COI Disclosure Requirements in Lectures at GUMC
The Medical Center Caucus of the Faculty Senate voted unanimously to require the disclosure of financial or other interests and potential conflicts of interest in lectures given by Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) faculty to GUMC undergraduate and graduate students. Course directors will be responsible for ensuring that all syllabi include the disclosure language and that all presentations include a disclosure slide.
The following language must be included in all syllabi “Georgetown University School of [insert school] is committed to the values of transparency and integrity. All instructors have been provided a template slide and are expected to disclose their financial conflicts of interest including those pertaining to FDA-regulated products and educational products (e.g., books, etc.). This should be included as a unique slide in the introduction of each lecture.”
This new practice is consistent with the spirit of the University’s Financial Conflict of Interest Policy, with the provisions of the conflict management plans, and sets an example for our students about the importance of disclosing potential conflicts and what will be expected of them as they move forward in their professions.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Who may I contact if I have questions about conflicts of interest and what financial interests must be disclosed?
A: Please contact Nabeel Qureshi at nabeel.qureshi@georgetown.edu, Lila Sisbarro at LS1302@georgetown.edu or Mary Schmiedel at mary.schmiedel@georgetown.edu.
- Q: Why am I being asked to include a disclosure slide in my lectures?
A: The medical students submitted a proposal to the pre-clinical directors requesting that faculty either disclose their financial interests or state that they have no conflicts at the beginning of each lecture. The Medical Center Caucus of the Faculty Senate unanimously voted to approve the inclusion of a disclosure slide in all lectures given by GUMC faculty to GUMC undergraduate and graduate students. See this slide deck for detailed information about the process.
- Q: What was the process for review by the Medical Center Caucus of the Faculty Senate before voting to approve this proposal?
A: The Caucus formed a subcommittee to review the American Medical Student Association’s Conflict of Interest Scorecard as well as best practices at peer institutions. The subcommittee reviewed the conflict of interest policies at the peer institutions, the American Medical Student Association’s Conflict of Interest Scorecard, and the Pew Charitable Trust Report on COI Policies for Academic Medical Centers – Recommendations for Best Practices and found that best practice was to disclose the instructor’s relationships or affirmatively disclose that the instructor has no conflicts at the beginning of lectures when teaching preclinical, clinical, graduate students, residents, postdoctoral fellows and clinical fellows.
- Q: Is disclosure of conflicts in the educational setting consistent with how conflicts are managed at Georgetown?
A: Yes, a baseline requirement in every conflict management plan is that faculty disclose their conflicts in consent forms, in publications and presentations, in press releases, and in the educational setting when related subject matter is discussed.
- Q: Who is responsible for ensuring that the disclosure language is included in the syllabi and that the lecture presentations include a disclosure slide?
A: The course directors will review all syllabi and slide presentations to ensure compliance with this disclosure requirement.
- Q: Do you have suggested language that can be included in the syllabi?
A: Yes, the following language should be used in all syllabi, “Georgetown University School of [insert relevant school] is committed to the values of transparency and integrity. All instructors have been provided a template slide and are expected to disclose their financial conflicts of interest including those pertaining to FDA-regulated products and educational products, e.g., books, etc. This should be included as a unique slide in the introduction of each lecture.”
- Q: Do you have a sample slide format that can be used?
A: Yes, here are two sample slides, one version when the instructor has financial interests that must be disclosed and a second version for use when the instructor has no financial interests.