The Rocky Mountain Public Health Training Center, with support from the Colorado Department of Human Services’ Office of Behavioral Health, is pleased to release an Online Course Catalog for prevention professionals! The Catalog includes free and on-demand trainings available from trusted sources including:

• Addiction Technology Transfer Centers

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Prevention Technology Transfer Centers

• Regional Public Health Training Centers

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

The Course Catalog can be found here.

Trainings were selected and categorized based on their alignment to the six Prevention Specialist Domains and the nine Strategic Skills for Public Health Professionals. Within the Catalog, prevention professionals can find links to self-paced training on:

• Community organization and engagement

• Cross-sector partnerships

• Data-based decision-making

• Effective communication

• Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion

• Planning and evaluation 

• Prevention education and service delivery

• Professional growth and responsibility

• Public policy, engagement, and environmental change

• Systems and strategic thinking

So what’s so important about training? Who needs it and when do they need it?

Onboarding of new staff is a prime time to take advantage of the training resources available. Ideally, training for new staff includes a mixture of:

A.     Content related to the focus of their job. This could include training such as the Substance Abuse Prevention Skills Training, Ethics in Prevention, Overview of Prevention, or other learning opportunities that educate about particular substances, prevalence data, prevention best-practices, etc.

B.     Skill-building related to their role. Trainings like Evidence-Based Public Health, Data State of Mind, or other learning opportunities that support new staff in developing communication, cultural humility, evaluation, or facilitation skills, might be appropriate.

C.     Organization-specific information. This will vary based on the position and the organization but could include training on internal processes or software systems.  

When bringing  new staff on board, managers should ask themselves “what does someone need to know or be able to do to be successful in this role?” Getting input from other staff within the organization or community partners who will work closely with the position is also helpful.

It’s not only new staff who benefit from training, however. Seasoned staff benefit from learning opportunities that keep them current on new data, novel approaches, and emerging issues. Ongoing training on topics such as justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion are essential for existing staff and leadership as we seek to adjust our practices, examine our biases, and improve our systems to reduce health inequities. 

As we consider providing ongoing learning and development opportunities for our staff, it’s important to remember, too, that “training” is not the only form of “learning.” As adults, we learn from reading books and blog posts; from conversations with colleagues; intentional coaching and mentorship; and from practice. Consider ways as a manager that you can invest in the development of your staff by:

• Allocating funds to support staff attendance at professional development events

• Allocating time and space for staff to learn on their own – exploring new topics and staying up on emerging issues through reading and research

• Integrating reflection into your management practice. Encourage staff to learn from doing by trying new things and reflecting on what went well and what they would do differently next time.

Training and technical support partners here to support Colorado prevention professionals in learning include OMNI Institute, the Rocky Mountain Public Health Training Center, the Mountain Plains Prevention Technology Transfer Center, the Regional Institute for Health and Environmental Leadership, and RMC Health, among others.