Health Education Specialists Career Video
Description: Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles. Use data to identify community needs prior to planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies, and environments. May link health systems, health providers, insurers, and patients to address individual and population health needs. May serve as resource to assist individuals, other health professionals, or the community, and may administer fiscal resources for health education programs.
Video Transcript
To community health workers and educators, your health is their business. They build healthy communities by educating and advocating for individuals and groups to meet their wellness needs. Community health professionals improve access to health information and care; they perform basic diagnostic procedures, attend community meetings, refer people to health services, collect information on the wellness concerns of the local community, and teach programs to address health issues. They work for hospitals, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, doctors’ offices, private businesses, and colleges. They may conduct research and develop educational programs on themes such as proper nutrition, immunizations, HIV/AIDs, stress management, or emergency preparedness. Community health workers and educators often work full time, and often travel locally to distribute materials and attend community meetings. Key qualities for these workers include communication skills, compassion, patience, and dependability. Job requirements vary, especially for the relatively new field of community health work. A related bachelor’s degree, or a Certified Health Education Specialist credential may be helpful; some health educator positions require a graduate degree.