Community Health Worker Micro-Credential
Help close the healthcare provider gap with our Community Health Worker Micro-Credential. This micro-credential will give you the skills to assist those in underserved communities navigate the healthcare system.
Through this two-course micro-credential you will focus on how to perform a role that has a variety of job titles such as patient navigator, health navigator, family resource navigator, promotora, and tribal liaison.
Micro-Credential Program Highlights
This non-credit micro-credential provides foundational training for Community Health Workers aligned with the Core Competency C3 Skills and Roles for Community Health Workers.
In Touro University California's Community Health Worker Micro-Credential, you will:
- Analyze the role of community health workers to reduce health inequities and improve patient outcomes which includes developing strategies for service coordination and care navigation and building client capacity.
- Develop a strong foundation of health knowledge to provide support, education, and advocacy for clients including public health, social determinants of health, chronic disease management, behavioral health, health lifestyle, self-care, and the health and social service systems in the US.
- Demonstrate professional skills and conduct which includes goal setting, balancing priorities, critical thinking, appropriate use of technology, continuing education, personal safety in the workplace, application of ethical and legal standards, and boundary setting.
- Apply effective communication and interpersonal relationship building skills with a foundation in cultural humility and trauma informed including motivational interviewing, conflict resolution, and how to manage difficult conversations.
- Develop skills to competently provide client and community education, group facilitation, and advocacy at the individual and systems level.
- Apply strategies to participate in individual and community assessments which include the use of standardized screening tools, conducting community needs assessments, and community asset mapping.
- Apply outreach skills which include how to engage community effectively, different ways to outreach, and building and maintaining a current resource inventory.
- Develop evaluation and research skills to identify root causes, apply evidence-based best practices of Community Based Participatory Action Research (PAR), identification of priority needs/issues, research design, data collection, sharing results, and engaging stakeholders in decision making.
Micro-Credential Curriculum
In the Community Health Worker Micro-Credential, you will gain practical skills necessary to be a community health worker in the State of California. This non-credit micro-credential focuses on the nature of the community health worker’s role across various roles to address a diverse array of community and patient/client needs. It is designed to prepared community health workers to provide health education and information referral around common health conditions, as well as help patients/clients with unique needs and emerging health threats within the community as they navigate the local health care system.
What You'll Learn
The micro-credential consists of two courses that will provide individuals with the basics of being a community health worker in underserved communities and how to navigate the local health care system, then provide more advanced training focused on emerging issues such as social determinants of health, structural racism, housing and food insecurity, and opioid and substance use disorder.
For each course you earn a badge.
Introduction to the Community Health Worker (40 hours)
This non-credit badge prepares community health workers to help their patients/clients with navigating the local health care systems. This initial training focuses on providing a diverse and inclusive community health workers who are skilled in community trust building and effective care coordination that have a health equity focus for working in key underserved communities. This initial training explores the customization required by community health workers to address rural versus urban communities, first generation immigrant communities, communities for which English is not the language spoken at home, the unhoused, and communities of color.
Advanced Community Health Worker Studies (40 hours)
This non-credit badge prepares community health workers to better interact with patients/clients who are increasingly presenting with chronic disease management needs and/or multiple health conditions. This advanced training provides additional skills to assist community health workers with patients/clients who are experiencing health inequities secondary to the social determinants of health and structural racism. It also focuses on equipping community health workers to help community members navigate issues around housing and food insecurity. Finally, this advanced training explores the challenges facing community health workers related to the rise in opioid and substance use disorder.
Who Is This Micro-Credential for & How Can It Advance Your Career?
California Governor Newsom called for adding 25,000 community health workers to the workforce. If you are looking to advance or transition in your career, or if you’re interested in supplementing your existing educational experience, the Community Health Worker Micro-Credential can you help you.
You should apply for the TUC community health worker micro-credential if you:
- are in the non-profit sector, and would like to serve marginalized communities impacted by justice involvement.
- are a health care provider or health systems leader, and want to understand the effects of the legal system on health inequities and how to identify and implement strategies for addressing inequities.
- are a health care provider or health systems leader, and want to learn how to leverage resources and soft power to mitigate the downstream effects of the criminal justice system on public health and to develop transformative upstream solutions.
- want to become a health equity leader at an organization that delivers programs and interventions designed to address the harmful impacts of the criminal legal system.
Who is eligible to participate in the micro-credential?
You must be 18 years of age and have a high school diploma. For more information about criteria, please contact Laura Lopez-Ferrey at llopez_f@touro.edu
Ready to Apply?
For more information, please contact Laura Lopez-Ferrey, Program Coordinator, Community Health Worker at lopez_f@touro.edu.