Discussion: The Role of the Public Health Educator
How have public health education efforts touched your own life or that of your family or friends? Have these efforts improved your quality of life, increased your personal wellness, or even addressed broad social issues that impact you? Every day, public health education makes a positive contribution to the lives of millions. Public health educators are frequently a driving force behind these beneficial outcomes. What, then, are the roles of public health educators? What skills and competencies do public health educators need in order to fulfill these roles?
To prepare for this Discussion:
- Review the role of the public health educator as discussed in Chapter 1 of the Cottrell, Girvan, and McKenzie course text. Consider the role of the public health educator in promoting public health.
- Explore public health education job boards such as those listed in this week’s Learning Resources: American Public Health Association (APHA) CareerMart, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health Employment Connection, or Walden University Job and Internship Search. Evaluate the skills that employers require for public health educators.
- Complete the Seven Area of Responsibility: Self-Assessment Activity and reflect upon the results. The Self-Assessment Activity is located in the Learning Resources.
- Consider the job outlook for health educators/health education specialists.
By Day 4
Post a comprehensive response to the following:
- Summarize your reflection on the self-assessment activities. Comment on skills and competencies you would like to further develop based on your results
- A brief analysis of the role of the public health educator within the field of public health addressing the three prompts above
- A rationale for what you consider to be the three most important skills and/or competencies required of public health educators
- Which of these skillsets do you feel you have? Which would you like to improve on?
Support your posting with information from the Learning Resources. Be sure to cite references in APA format.
