How to Become a Health Educator

A heath educator is employed by hospitals, public health facilities and other medical care settings to help educate patients about their health. Health educators teach classes about nutrition, diabetes, how to cease smoking and even childbirth education. If you like working with people and have no problem with public speaking, this may be a good career path for you.

Instructions

1. Go to college. You can actually get your BA or BS (Bachelor or Arts or Bachelors of Science) in health education, if your college offers it.

2. Get certified as a health educator or as CHES (certified health educator specialist). Certification is probably a requirement by your employer. In order to get certified you will need to have graduated with a degree in health education (or the equivalent) from an accredited school. You will also need to have passed an examination or a series of examinations, depending on the state you live in.

3. Consider getting your Masters Degree in public health. Many employers now require this degree in their health educators.

4. Stay up-to-date on all changes to the health education field you specialize in. If you teach classes on stopping smoking or nutrition, you must stay informed about changes to these fields in order to teach effective classes.

5. Be prepared to work with a group of other health educators to promote health education and its benefits.

Resources

• National Commission for Health Education, Credentialing Inc.
• Go to Health Careers Center for more information.