1. Job description and requirements
2. CHW certification requirements and application process
3. Overview and fulfillment of employer's philosophy
4. Employer history
5. Employer policies and procedures
6. Co-working, mentor and supervisory relationships
7. Access to mentors, supervisors, employee assistance programs and other support structures
8. Overview of upcoming regular and specialized social and other employer events
9. Characteristics of the individual(s) served
10. Terminology necessary for the work environment
11. Operation and maintenance of computer and video-conferencing equipment
12. Health and medical concerns unique to the work environment
13. Introduction to mechanisms of data collection and documentation
14. Blood-borne pathogens, universal precautions and infection control
15. CPR and basic first aid
16. Assessing community safety
17. Recognizing and correcting hazards in the workplace
18. Safety precautions for home or community visits
19. Responding to emergencies
20. Reasonable risk and common sense
21. Putting CHW ethics into practice
22. Career and educational paths available within the work environment
23. Becoming a culturally-competent practitioner
24. Mastering teamwork and collaboration skills
25. Self-assessment, performance appraisal and use of constructive criticism
26. Communicate effectively with others
27. Confidentiality, including HIPAA
28. Creative problem solving
29. Understanding and fulfilling the employer's mission

1. Developing individualized strategies
2. Community-centered supports
3. Focus on participant-defined outcomes at the individual or community level(s)
4. Integrating formal and informal supports
5. Eliciting, respecting and actively supporting participant choices and preferences
6. Promotion of empowerment and self-confidence of individuals or communities to speak out for themselves and others
7. Identifying issues related to the population served
8. Educating the community served on advocacy techniques
9. Assisting individuals and communities to act collaboratively
10. Common challenges to human, civil and legal rights

1. Preventive health and dentistry
2. Characteristics of a health lifestyle
3. Responding to common health concerns
4. Responding to individual health needs
5. Safety (environmental, personal and driving)
6. Identifying health resources, judging quality and coordinating/communicating with health care practitioners
7. Supporting individuals in understanding and participating in routing and special health care screening and treatment

1. Effective and appropriate communication skills
2. Basic group communication skills and facilitation structures
3. Effective, efficient and timely documentation
4. Using alternative communication devices
5. Obtaining and utilizing interpreters when needed
6. Utilization of positive behavior support
7. Conflict resolution

1. Use of adult learning principles
2. Teaching strategies
3. Providing constructive feedback
4. Teaching skills customized to the individuals
5. Presentation skills
6. Utilization of common audio-visual equipment

(1) Learn the evolution of the CHW Field in the United States, and emerging trends for Philadelphia and Southeastern Pennsylvania. (2) Describe the range of roles and functions of a CHW, and understand the importance of establishing and maintaining boundaries. (3) Identify potential populations with whom they may work, including biological, psychological, social, cultural, spiritual and environmental considerations. (4) Discuss the core competencies, skills, qualities and values of an effective CHW. (5) Understand expectations of how CHWs should conduct themselves while in training, as well as when they are employed in a healthcare setting, e.g. being prepared and on-time, respecting privacy issues, handling conflict appropriately, maintaining boundaries, etc. (6) Engage in self-reflection to understand one’s personal perspective and health practices, in order to become a role model for patients. (7) Obtain feedback from peers and instructors for self-improvement.

(1) Define “culture” and “cultural competency” in the context of the role of CHWs and the healthcare workplace. (2) Assess one’s own level of cultural competency, and determine next steps in continued development. (3) Conceptualize and synthesize knowledge of emotional, biological, social, organizational, economic and cultural components in a comprehensive assessment of an individual, couple or family. (4) Select and apply culturally appropriate interventions that enhance the functioning of patient/constituent systems. (5) Obtain feedback from peers and instructors for self-improvement.

(1) Define confidentiality. (2) Define ethics and identify the ethical aspects of confidentiality. (3) Understand the CHW’s scope of work (4) Demonstrate an understanding of HIPAA and its relationship to confidentiality. (5) Demonstrate an understanding of the CHWs role in protecting the patient’s confidentiality rights. (6) Demonstrate an understanding of how cultural differences may affect a patients’ understanding of HIPAA and confidentiality. (7) Apply an understanding of confidentiality and HIPAA to case scenarios. (8) Analyze how the ethical aspects of confidentiality impact the CHW and other healthcare workers.

(1) Develop presentation skills and strategies for working with teams in professional settings. (2) Reflect on previous learning experiences and what has proved to be impactful. (3) Develop charts, work plans and timelines to support presentation development. (4) Discuss group norms, cultures, and how to effectively communicate with group members when challenges arise (5) Explore different modes of sharing information, i.e.: PowerPoint, handouts, graphics etc.

(1) Understand cultural communication styles. (2) Understand how judgments and assumptions impact communication and relationship building. Explore preconceived notions around illness, lifestyles, and appearance. (3) Understand the difference between objective versus subjective. (4) Understand how situations may trigger both positive and negative reactions and identify strategies to handle responses in an objective fashion. (5) Understand personal communication (verbal and non-verbal) styles, and personality characteristics. Develop awareness of how personal styles and characteristics impact communication with others. (6) Understand different communication styles used by different cultures. (7) Understand different communication styles used in different settings (work, home, patients home, etc.). (8) Understand how active listening and the use of paraphrasing/reflective expression supports positive interactions. (9) Understand the differences between open and closed ended questions. (10) Demonstrate the use of effective communication strategies such as: pulling back, paraphrasing, active listening, and using open ended questions and reflective expression.

(1) Understand how the patient/worker relationship develops and changes over time. (2) Understand the importance of identifying strengths and how a traditional “deficit” approach can be damaging. (3) Reflect on and understand the importance of boundaries in personal and professional setting. (4) Reflect on how trust is gained/lost and how to develop trust with clients. (5) Understand where in the patient/worker relationship trust begins to be developed. (6) Practice and demonstrate how to support patients in setting goals and decision making /problem solving strategies to be utilized with clients. (7) Practice and demonstrate patient advocacy with the medical team and with other relevant organizational representatives. (8) Understand the importance of addressing conflicts and discuss strategies for resolving conflict both personally and professionally. Practice and demonstrate working with clients to resolve conflicts through incorporating previously learned skills. (9) Understand how to share knowledge in a non-threatening/non-judgmental way and give feedback to patients that can contribute to changed behaviors. (10) Practice and demonstrate a variety of teaching strategies.

(1) Define motivation and understand what motivates or prohibits patients from changing behaviors. (2) Begin to develop an Ecological approach to working with clients (3) Describe and understand motivational interviewing as a behavioral change strategy. (4) Reflect on personal experiences in changing behavior. (5) Practice and demonstrate an understanding of the conditions for change (Express empathy, Avoid argument, Support self-efficacy, Using resistance as an opportunity for change, Dealing with discrepancy). (6) Practice and demonstrate an understanding of motivational interviewing techniques (Asking Permission, Eliciting/evoking change talk, Exploring importance ad confidence, Open-ended questions, Reflective listening, Normalizing, Readiness to change, Affirmations, Advice/feedback, Summarizing, Using discrepancies as part of the change process). (7) Understand theories of change and harm reduction and risk reduction philosophies.

(1) Recognize health issues particularly those relevant to the local community and understand social determinants of health (2) Increase health knowledge and understand basic preventive interventions for health issues such as Hypertension & Diabetes, HIV – STDs, Obesity, Heart & Stroke. (3) Understand behavioral health issues, and learn methods for working with patients with mental health and/or substance abuse issues. (4) Identify and document needs and health topics relevant to the priority populations. (5) Recognize and understand the special health needs of particular communities such as homeless, substance abusers, youth, frail elders, particular immigrant communities, pregnant parenting women and their families, communities of color, linguistic minorities. (6) Identify and describe access to the likely community resources targeted to the special health needs and at-risk populations. (7) Understand basic medical terminology and how to use the internet to support care provided.

(1) Discuss and define what makes a team and the characteristics of a strong team. (2) Analyze the barriers to successful team work. Understand and define the interdisciplinary Health Delivery Team and the team members’ roles and responsibilities. (3) Identify community supports such as family members, clergy, school, and other non-medical resources that can assist the health delivery team in addressing the patient’s care needs. (4) Apply knowledge of group dynamics within a team setting. (5) Understand the role of the CHW as an advocate within the team. (6) Practice applying communication skills to team interactions. (7) Understand how the team collaborates in ensuring that patients receive the services they need in a coordinated fashion.

(1) Demonstrate an understanding of liability, negligence, malpractice, and scope of practice. (2) Demonstrate an understanding of the legal and ethical responsibility of CHWs in mandatory reporting. (3) Understand the concept of “full disclosure” and its relationship and cultural issues. (4) Understand safety protocols and how to take basic safety measures while on the job. (5) (6) Demonstrate knowledge of where, when and how to report abuse and neglect. (7) Demonstrate an understanding of the cultural issues and challenges related to mandatory reporting. (8) Demonstrates understanding of agency policies and procedures that relate to legal issues.

(1) Define advocacy and policy, and discuss boundaries and appropriate roles of the CHW. (2) Advocate effectively with others so that clients receive needed care in a timely fashion, while understanding reasonable limits. (3) Explain referrals (as well as potential limits) and assisting with on-going follow-up when possible (Providing additional support and follow-up with other providers as needed, Providing additional support and follow-up with other providers as needed). (4) Use and maintain a list of individual as well as institutional resources in the community and the local area. (5) Obtain and share knowledge of community resources for health care, social services and additional support services. (6) Build and maintain networks of community resources and referrals. (7) Build and maintain networks with relevant community and issue advocacy groups.

(1) Describe and document community needs and assets so that clients and service providers can have more effective information in responding to community concerns. (2) Identify and understand individual as well as institutional resources present in the local community. (3) Understand the interconnections between community entities- agencies, networks, providers, organizations, residents, etc. - which in turn reveals how to access those assets for clients. (4) Use asset mapping to understand and help facilitate the problem-solving capacity of the clients living in the local community. (5) As appropriate collect information (data), that can be used to advocate for and with individuals and their communities.

(1) Discuss various types and purposes of documentation – including assessments, intake forms, SOAP notes, etc. (2) Receive training in Electronic Health Records (EHRC) (3) Review forms used by healthcare providers who employ Community Health Workers, understand how the forms are being used, clarify purpose for each question, define use of terms, learn protocols or required formats for answers or allowing questions to remain unanswered. (4) Strategize methods for form completion with patients, in consideration of issues such as literacy levels, language barriers, cultural sensitivity, confidentiality and privacy issues. (5) Practice completing forms with different types of patients, e.g. compliant, resistant, non-responsive, etc. (6) Compose clear and effective SOAP Notes, which stands for Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan. (7) Use documentation with healthcare team to impact the health of the client.

(1) Evaluate their own work experience and educational background, to market themselves as competent CHWs to potential employers in the healthcare field. (2) Comprehend workplace protocol and adhere to the ethics and standards set forth by their employer and the CHW profession. (3) Develop resumes and cover letters (4) Practice interviewing and receive feedback from peers and facilitators. (5) Synthesize knowledge gained from CHW training, professional background and personal experiences to demonstrate a professional use of self as CHWs in the healthcare field. (6) Analyze performance expectations, self-evaluate and implement strategies to maximize job performance. (7) Anticipate workplace change and take initiative to develop adjustment strategies to meet the changing position requirements.