Provider Education and Training Resources
VA has a variety of resources available for community providers to equip you with the knowledge needed to successfully provide care to Veterans. This page contains the latest education and training resources offered for VA community providers.
MISSION Act Provider Training
VA MISSION Act, Section 131, requires community providers with opioid prescribing privileges to complete the Community Care Provider–Opioid Safety Initiative training course, and, if available, fill out a form attesting to completion of the course. In addition, all community providers are highly recommended to complete the MISSION Act Section 133 general overview course, Community Care Provider–A Perspective for Veteran Care.
Fact Sheet: MISSION Act Community Provider Training
Current required course:
Section 131: Opioid Safety Initiative
Highly recommended course:
Section 133: A Perspective for Veteran Care
VA uses the VHA TRAIN MISSION Act (VHA TRAIN MA) curriculum training site to host provider trainings. Providers must create an account in VHA TRAIN MA and include their unique National Provider Identifier (NPI) in their VHA TRAIN MA profile before registering and completing this training. For other assistance or help with VHA TRAIN MA curriculum account creation, please contact the MA Help Desk.
VHA TRAIN MA website MA Help Desk
Continuing Medical Education Courses
Per MISSION Act, Section 123, VA offers an online, no-cost, continuing medical education curriculum for community providers through VHA TRAIN MA. Courses are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and continuing medical education (CME) credits may be earned for completing coursework. Providers must create an account in VHA TRAIN MA and include a National Provider Identification (NPI) number in their VHA TRAIN MA profile before registering and completing courses.
CME–Community Provider RegistrationProvider Webinar Series
VA offers a monthly webinar series as part of VA’s effort to build stronger, more sustainable relationships with you, our community providers. The series includes a recurring webinar that provides an introduction and overview of community care, and accredited recurring monthly webinars on clinical topics. See the webinar schedule below.
VHA Office of Community Care Overview. This webinar provides an overview of community care networks and programs. It is facilitated by the OCC Provider Regional Experience Managers and focuses on topics relevant to VA community providers who deliver care to Veterans.
When: Third Thursday of each month, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET.
Access: Register for the webinar through VHA TRAIN. If you don’t have an account, you can sign up there.
Accredited Topics Series. This webinar series features webinars on health care-related topics. These in-depth trainings are facilitated by highly-regarded subject matter experts from throughout VA. Topics include: VA’s Suicide Prevention Strategy, understanding military culture, smoking cessation, VA’s Opioid Safety Initiative, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and military sexual trauma.
When: Fourth Thursday of each month, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET.
Access: Register for the webinar through VHA TRAIN. If you don’t have an account, you can sign up there.
VHA TRAIN website How to Create an Account in VHA TRAIN Access the VHA TRAIN login page
| VHA Office of Community Care Provider Webinar Series FY2020-2021 | |
|---|---|
| Date | Topic/Links |
| Third Thursday September 2019–September 2020 |
Office of Community Care Overview |
| Every Monday, 2 - 4 p.m. ET Every Tuesday, 1–3 p.m. ET |
HealthShare Referral Manager Weekly Webinar Series Full, in-depth training on HealthShare Referral Manager (HSRM) benefits and functionality. HSRM is VA's web-based system for referral and authorization management |
| Date | Accredited Clinical Topics/Links |
| 23 September 2021 |
SCI
|
| 26 August 2021 |
TBI/Brain Injury
|
| 22 July 2021 |
Whole Health and Complementary and Integrative Health
|
| 24 June 2021 |
LGBT
|
| 27 May 2021 |
Caring for the Women Veteran
|
| 22 April 2021 |
Veteran Suicide Prevention Refresher
|
| 25 March 2021 |
Inclusive Care/Caregiver Program
|
| 25 February 2021 |
SEOCs and Request for Services
|
| 28 January 2021 |
Agent Orange: What You Need to Know
|
| 17 December 2020 |
Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) Treatment, Naloxone, Overdose, and Suicide Prevention |
| 19 November 2020 |
VHA's Rapid Conversion to Virtual Mental Health Care During COVID‑19 |
| 22 October 2020 |
Preventing Suicide Through Lethal Means Safety and Safety Planning |
Provider Webinar Series Archive
VHA TRAIN Courses
VHA Training Finder Real-Time Affiliate Integrated Network (TRAIN) provides a wealth of training and education resources for community providers. These offerings are no-cost, Veteran-focused, and accredited for continuing medical education. The VHA TRAIN video describes the training course offerings and how to access them.
Visit the VHA TRAIN website to get started. More information about how to enroll, a list of available courses, and additional instructions for how to register can be found in the VHA TRAIN fact sheet.
VHA TRAIN delivers free, VA-approved training on Veteran-specific health topics. Published on Nov 22, 2017.
VHA TRAIN website VHA TRAIN Fact Sheet Access the VHA TRAIN login page
Below are links to specific courses in VHA TRAIN that might be of interest to community providers treating Veterans:
| VHA TRAIN Course Offerings | |
|---|---|
| Training Course | Description |
| Military Culture: Core Competencies for Healthcare Professionals | These training courses provide community providers with information about treating the unique Veteran patient population. |
| Community Care Provider Opioid Safety Initiative | This training course promotes evidence-based management of Veterans with chronic pain. A collaborative effort between VA and community providers, the goal is to improve patient outcomes and decrease the incidence of complications from opioid prescribing. |
Additional Educational Resources
| Additional Educational Resources | |
|---|---|
| Resource | Description |
| VHA Pain Management Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI) | This webpage serves to educate and ensure a greater awareness of the first evidence-based guideline to be shared with our community partners – the VHA Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI). The initiative is focused on building a collaborative relationship between VHA and its community partners to improve patient outcomes, ensure patient safety, and increase efficiency of our community-based services. |
| VA Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Centers (MIRECC) and Centers of Excellence (CoEs) Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program | MIRECC/CoEs Suicide Risk Management program offers free consultation for any provider who works with Veterans at-risk for suicide. Other resources available from MIRECC include: |
| Make the Connection | Make the Connection is a tool used by providers to engage with Veterans or their family members who may be reluctant to seek mental health treatment or support. |
| Community Provider Toolkit | A useful toolkit for community providers who take care of Veterans. |
| PTSD Consultation Program | This course provides training and consultation on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for health care professionals who treat Veterans. |
| Pregnancy Management: Clinical Practice Guidelines | This detailed VA/DoD reference guide provides industry best practices for symptoms and diagnoses related to pregnancy management. |
| Fraud, Waste and Abuse Prevention | This course provides community providers with resources on ways to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse when partnering with VA to provide care to Veterans. |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain | Chronic pain is common, multidimensional, and individualized, and treatment can be challenging for healthcare providers as well as patients. In response to the critical need for consistent and current opioid prescribing guidelines, the CDC released the Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. |
| Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Education and Outreach | Get training, earn credit, attend events, and find resources. |
| American Medical Association (AMA) Continuing Education | Sharpen your knowledge and build essential skills to succeed in your medical practice. |
| American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Learning Opportunities | AHIMA offers learning opportunities on many topics. |
Contact
For questions about community provider education and training resources, please contact Community Provider Communications.
