Example Career: Health Education Specialists

Career Description

Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles. Collect and analyze data to identify community needs prior to planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies and environments. May serve as a resource to assist individuals, other healthcare workers or the community, and may administer fiscal resources for health education programs.

What Job Titles Health Education Specialists Might Have

• Clinical Instructor
• Health Educator
• Health Promotion Specialist
• Public Health Educator

What Health Education Specialists Do

• Develop and present health education and promotion programs, such as training workshops, conferences, and school or community presentations.
• Develop and maintain cooperative working relationships with agencies and organizations interested in public health care.
• Develop educational materials and programs for community agencies, local government, and state government.
• Prepare and distribute health education materials, such as reports, bulletins, and visual aids, to address smoking, vaccines, and other public health concerns.
• Supervise professional and technical staff in implementing health programs, objectives, and goals.
• Document activities and record information, such as the numbers of applications completed, presentations conducted, and persons assisted.
• Collaborate with health specialists and civic groups to determine community health needs and the availability of services and to develop goals for meeting needs.
• Provide guidance to agencies and organizations on assessment of health education needs and on development and delivery of health education programs.
• Maintain databases, mailing lists, telephone networks, and other information to facilitate the functioning of health education programs.
• Design and conduct evaluations and diagnostic studies to assess the quality and performance of health education programs.
• Develop operational plans and policies necessary to achieve health education objectives and services.
• Provide program information to the public by preparing and presenting press releases, conducting media campaigns, or maintaining program-related Web sites.
• Design and administer training programs for new employees and continuing education for existing employees.
• Develop, conduct, or coordinate health needs assessments and other public health surveys.
• Develop, prepare, and coordinate grant applications and grant-related activities to obtain funding for health education programs and related work.
• Develop and maintain health education libraries to provide resources for staff and community agencies.

What Health Education Specialists Should Be Good At

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

What Health Education Specialists Should Be Interested In

• Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
• Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

What Health Education Specialists Need to Learn

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.