TEACH Frequently Asked Questions

TEACH - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

TEACH has been approved as a University of Toronto Certificate Program. Below are the Frequently Asked Questions that we have received from practitioners.

Can I obtain a TEACH/U of T certificate if I was trained at the University of Massachusetts or the Mayo Clinic?

There have been a number of queries as to whether this TEACH/U of T certificate can be obtained by practitioners who have been previously trained at the University of Massachusetts or the Mayo Clinic. Unfortunately this is not acceptable to the U of T Continuing Education department, as the content, structure and format of TEACH is (although overlapping) quite different. In addition, as with most certificate programs, there are strict guidelines on course content, faculty and post-training assessment. Therefore, if you have been trained previously at the University of Massachusetts or the Mayo Clinic you would need to fulfill the TEACH requirements (including attendance at the Core Course) if you are interested in obtaining this certificate.

Is there a cost to obtain a TEACH/U of T certificate if I complete the program requirements?

For Ontario participants who have attended the TEACH courses that have been reviewed and approved by U of T, and have completed the other requirements for the certificate, there is a $100.00 fee that must accompany your application. Note that the only courses approved by U of T are those that were offered in Feb. 2007 and after. We are committed to continuing to fund Ontario participants' travel, accommodation and registration fees for TEACH courses, however the cost of doing this is considerable. Budget constraints demand that we pass along the administrative/certificate fee to participants. This fee must be paid by all applicants who attend the TEACH Core Course. The fee does not apply to Community of Practice courses or Specialty Courses being attended by participants who have already received TEACH, University of Massachusetts or Mayo Clinic Certificates.

What are the major criteria for acceptance into the TEACH program?

The TEACH courses are targeted to those practitioners that have the ability to deliver intensive cessation counselling. Our screening criteria include:

Level of clinical contact
Ability to influence organizational change (i.e.:offering intensive cessation programming)
Geographical need to build capacity
Service to specific populations with high smoking prevalence
Ability to meet prerequisite criteria for each course

In the past, we have had participants attend the workshops who, while interested in the content, were not able to offer intensive cessation counselling. Keeping in mind that the primary objective of the TEACH project is to create more intensive cessation capacity within Ontario, we need to ensure that we make the most of the resources that the Ministry of Health Promotion has devoted to this project. This means redirecting some participants for whom offering brief interventions is more feasible to other training opportunities. Practitioners for whom brief interventions are more feasible may find the following programs that provide minimal contact intervention training useful to explore.

Clinical Tobacco Intervention (CTI): www.omacti.org - offers minimal contact workshops dedicated to physicians, dentists, and pharmacists. You can contact Jennifer Hart, CTI program director at 1-800-268-7215 ext 2861- (free of charge) or Jennifer_hart@oma.org

Program Training and Consultation Centre (PTCC) has a variety of minimal contact tobacco trainings available: http://www.ptcc-cfc.on.ca/index.cfm Free of charge.

If I have already sent in an application form for TEACH courses, and was not accepted into the previous session, do I need to complete another application?

If you have sent an application to TEACH and have not been accepted into any of the courses, we still have your application on file. However, we are constantly revising our TEACH application, so we will require that you complete the new application form if you wish to attend future TEACH courses. Please note that all applications must be accompanied by a $100.00 administrative fee associated with the University of Toronto Certificate. We will retain your original application, and will also note the date that you originally applied to attend TEACH courses. Although course acceptance is based on a number of criteria (including regional representation, work with specific populations, ability to offer intensive interventions, and/or ability to influence cessation programming), we also consider date of application, and this will be taken into account.

I am from outside of Ontario. Can I attend TEACH training?

We reserve a small number of spaces in each of our workshops for out-of-province participants. Please note that as we are not funded to support attendance in the courses for practitioners outside of Ontario, the TEACH certificate program fee is $1400.00 (not including travel, accommodation and other related expenses). This course fee includes:

Registration in the online prerequisite course and interactive community forum
Registration and course materials for the 3-day, classroom-based Core Course- A Comprehensive Course on Smoking Cessation: Essential Skills and Strategies
Registration and course materials for a 2-day, classroom-based specialty course
University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine certificate fee

When will the next TEACH courses be offered?

The next round of TEACH trainings will be offered June 9-13, 2008 in Toronto.

We hope that this helps to clarify some important information about the TEACH Project. Please be in touch with our team if you have any questions or concerns: teach@camh.net or (416) 535-8501 ext. 1600.