How to Know a Training is Legit
I’ve been there.
You sign up for a course either in person or online.
Or you get a flyer in the mail and you see a course that seems too good to be true. You take a day off from work or clear out your Saturday.
All to attend a course that didn’t really give you the information you need or was not really what you expected.
This can be really frustrating because there are only so many days to take off and courses to attend. Luckily, since the explosion of Zoom, there is so much more available by simply traveling the distance from our kitchen to the home office. However, this also has led to the increase in the number of people creating their own training and courses. How do you differentiate the good from the not-so-good? What are some strategies to make sure you know exactly what you are getting and are there any red flags?
In my experience, I have found the following questions to ask ahead of time to help this process. This is definitely not foolproof but gives a jumping-off point as to how to critically analyze before signing up for something:
Who is the person giving the training/course/continuing education?
What are their credentials?
How many years of experience do they have?
What kind of training did they have?
Do they disclose financial benefits? (most likely they will have them)
They may be using the training to market their own program which is not always bad but something to keep in mind.
Do you see any citations in their blog posts or marketing materials?
This is a personal pet peeve of mine (i.e., blog posts or websites without citations that are referencing evidence-based information) if they do not cite evidence then they are most likely going on clinical experience only which is only one part of evidence-based practice.
Is there research on the specific treatment protocol they are presenting?
When the intervention has a manual, it will make it that much easier for you to take and implement into your practice the next week.
Again, there might not be but having some momentum of a manual being created and studied shows that it may be a promising resource even if it has not been completed yet.
How credible is the company hosting the platform? The ones I’ve personally found most effective and the specific courses I’ve taken were:
MedBridge
SCERTs Training
Virtual Pediatric Evaluation
Education Resources Inc.
Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Feeding Training
Occupationaltherapy.com
An Evidence-Based Approach to Healthcare Burnout
Shoulder Rehabilitation
Is it really cheap?
Oftentimes the courses that are a little more pricey are actually more worthwhile.
The $99-199 ones can be a bit less effective in my experience.
Is it a really specific area or more general?
Be specific in what you want and search for courses related directly to that. That will help vet those ones that are things you already know
Is it AOTA approved?
Again, this is not always the best way to analyze the course because some states still approve CEUs for non-AOTA approved courses. However, the AOTA approval process is comprehensive and requires a well established business with good operations and structure so most likely the business will be credible.
What courses have others found helpful?
Simply asking this question to co-workers, mentors, and trusted online groups can be beneficial. Be careful with Facebook groups as there may be people sharing that are affiliate marketers and they will benefit from you signing up which can screw their recommendations.
What do the reviews say?
Look to see if others mention whether they are offering practical clinical examples
If there are a lot of reviews that is also a good sign (Fun fact: I also use this criteria with AirBnB’s, only 5 reviews then I usually skip staying there!)
How does the presenter describe the course?
Email them and find out! They would love to hear from you and also want to know what questions you are asking to make their course better. A win-win.
This will allow you to make sure the presentation fits into what your goals and knowledge gaps are and will give more information to see if it a “just right” challenge for your learning.
Again, at the end of the day, the best way is to get specific about what you really need or areas you are struggling with, ask others, read reviews, research the topic, and presenter. This will give you a clearer understanding of what to expect.
What other strategies do you use to decide on what continuing education course to use?