Joanna Hayden

Mentoring: Help With Climbing the Career Ladder:

Health Promotion Practice July 2006 Vol. 7, No. 3, 289-292 DOI: 10.1177/1524839906289269 ©2006 Society for Public Health Education In the July 2001 issue of this journal, Denard Goldman and Schmalz discussed mentoring in Tools of the Trade. Indeed, mentoring is a tool of the trade. Perhaps, it is one of the more important tools, as it helps to support the career development of our new professionals. Mentoring is not a new tool. It has been around for ages, dating back to Homer’s Odyssey. As the story goes, while Odysseus (aka Ulysses) prepared to go to war with the Trojans, he realized that while he was away fighting, he would need someone to take care of, guide, and advise his young son, Telemachus. So, Odysseus arranged for his son to meet his close friend and advisor, Mentor (Tobin, 2004). Just as Odysseus thought, a relationship developed between Mentor and Telemachus, and as they say, the rest is history. Odysseus’s idea to match an older, wiser, more experienced person with a young, inexperienced one has withstood the test of time. Today, mentoring programs abound. Government agencies and corporations have mentoring programs for new employees. Colleges and universities have mentoring programs for new faculty as well as for new students. In public service professions, such as teaching and nursing, mentoring is becoming more and more commonplace and is often a key element of orientation into these professions (Colley, 2002). Our own organization, SOPHE, has recognized the importance of mentoring and offers it for new professionals, new members, and those first-time attendees at national meetings.

Multiple Choices for Certification

When we think of career advancement, we often think of additional formal education—another degree. However, returning to school is not always feasible and sometimes not appropriate. Instead, certification may be the way to go. Certification is a means by which a nongovernmental agency or association grants recognition to an individual who has met certain predetermined qualifications (National Council on Accreditation for Teacher Education, 2004). Any discussion of certification for health educators obviously includes certification as a health education specialist (CHES). But in addition to CHES, there are a whole host of other certifications health educators can acquire (Table 1). They include, but are not limited to Asthma Educator—Certified (AE-C), Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE), Certified Health/Fitness Instructor, Certified Prevention Specialist (CPS), Certified Sexuality Educator, and Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE). Information on other certifications and links to the certifying agencies can be found on the Internet. Two Web sites of particular value are Certification Finder at www.careertools.org and the National Organization for Competency Assurance at www. noca.org. CERTIFIED HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST (CHES)

Textbook Writing: A Form of Professional Development

Health educators have an ethical obligation to participate in professional development. Such professional development can take many different forms including writing textbooks. This article provides a rationale why textbook writing is professional development, why professionals might take on the task of writing a textbook, how the process evolves, and how professionals who are not quite ready to write a book can prepare to do so in the future.

The condom race.

The condom race is a hands-on activity that can help teach young people condom use as part of safer sex practices. Although it is well documented that students know about condom use, they often do not do what they know they should. One possible explanation for this is that the students may lack the skills and confidence they need to have when they use condoms. The condom race offers students a chance to gain skills and confidence in a humorous, nonthreatening way. During the exercise, which is based on the concept of a relay race, students touch, feel, and practice putting condoms on penis models. After participating in the activity, students reported increased confidence in their ability to use, discuss, and carry condoms. The condom race is a quick, amusing, and easy activity.

Prepared for Certification: Senior Health Education Majors' Perceived Competencies

Abstract As of September, 1990, certification as a health education specialist requires meeting eligibility criteria and passing a written examination. This study examined the extent to which senior health education majors assessed themselves to be competent in the generic skills of health education covered in the certification examination. Results indicate that the students, in general, assessed themselves to be moderately competent in generic skills. They perceived themselves to be most competent in assessing health education needs and least competent in acting as a resource person in health education. Results of this study, in general, may be of use to new graduates preparing for the certification examination. Identification of personal strengths and weaknesses in the generic health education competencies, through self-assessment, also may be of benefit

Taking the Path Less Traveled: The Nontraditional Doctorate

There are a number of options available for those who wish to pursue a doctoral degree. In addition to the traditional method of attending classes at a brick and mortar institution, this article describes two of those options. One is a combination of the traditional and nontraditional Internet and on-line approach. The other is a nontraditional route to the doctorate that is completely Internet based. Both options haves merits and suit different people for different reasons. This article describes each of these alternative routes to the doctorate through the words and experiences of two professionals who have followed paths less traveled.

Professional Development in Retirement: The Top Rung on the Career Ladder

Retirement means different things to different people. For some, it is the endless summer, for others the freedom to travel down a new career path. For all, it is a time of significant change. Three prominent “retired” health educators share with us their retirement expectations, realities, and advice.

The ABC’s of Health Education Degrees:

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES Although everyone who holds a bachelor’s degree knows whether it is a bachelor of arts (BA) or a bachelor of science (BS), most (if not all) would be hard pressed to explain the difference between the two. This is not surprising. Most academicians would probably struggle to differentiate the two degrees as well. Although it would seem apparent that the difference between the two degrees is related to the science requirements, that is not the case at all. Historically, the BA is the older of the two degrees and has been viewed as more prestigious. This distinction is born from the belief that a classical education is better than a scientific one (Spurr, 1970). Thus, it is most often conferred in the humanities and requires slightly more general education courses (Levine, 1978) and a language (Spurr, 1970). The BS is likely to require more courses in the major, fewer electives, and a minor and/or thesis (Levine, 1978). It is most frequently offered in the natural sciences. In health education, both the BA and the BS degrees are awarded, with both degree programs being essentially the same. As in other disciplines, differentiation between the two has become virtually impossible. Undergraduate preparation generally consists of a solid general education component that includes some foundation in the hard sciences (chemistry, biology, mathematics, etc.) that supports discipline-specific content and skills courses. The Society for Public Health Education/American Association for Health Education (SABPAC) offers approval to undergraduate preparation programs on a voluntary basis. Approval results from an extensive self-study and an external site team review and denotes that a program has met standards for entry-level preparation recognized by the profession. Program reapproval is required every 5 years. A listing of these programs is available on SOPHE’s Web site (http:// www.sophe.org).

Ascending the Career Ladder, With Dr. Jay Bernhardt

There are many options available for enhancing ones career, including acquiring further education, obtaining certifications, learning new tools of the trade, and writing for publication, to name just a few. Over the years, many of these have been addressed in this journal. One that has not is career development through studying successful careers of others. For the first career case study, the authors are delighted to present Dr. Jay Bernhardt, director of the National Center for Health Marketing at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.