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How to Get Certified & What is the Difference in the Trainings

SOFFI®  Supporting Oral Feeding in Fragile Infants, is offered three ways to help make it accessible and to provide the best learning environment for different learners.  The actual content (slides) is the same across all three modalities.  For all three options, there are 12 modules and quizzes that are required for each module.  Upon completion, you will be certified as a SOFFI® Certified Professional regardless of which mode you choose to take the course.  Below you will find a brief description of how the three options differ, or you can click on the buttons below to see more information about each option.

Hybrid Expanded Course

The SOFFI® Hybrid Expanded Course is our newest option and is offered in direct response to past learners’ feedback to have more time for group thinking, questions, case studies, videos, and practice.  So would Dr. Ross!  This hybrid course offers more time for interaction.

Learners watch 8 prerecorded videos (the same ones offered as part of the online video training package).  These videos supply the foundational material necessary to take part in the Completion portion of the course.

The Completion portion is done LIVE and in-person with Dr. Ross.  The remainder of the course materials are then offered across 2 days – with the focus on Assessment and Intervention.  This allows a lot more time for learners to ask questions, problem-solve cases, work together to practice assessments and to develop treatment plans.  Rather than trying to integrate the information solo, learners work together in small groups.

Virtual Trainings

Join us and become a SOFFI® Certified Professional live from your own computer. Virtual Trainings are done live over ZOOM.

Dr. Ross presents the content live, and participants can ask questions via chat or directly as the days progress.  This option is provided so that you can attend in your own setting, without the need to travel – as a bonus they are scheduled at various times and days to accommodate our world-wide audience.  The course is broken up across three days because learning via ZOOM can be difficult if done all in one day.

We started these during 2020 and some learners continue to prefer this option.

Online Video Trainings

You can also become a SOFFI® Certified Professional through the SOFFI® Online Certificate Course by taking the material online using prerecorded video modules.  This option is provided to offer you the greatest amount of flexibility.  Some learners prefer the ability to start and stop the videos and rewind.  We have gotten feedback that this ability is especially helpful for learners for whom English is not their first language.

You have six months from the date of purchase to watch the videos and complete the quizzes and evaluation in order to receive your certificate.  However, this option is not live and limits the amount of interaction you have with Dr. Ross as you complete each module.  Because Dr. Ross feels strongly that every learner should be able to ask questions and interact with her, Live Question & Answer (Q&As) are scheduled almost every month.  These free Q&As are open to currently enrolled attendees.

This is a great way to train from the comfort of your own home and at your own pace!

image of a baby's belly with the word fragile in red

SOFFI® Hybrid Expanded Course 2024

Lakewood (Denver), Colorado – May 2nd and 3rd 2024 – Registration Begins March 1st 2024

Chicago (Villa Park), Illinois – Sept 13th and 14th – Registration Begins June 17th 2024

Dr. Ross brings over 30 years of experience working within the neonatal intensive care unit and with infants after discharge. During this time, she has brought her experience in developmentally supportive care practices and feeding development and intervention services together to create SOFFI®:  Supporting Oral Feeding in Fragile Infants.

SOFFI® is an integrated approach to supporting oral feeding in preterm and in infants who have complex medical issues, both in the NICU and in the Early Intervention setting.  SOFFI®  is offered both in an online video format and virtually “live” via ZOOM. The SOFFI® Hybrid Expanded course offers eight hours of foundational material as prerecorded video modules, followed by two days of live, interactive time focused on practical application of assessment and intervention strategies.  This training provides the practitioner with evidence-based information regarding feeding development as well as assessment and intervention strategies.  SOFFI® is guided by the SOFFI® Algorithm, which is a clinical decision-making pathway designed to ensure all feeders use the same critical thinking during feedings.  In 2013, the National Association of Neonatal Nurses highly recommended the use of the SOFFI Algorithm in conjunction with their  “Infant-Directed Oral Feeding for Premature and Critically Ill Hospitalized Infants:  Guideline for Practice” (Sables-Baus, S., et al., 2013.) “The SOFFI algorithm is grounded in similar principles as described in this guideline.” National Association of Neonatal Nurses

dr ross in a large group of smiling people at soffi training in india

Our Past Trainings

This program has been implemented in hospitals and community environments, both within the United States and internationally. SOFFI® has been taught to professionals from all over the world, during conferences hosted in Canada, Singapore, the Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Poland, France, Chile, Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Indonesia, Greece and Israel. In 2014, Brest, France became the first international SOFFI® Training Center. Follow along on the journey by visiting our SOFFI Shares Blog.

Completed Your Training?

After completing your SOFFI® Course its time to claim your SOFFI® Membership and its benefits!

SOFFI® Community Membership

The SOFFI® Community Membership is exclusively open to people who have completed SOFFI® Training – in any of the 3 ways it is offered. It provides all of the benefits of the Basic Membership PLUS unique benefits and access to additional resources.  You will need a password to sign up for this FREE membership. If you did not receive a password at the time of your course, please contact us to request one at [email protected].

You are also invited to join our private SOFFI® Community Facebook Group after completing your SOFFI® Training!

Feeding FUNdamentals, LLC and Erin Sundseth Ross, PhD, CCC-SLP, CLC are committed to supporting the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes.  The infants that are the focus of our trainings may need alternatives to direct breastfeeding.  We do provide education on alternatives to direct breastfeeding, with a continued focus on the delivery of human milk as the best nutrition option.  This education includes information on bottles and artificial teats, as well as spoon/paladai/cup/syringe/finger feeding.  We focus on supporting the parent to directly breastfeed, with the use of alternative feeding devices to include bottles and artificial teats as a second best option.  When breastfeeding is not available, alternative feeding devices are necessary.  We clearly state the benefits and superiority of breastfeeding for both the infant and the family, and human milk as the best source of nutrition for all babies, with very few exceptions.  We highlight the costs and risks associated with breast-milk substitutes.  We do not focus on breast-milk substitutes.  The hierarchy of preference is  mother’s own milk from the breast/chest, mother’s own milk from an alternative feeding device (bottle for most infants who will need this alternative long-term), donor human milk, and finally breast-milk substitutes.  Human milk is promoted as the best nutrition for infants for the first six months; human milk and complementary foods then are recommended through at least one-to-two years.  We do not accept any gifts, money or sponsorships for our products from companies that sell breast-milk substitutes.  We also support the Baby Friendly Hospitals Initiative within our trainings, with the recommended options for infants who are hospitalized.  If you have any questions, please contact us for more information.  Links to additional information below.

Endorsed by NFI