Health Navigation Fundamentals / Community Health Worker

Empowering patient advocates

Take your first steps towards becoming a healthcare navigator/community health worker and trusted patient advocate. Health navigators and community health workers help patients overcome barriers to receiving quality care, including helping patients to understand insurance coverage, appointments, billing, treatment schedules, and much more. This course provides an entry point into a high-growth field.

Develop necessary skills to effectively communicate and build relationships with patients within the complex healthcare system and learn how to evaluate and locate healthcare resources and support specific to an individual’s health needs.

This course serves as an ideal starting point for those eager to pursue careers in health navigation or community health work and can stack into a MSU Denver credential or degree.

Career pathways in Healthcare Navigation

Approximate return on investment for each academic pathway

After taking the course, the learner can immediately enter the workforce or continue education to increase the earning potential.

Pathway 1: Enter the workforce quickly. Complete the Health Navigation Fundamentals course and immediately enter the workforce with job titles like Care Managers, Community Health Workers, Care Coordinator, and Care Manager.

• The median salary is $28,703 a year.

Pathway 2: Go deeper and convert your noncredit course to credit, and take and pass two additional classes. This makes you eligible to sit for Colorado’s Health Navigation Assessment. 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 $46,920 a year.

Pathway 3: Continue your academic journey to get a degree in health, such as public health, which will allow you to increase your earning potential. Explore roles like Health Educators, Healthcare Practitioners, Health Science Technicians, Health and Environmental Scientist, Epidemiologist, Health Educator, Infectious Disease Specialist, Health Service Administrator, Healthcare Consultant, and Health Coach.

• The median salary is $65,586 a year.