Description
Electing to pursue a career where you serve the community through the promotion of health and well-being is a noble cause. In seeking to establish healthy behavior, you will likely encounter both rewarding and challenging experiences. In practice, you will likely implement programs aimed at different populations and in different settings to address various health issues. The strategies and methodologies that you will employ in these different settings will require you to demonstrate your skills as well as uphold the standards of practice as set forth by professional organizations.
For this Discussion, review the Learning Resources for this week. Reflect on where you would like to work as a health educator, including which target population you are most interested in helping. Consider the skills or qualities you believe are most important for health educators to possess when working in this setting or with this population. Then research and select two professional organizations that may provide opportunities for developing the skills and knowledge needed to work in this capacity.
Post a description of where you would like to work as a health educator and explain why. Describe a target setting or population that you are interested in working with and explain which skills or knowledge of health educators are most important for working with this population and setting. Then, describe two professional organizations that may best assist you in developing skills and knowledge to work in this capacity. Be specific and provide examples.
Required readings
Cottrell, R. R., Girvan, J. T., Seabert, D., Spear, C., & McKenzie, J. F. (2018). Principles and foundations of health promotion and education (7th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Benjamin Cummings.
- Chapter 7, “The Settings for Health Education/Promotion”
- Chapter 8, “Agencies, Associations, and Organizations Associated With Health Education/Promotion”
American Public Health Association. (2014). Public health and health promotion. Retrieved from https://www.apha.org/apha-communities/member-secti…
Eta Sigma Gamma. (2014). National health education honorary—Home. Retrieved from http://etasigmagamma.org/
Society for Public Health Education. (n.d.). About SOPHE. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://sophe.org/about.cfmhttps://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/health-educators.htm
https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes211091.htm
The Importance of Professional Organizations
Program Transcript
SLOANE BURKE: Professional organizations are so key to young professionals,
as well as seasoned professionals, in public health and health education.
ELAINE AULD: Especially for students starting out. So critical to their
professional development and eventual opportunities to move forward in their
careers. To get networked in a professional organization.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SLOANE BURKE: Our top two organizations in public health are the American
Public Health Association, where if you attend a conference, you may be with
15,000 to 20,000 public health professionals from a variety of disciplines. But
with the main goal of learning more about public health, whether it’s through
continuing education, attending professional presentations, somebody sharing
their research outcomes, or actually, there’s plenty of networking opportunities.
So everything is included with that.
So it’s important to stay involved in professional organizations, such as APHA, or
SOPHE, the Society of Public Health Education.
ELAINE AULD: I’m the CEO of the Society for Public Health Education. It’s a
position that I have felt privileged to hold for about the last 17, now going on 18
years. SOPHE was founded in 1950. Our mission is to provide global leadership
to the profession of health education and to promote the health of society.
We do that primarily through four avenues. One is professional preparation and
standards. SOPHE and the National Commission for Health Education
credentially developed the competencies that are used as the foundation for
training and professional preparation programs, including Walden, I’m sure, as
well as that’s used in the field for continuing education.
We have over 250 professional preparation programs in health education, and
we are involved in overseeing the quality assurance of those programs. Ensuring
that they are accredited or promoting the accreditation, both in school and
community health education.
Another avenue that SOPHE is a leader in and why we are, I think, the
preeminent organization in health education is advancing research and practice.
We have two professional journals– peer review journals– that are basically the
mecca for those to publish in the field about what the cutting edge research is,
and then used by health educators in their practice to make sure that the
programs that they’re planning are evidenced-based and effective.
©2014 Laureate Education, Inc.
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The Importance of Professional Organizations
And we’re now starting at third journal, “Pedagogy in Health Promotion: The
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.” Again, a benefit to all of our members.
We offer conferences such as the Sophie 65th annual meeting. At a discounted
rate, members are able to attend. We offer full range of scholarships and awards.
And another reason that I think it’s important to be a member of Sophie is
because we are the advocate for the profession and for the public’s health. We’re
based in Washington, DC. We’re the only health education organization that is in
Washington, DC. Very close to Capitol Hill. We have a full-time policy director
that advocates for us on policy issues.
We offer a career connection for all of our members to have access to jobs and
internships. The full range of opportunities and health education. A one-stop
shop.
Sophie, in particular, being a fairly small organization compared to some of our
big sisters. In a field of 4,000 to 5,000 people, you can really get to develop very
close relationships. And some of my best– very best personal friends that I’ve
made over the years are people that I’ve started out with 20 years ago in
SOPHE.
JODY EARLY: And, as students, I think it’s important to get involved. Because
not only will you receive a discount– a severely discounted rate, but you’ll get
connected to the community, and opportunities will open. And it’s a way for you
to also come, and in a very non-intimidating way, receive some feedback about
your research ideas or about what you’re doing in the community. It’s a nice way
to build your social network and your professional network as well.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The Importance of Professional Organizations
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The Importance of Professional Organizations
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