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Strengthen Your Resume in Eight Weeks or Less with MSU Denver's Advanced Community Health Worker course
About the course
MSU Denver’s Advanced Community Health Worker course will help students develop the skills necessary to perform community health work and implement program improvement. Students will learn the social and emotional aspects of receiving a health diagnosis and how to navigate a patient through finding resources related to their health-related social needs. Additionally, students will practice evaluating resources and creating community health referral networks, exploring health improvement programs, and practice using the tools that community health workers use within community-based organizations and in the community.
Self-paced, flexible online modality
Advanced Community Health Worker is online and self-paced, allowing you to balance your personal life while continuing your education.
Convert course into college credit
Whether you’re looking to learn a new subject or pivot into a new career, noncredit courses can be stacked into credit toward an MSU Denver degree or credential.
Future outlook of community health
Need career inspiration? Use our occupational data widget to browse in-demand occupations, employment trends, and salary information, all within your area.
Why take this course?
Flexible learning schedule
The advanced community health worker course can be completed in 4-8 weeks and is self-paced online
Career advisement
Receive a personal advising session with an expert community health leader.
Earn a digital badge & certificate of completion
Students will receive a digital badge embedded with competencies learned which can be included on a resume, LinkedIn profile, portfolio, or shared with an employer. Students will also receive a certificate of completion showcasing their successful completion of the course.
Career pathways in community health
Evaluate the return on investment for advanced community health workers
After completing the Advanced Community Health Worker course, students can immediately enter the workforce or continue to upskill with additional education to increase their earning potential.
Pathway 1: Complete the Advanced Community Health Worker course and immediately enter the CHW workforce with in-demand knowledge and skills.
- The median salary is $35,000 per year.
Pathway 2: Convert your noncredit advanced community health worker course to credit, and take and pass four additional classes. This makes you eligible to sit for the Colorado state assessment (launching in 2025). After passing, you can apply for positions like Access Representative, Admissions Coordinator, Case Manager, Medicaid Service Coordinator, Patient Access Coordinator, Patient Access Specialist, Patient Advocate, Patient Navigator, Patient Resource Worker, and Patient Service Representative.
- The median salary is $48,000 per year.
Pathway 3: Continue your academic journey to get a degree in health, such as a diploma in public health, which will allow you to increase your earning potential far beyond an average community health worker’s salary.
- The median salary is $60,000 per year.
Cost | Schedule | Outcomes
The course is $450 with a $35 transaction fee per payment. There are no books to purchase.
- Advanced Community Health Worker runs from September 2 – November 2, 2025.
- Students must register by September 9, 2025.
- The eight-week course is entirely online and self-paced. You can complete the course anytime within the eight weeks the course is available.
- Demonstrate the impact of individual health beliefs and behavior on health care decisions.
- Integrate knowledge of the social and emotional aspects of health into patient/client, caregiver and family interactions and support.
- Implement knowledge of health promotion, disease prevention and common disease care continuums.
- Apply an understanding of the health care system to improve culturally informed patient/client care.
- Examine how to improve systems of care for patient/clients through the identification of systemic barriers and challenges to develop an individualized patient resource guide.
- Design patient/client navigator programs, including continuous improvement and evaluation plans.
Meet your expert instructor
Advanced Community Health Worker instructor
Allison Draayer, LCSW, is an MSU Denver faculty member with over 10 years of healthcare experience. She is originally from the Chicago area but moved to Denver in 2008. She has a degree in Communications from Calvin College in Michigan and received a master’s in social work from the University of Denver in 2014. Allison currently works as the Director of Community Care at a health center in Colorado. She is passionate about serving others and improving health care for the underserved.
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Email usPhone: 303-615-1234
Office Location:
Jordan Student Success Building
3rd Floor – #330
Auraria Campus
Mailing Address:
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Innovative and Lifelong Learning
P.O. Box 173362
Campus Box 6
Denver, CO 80217-3362