1. Tom Carnaghi
Professional Philosophy
B.K.S.Iyengar,anintellectual andspiritualman,once said,“Yourbodyis yourtemple.Keepitpure andcleanfor
the soul to reside in.”Thisquote resonatesstronglywiththe importance of healthinourdaily lives.Healthismade upof
manycategoriesandeach categoryhas a different,yetimportanteffectonone’soverall wellness.These categoriesof
healthinclude,social,mental,emotional,environmental,physical,occupational,andfinancialhealth.Inordertohave
wellnessinlife,anindividual mustbe able touse, andkeepall of these aspectshealthy.Mostindividualscannotachieve
wellnessontheirown,andmayrequire healtheducationtoenhance certainareasof health. A newerindustrythat
needstobe addressedwithhealthisthe effecttechnologycanhave onsomeone’swellness,aswell asthe health
educationfieldingeneral. Healtheducationisteachingpeople the skills toexcelinthese qualitiesof health,inorderto
improve theirwellness andoverall qualityof life. Healtheducatorsmustuse healthbasedtheories,aswell asimplement
the Standardsand Areasof Responsibility inordertobe successful andethical intheirprofession.
Healtheducationisa veryimportantprofession,andisusedtohelppeoplestrengthenareasof theiroverall
well-being.Itisimportantforprofessional healtheducatorstoobtainabachelor’sdegree,aswell aspursue other
credentialssuchasa master’sdegree and othercertifications.Itiscrucial that whenahealtheducatorisworkingwith
the communityoran individual thattheyuse developedreasoningfromtheoriesandmodelstobeginthe processof
teachinghealth.Healtheducationisnota “one and done”deal,asit requiresmanydifferentactions tochange the
lifestyle’sof others.One mustalsoconsiderthe differentbarriersorsituationsthatthe studentsare in,because thatwill
playa factor in howtheycomprehendandimplementthe health informationbeingtaughttothem.It ishelpful if health
educatorsand parentscan laydowna base for healthandappreciationof the bodyandmindat a youngage.Health
educationandpromotioniscrucial to the healthof the community, andournation’sfuture.
The SocietyforPublicHealthEducation(SOPHE),hasa missionstatementthatexemplifiesthe importance of the
healtheducationprofession: “A healthyworldthroughhealth education.”Ihope tojointhisorganization aswell asthe
AmericanPublicHealthAssociation(APHA) anduse the toolsthey offertoadvance mycareer. I will alsouse my
knowledge of communityhealth andconveythatto the public,and I will utilize the skillsandtalents learnedfrommy
educationcareer.Iwill receive aBachelor’sdegree inPublicHealthandCommunityHealth Education,aMaster’sin
PublicHealth,and possiblyaMaster’sof BusinessAdministrationdownthe road. Ihope tosomedaywork ina hospital,
coordinatingthe activitiesandmissionof thathospital toincrease the healthof the community. Iwill learn many
importantskillsfrommyeducation,butevenmore skill will come fromexperience throughinternships,aswell as
startingmy career.My knowledge will onlygrowdownthe roadas gain experience andcredentialsand continue to work
to become a betterhealtheducator. Ihave some special talentsthatInclude people skills,persuasiveness,and
persistence I will use tocontribute tothe healtheducation andhealthpromotionworld.
A goodhealtheducatormustbe someone whoisnotafraidto advocate for the well-beingof others.Whether
thisbe a studentwhoisundergoinghardtimes,someone strugglingwithpoverty,orwhateverthe situationmaybe,a
professionalhealtheducatorwill worktohelpimprovethe lifeof thisindividual.A healtheducator mustalsobe a
promotorof health,notonlythrough teaching,butasa role model.The oldsaying,“doas I say, notas I do,” isa perfect
example,butmostpeoplebeingtaughtwouldliketosee the teacherexemplifythese behaviors. Personally, Istrive to
be healthyinmylife throughmydiet,exercise,behaviors,andvalues.A healtheducatormustuse theirvaluestoconvey
healthybeliefsabouteverythinginthisworld:frompersonalhealth,tocommunityhealth,tothe healthof thisnation.
The emergence andchangesof manydifferentformsof technologyinthe lasttenyearsare monumental and
the healtheducationandhealthpromotionworldneedstotake thisinformationanduse ittoimprove the field.First,
there isa website called Udemy thatisa cheapway that anyone canlearnabout almostanytopicquickly,credibly,and
on theirowntime.Itisalso verycheapand veryeasyto use.If healtheducatorscouldworktogethertoputa heavy
amountof coursesonthat resource,thenwe can create an easywayto teach people all overthe worldgoodhealth
skills.Appsshouldalsobe usedmore toteachandtrack peopleshealthybehaviors. MyFitnessPalisa greatexample of a
healthrelatedappthatallowspeople totrackdietandexercise andisveryeasytouse.If healtheducatorscansee the
importance of technologyandimplementitintothe field,Ithinkwe couldsee greatchangesinthe nearfuture tothe
healtheducationandhealthpromotionworld.

2. The values andhealthskillsthatare taughtby healtheducators mustcoincide withthe standardsandareasof
responsibilities of healtheducators.The eightNational HealthEducationStandardsteachpeople tocomprehend
concepts,analyze influences,accessvalidinformation,use communication,make decisions,setgoals,avoidrisks,and
advocate for others.These aspectsof healtheducationare crucial toindividual health,aswell ascommunityhealth.The
National CommissionforHealthEducationCredentialinghassevenareasof responsibilitiesand competenciesforhealth
educators.These include assessment,planning,implementingprograms,andresearching.Itisalsothe responsibilityof a
healtheducationprofessional toserve asa resource forthe community,aswell as an advocate forhealtheducation,
promotion,andthe healtheducationprofession.
In conclusion, healtheducatorshave manyresponsibilities.Througheducation,training,andexperience,they
can become a professionalandteachpeople inthe communitythe importance of treatingtheirbodieslike atemple. Itis
veryimportantto teachchildrenthese behaviorsfromayoungage,inorderto create a lastingchange inour world.
Healthcan positivelyimpact manythingsinaperson’slife andif we canimprove the healthinthe areasof ournation
that are belowpar,we will see greatchangesinourcountry.It wouldbe greatif we couldstart to make changesinother
countriesthathave much worse healththanthe UnitedStates, bycreatingimpactsontheirhealthprograms. For
example,if we couldlowerthe maternal deathrate inSudan,thatwouldcreate manyotheropportunitiesinthat
country.A healtheducatormustuse hisvaluesandbeliefs,alongwiththe standardsandareasof responsibilitiesto
teachpeople the necessaryhealthskillsinorderforthemtoachieve wellnessinlife. We mustalsoworktouse the
emergence of technologyandthe popularityof social mediatoenhance the field. Iaspire tomake a difference inthe
healthof people all overthiscountry andthe restof the world throughoutmyprofessionalcareer.