How to Get Certified & What is the Difference in the Trainings
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 obtain SOFFI® Certification from the comfort of your own computer. Our live Virtual Trainings are conducted via ZOOM, where Dr. Ross delivers the content in real-time, allowing participants to pose questions through chat or direct interaction over the course of three days. The same information is presented as in the SOFFI® Online Certificate Course.
This format enables you to engage from your preferred setting, eliminating the necessity for travel. To cater to our global audience, sessions are scheduled at various times and days.
The course spans three days to enhance the learning experience on ZOOM, a format that some learners have come to appreciate.
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!
SOFFI® Hybrid Expanded Course – 2025 Schedule
Raleigh, NC – May 17th & 18th (Registration is Open as of March 31st)
Austin, TX – Sept 12th & 13th (Registration Begins July 28th)
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
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
