Health Educator
Health Educator Overview
Health educators promote health and wellbeing in individuals and communities by educating the importance of preventive care, providing information about particular conditions, or helping identify obstacles in an effort to change potentially harmful behavior. Some of the most popular topics health educators deal with are proper nutrition, exercise, correct ways to prevent against sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, and necessary lifestyle changes to prevent future illness.
Heath education is a broad field with many opportunities. Other positions that fall under this umbrella are counselors, social workers, psychologists, and teachers. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 5 out of 10 health educators work in healthcare and social assistance, and 2 out of 10 work in state and local government.
Health educators are skilled public speakers and must have the ability to communicate with individuals of various age groups and ethnic backgrounds. Due to this, fluency in a foreign language is a major plus and will help you connect with a wider group of people. Beyond giving speeches, it is the job of a health education to design and implement programs that will have a lasting effect on public health.
Health educators work in a variety of environments, but common placement for these specialists include schools, hospitals, and private and public facilities. In a hospital environment, health educators develop precautionary and rehabilitation programs providing information to patients on the hospitals medical services, childbirth classes, or therapy measures.
Private agencies like Planned Parenthood and American Red Cross hire educators to run add campaigns for them and speak with the individuals they care for in an effort to make sure that they understand how to prevent various health problems.
Health Educator Training & Education
Individuals interested in becoming a health educator are required to have a bachelor’s degree in health education from an accredited university. Most university programs include coursework in psychology, research, and human development. As always, a master’s degree is required if an individual desires to gain more depth in a specialized area, or have a greater earning potential.
Most schools and public health departments require individuals to be certified. The National Commission of Health Education Credentialing, Inc. offers a certification program for those seeking to advance their career or meet the requirement of the location they choose to work in. The Commission also requires individuals to continue taking workshops and seminars to complete 75 hours of tutorials over a 5-year period. Community colleges also offer certification programs.
Obtaining a master’s degree is a good idea if you decide to specialize in a certain area or advance to a management position. Many universities offer a master’s of arts, science, education, and public health degree programs.
Health Educator Salary & Career Outlook
Employment in health education is expected to increase by 26 percent by the year 2016. The median annual earnings of health educators is between $41,000 to $60,000 with the highest 10 percent earning more than $70,000, and the lowest 10 percent earning $24,750. Here is a breakdown of the various incomes for health educators:
General medical and surgical hospitals |
$40,890 |
State government |
$33,100 |
Local government |
$32,420 |
Outpatient care centers |
$27,530 |
Individual and family services |
$25,760 |
As the cost of healthcare continues to rise, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts there will be a strong demand for health educators. Many government programs and insurance companies are employing health educators in an effort to teach preventative healthcare, thus stopping illnesses before they become a huge financial burden. Moreover, with diseases such as HIV, heart disease, and skin cancer starting to be more prevalent, it is becoming immensely important that people understand how to properly protect themselves against these life threatening conditions.
