Week One Journal – Competencies

Each week of this course, you will be reviewing and reflecting upon  the national competencies for health education specialists. There are  seven areas of responsibility that you will review in depth each week  through your reflective journal entry.

Visit the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (NCHEC) website and download a copy of the Areas of Responsibility for Health Education Specialists (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..  This document is considered “The Bible” for health educators as it  shows the competencies that are firmly established as the national  standards for the field. All total, there are 258 sub-competencies  organized into 36 competencies within seven major areas of  responsibility.

For Week One, you will focus on Area 1: Assess Needs, Resources and  Capacity for Health Education/Promotion. This area contains seven  competencies and multiple sub-competencies, which are listed in the PDF  document (from 1.1 to 1.7.5). As a health educator, you will need to  become proficient in these areas to obtain and retain a successful  career. In your journal this week, review the Area 1  competency/sub-competency list and address the following:

• What competencies/sub-competencies do you already understand and which ones are new to you?
• Which ones do you think will be the hardest to learn and perform? Why?
• Which ones do you think will be the easiest to learn and perform? Why?
• Beyond school (i.e. book learning), what do you think will be the best way to help you personally become proficient at these competencies?

Your journal entry may be a PowerPoint presentation, video,  screencast, or a typed document. You will submit your work through  Waypoint. No APA formatting is necessary.  If you use a video or screencast, please make sure you  copy the link onto a Word document and then upload the document. This is  reflection work and the goal is to critically look at the competencies  as well as your insights and beliefs into how they fit into the health  educator’s daily routine. There are no right or wrong answers; this is  pure personal reflection.