Preparing your team to begin “doing” SBIRT is a vital part of the implementation process. Training everyone to understand their role in the SBIRT process is a critical aspect of successful implementation.

In this section, action items that will ensure competency and foundational knowledge will be discussed.

At this point, your SBIRT team is highly engaged because they’ve been making decisions throughout the planning processes. However, it is often during the SBIRT preparation stage that your staff first fully understands how valuable everyone’s role is and how important it is for each person to contribute to the SBIRT process.

Staff preparation includes developing competency through training, establishing referral practices, and having the first ”go live” day relatively close to the time of training (to avoid waiting months after training before “going live” with SBIRT).