants or is a chart review is eligible for delegated review. All other research must be sent to the full review board. All submissions are done electronically through Western Research Ethics Management (WREM).

WREM First-Time Login Instructions

1. Enter your full email address as your username.

2. Click the reset password button.

3. Follow the instructions in the email that is sent to you. This will allow you to set a password.

4. Login to WREM.

HSREB Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines

All members of the research team (faculty, staff, residents and medical students) that are listed on the ethics application are required to take the following training.

1. 1. LHSC Privacy Training-expires 1 year from completion

2. TCPS2 Module- must complete once, does not expire

3. Six Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)-expires 3 years from completion

Lawson Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines

Please note that you cannot begin your project until you receive approval. Any documentation or questions can be sent to QAEP@lawsonresearch.com 

You will be required to have a Lawson ReDA account and a Western WREM (ethics) account. To obtain these accounts see instructions below:

1. Lawson ReDA- email lawsonapproval@LawsonResearch.Com and request an account

2. Western WREM- https://applywesternrem.uwo.ca/Account/Login. Click “New User” and follow instructions to request an account