Committee on Education and Training

DISTRIBUTION OF SOFTWARE, TRAINING DEVICES, AND PART TASK TRAINERS

APSF will accept for distribution software, training devices, and part task trainers “of educational merit” (hereinafter referred to as “material”). APSF will accept only material donated to APSF either without restriction or governed by special agreement between APSF and the originator of the material. Such material will be distributed by APSF under the condition that APSF assumes neither liability for the correctness nor responsibility for the support of such material. Charges for the material and its distribution will be the prerogative of APSF or as contractually agreed to between the originator and APSF. Any individual or organization wishing to avail itself of the services of APSF to distribute such material must first submit such material to the Committee for Education and Training of the APSF for peer review. The material should be accompanied by a brief, written description of the educational objectives, the target audience, and the main features of the material. If necessary, the computer requirements to view and/or work with the material should also be included. Eight copies of the material should be submitted to the committee. The material will then be distributed to members of the committee for evaluation of the educational merit and of the technologic requirements of the material.

The educational merit will be judged acceptable for distribution if the material meets the following standards: 1. the material is deemed scientifically acceptable; 2. the material is deemed free of advertising; 3. the material is deemed appropriate for the intended audience which may include medical students, nursing students, technicians, nurses, resident physicians, physicians in practice, and personnel working in the industry supplying the medical and nursing profession with health care related products.

Technologically, the material will be deemed acceptable: a. if the material performs as detailed in the description that accompanies it; b. if the educational objectives are not obscured or thwarted by inadequate technologic performance of the material; c. if required hardware is likely to be available in the community for which it is intended.

Acceptance and Distribution of software is subject to the following additional understandings: a. Acquisition of material by the APSF is not exclusive – authors can disseminate by other means as well if they so desire; b. APSF does not promise to “market” the software in any special way; c. acceptance by the APSF should not be construed as an “endorsement” and should not be used in advertising by the author/owner other than a statement that the software has been accepted by APSF for distribution; d. the criteria for acceptance as given in the policy are minimum criteria. Acceptance of material for distribution is totally at discretion of the APSF which reserves the right to not accept material for any reason.