When I was new at MDS, I took a short introductory course before I took a certification course. It really helped me understand the bigger program. It may be an advantage for newbies or anyone who wants to understand it, even DON's and Administrators, to do this. It will take some time to search, but my DON and the other newbie MDS coordinator found one and they thought it was great. I am sure there are more out there. I think they were TrainingInMotion.org. Good luck to you.