On May 6, PRIM&R presented Earning the CIP® Credential: Is It Right for You, Right Now?, a sixty-minute informational webinar on the Certified IRB Professional (CIP®) program. CIP Council chair Greg Lim, CIP outlined the history of the CIP program, as well as eligibility and recertification guidelines, and CIP Council member Ross Hickey, JD, CIP, CPIA, shared strategies on how to prepare for the examination. Both then answered participants’ questions, including those listed below, and provided some additional follow-up information.

Q: Which edition of the Amdur and Bankert book should be used to study for the exam? A few participants had questions about the most recent copies of some of the examination reference materials listed.
The most recent editions of the Institutional Review Board: Management and Function textbook and accompanying study guide by Elizabeth Bankert and Robert Amdur are the second editions; this resource is listed in the examination reference list on page 16 of the CIP Handbook. The most recent version of the Institutional Review Board Member Handbook, also by Bankert and Amdur is the third edition, and is not listed as a reference in the CIP Handbook as it does not cover exam content.

Q. Are the answers for the online practice test provided, and can it be taken more than once?
The online practice test is comprised of 75 questions that appeared on previous CIP exams and are no longer being used. After completing the online practice test, candidates receive a score report that summarizes test performance in each of the four content areas of the exam. Individual answers are not provided. The purpose of the practice test is to prepare for the testing experience, by familiarizing candidates with question format, style, and level of difficulty, and is not intended to teach current examination content. Candidates who purchase the practice test are able to take it once over a two-hour testing time.

Additional information about the online practice test can be found on page 18 of the CIP Handbook.

Q. Is there a difference between a “correct” and “best” answer, in terms of receiving credit for that question? 
The correct answer is the best answer; each examination question has one correct answer, and each question is worth one point out of a total of 250. Wrong answers do not result in deducted points; instead, candidates just fail to accumulate points for those questions they answer incorrectly.