Vancouver Coastal Health Tobacco Reduction program was pleased to have offered the nationally-recognized, accredited, 4-day Certified Tobacco Educator (CTE) course in November 2015 in partnership with the Canadian Network for Respiratory Care (CNRC) and QuitNow. This course is part of the certification process to become a Certified Tobacco Educator.

Consistent training

The certification, developed by the CNRC, is to provide consistent and accredited training to healthcare providers in tobacco prevention and cessation to optimize client/patient outcomes, decreasing healthcare expenditures from tobacco-related illnesses and disease by:

• preventing and treating tobacco dependence and integrating it into their practice to engage patients/clients with consistent and regionalized support
• being a champion and assisting other healthcare providers in learning about tobacco prevention and cessation

Forty three healthcare providers

Forty three healthcare providers from throughout the province participated in the rigorous 4-day, interactive course, with representation from all five health authorities as well as First Nations Health Authority and Providence Health in public health, acute care, tertiary care, mental health and addictions, community, primary care and respiratory therapy. Over 20 VCH/PHC health care providers were trained.

The CTE exam is planned for early 2016, with the healthcare providers to be first CTEs in BC, building capacity in each of the health authority regions to address tobacco-related issues in prevention and cessation.

Live training sessions

We may offer the CTE course again in fall 2016. In the meantime, FREE, one-day QuitNow Live training sessions on treating tobacco dependence and tobacco cessation are being offered. For more information, please contact smokefree@vch.ca.