STI/HIV/HCV Test Counselor Training

The STI/HIV/HCV Skills Certification Training is a five day community-building and learning experience. Throughout the week, learners will engage in rich conversations, share educational moments, participate in interactive activities, observe and perform role plays, and practice hands-on experiences that will provide them with:

  • Health information pertinent to supporting clients making informed choices regarding their STI/HIV/HCV prevention/transmission concerns
  • Basic counseling skills to assist in creating a therapeutic environment to hear client stories with a new perspective
  • Technical skills to prepare to collect blood through a fingerstick and be able to run and interpret results for specific Hep-C and HIV rapid tests

During this five-day training, participants will be immersed in a community-building/learning experience that will provide them with the skills and knowledge to better support people that are going through complex life moments regarding their substance use, sexual health, gender identity, and sexual orientation, among other life circumstances.

The STI/HIV/HCV Skills Certification Training is a program of the Community Health Equity and Promotion (CHEP) Branch of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) in collaboration with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF). The charge of the CHEP branch is to promote health equity by reducing health disparities among our most affected populations.

This training is for individuals who already have some experience working in the field of sexual health and drug user health, and want to develop and/or refresh their skills. Prior to attending in-person training sessions, learners should have:

  • Observed at least six (6) sessions from beginning to end
  • Observed at least three (3) rapid tests (from specimen collections to the reading of results)
  • Completed the Pre-Training Course on learnsfdph.org (reviewed the slides & passed the quiz with a score of 80% or higher)

This program is open to all SFDPH-funded agencies staff and volunteers who are actively providing HIV/HCV testing services. Priority registration to attend these trainings is given to the SFDPH/CDC/state agencies funded to provide HIV and hepatitis C services. If you are not working with a SFDPH-funded partner, please reach out to TrainingAcademy@sfaf.org to inquire about any available slots.

At this time, only site coordinators should be registering learners for this training program. If you are a learner seeking to register yourself in this program and are unsure of who your site coordinator is, or you believe you are at a site without a coordinator, please contact TrainingAcademy@sfaf.org

If you are a site coordinator looking to register your team member(s) for the upcoming cohort, please click on this link to access the Google registration form. You will receive further instructions for you and your team member(s) after submitting the registration form.

Monday, February 6 – Friday, February 10, 2023

Monday, May 22 – Friday, May 26, 2023

Monday, August 21 – Friday, August 25, 2023

Monday, November 13 – Friday, November 17, 2023

At this time, all trainings will be held in-person at a SFDPH site.

Events Calendar

If you have any questions about your registration or the program, please contact us at TrainingAcademy@sfaf.org.

Program Courses

2 hours
STI/HIV/HCV Test Counselor Pre-Training (November 13th - 17th, 2023)
This online course provides the information that forms the foundation for the STI/HIV/HCV Test...
2 hours
STI/HIV/HCV Test Counselor Pre-Training (August 21st - 25th, 2023)
This online course provides the information that forms the foundation for the STI/HIV/HCV Test...
2 hours
STI/HIV/HCV Test Counselor Pre-Training (June 26th - 30th, 2023)
This online course provides the information that forms the foundation for the STI/HIV/HCV Test...
2 hours
STI/HIV/HCV Test Counselor Pre-Training (May 22nd - 26th, 2023)
This online course provides the information that forms the foundation for the STI/HIV/HCV Test...