OAT capacity building opportunities for providers across the VCH region
The Vancouver Coastal Health Regional Addiction Program and the BC Centre on Substance Use are committed to building capacity amongst care providers to support patients who use substances.
VCH is currently offering funding to select care providers for their time in completing training opportunities.
Applications are welcome on a rolling basis for the opportunities detailed below.
In an effort to strategically allocate funding, all applicants will need to demonstrate with authorization from their leadership that time to complete trainings within their daily paid work schedule is not possible.
Note that funded training opportunities are not available for Medical Residents.
The VCH Regional Addiction Program is currently accepting applications from:
Primary care physicians and nurse practitioners for POATSP
Provincial Opioid Addiction Treatment Support Program completion
POATSP is a comprehensive training program geared towards prescribers of OAT - opioid agonist therapy. Completing this course is the first step in the authorization process for prescribers who want to prescribe OAT to treat opioid use disorder. The course includes online work, a workbook and 8 hours of preceptorship time.
Download the POATSP application
Nursing and allied health for ACTOC
Addiction Care and Treatment Online Certificate completion
ACTOC is a free online MOC Section 3 and MainPro+ accredited course developed by the BCCSU targeted at health care providers interested in learning more about substance use and caring for people experiencing substance use disorders, including alcohol, tobacco, stimulants, cannabis, and opioid use disorder. ACTOC contains nursing-specific modules designed in partnership with the UBC School of Nursing. The course takes 16 hours to complete. Training is open to RNs, LPNs, RPNs, social workers, counsellors, pharmacists, outreach workers or equivalent practicing in the VCH region.
Intensive training opportunities for prescribers
If you are a prescriber or a nurse practitioner who has completed POATSP and would like more intensive, tailored training to support OAT prescriber-related upskilling, please contact regionaladdictionprogram@vch.ca to learn more.
