Health Educator Characteristics Quiz

Study Notes

Health Educator Characteristics

A health educator promotes, maintains, and improves individual and community health by assisting individuals and communities to adopt healthy behaviors.
Health educators collect and analyze community needs data prior to planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies, and environments.
They may also serve as a resource to people, other professionals, or the community and administer funding for health education programs.

Personal Characteristics

Competent
Communicator
Confident
Caring
Enthusiastic
Flexible
Perceives the value of time
Professional appearance
Sense of humor
Leader
Self-control-not easily upset
Organized
Good observer
Self-confident
Cheerful, optimistic
Friendly in relations with patients
Physically and mentally fit
Fair and objective in patient treatment
Respectful of colleagues
Emotionally stable
Anticipates individual needs
Demonstrates consistency in teaching

Professional Characteristics

Competent:
- Content competence: Knowledgeable about their topic, presenting complete and accurate information.
- Skillful: Masters the content, demonstrates skills expertly to learners
- Decision-maker: Determines the important aspects to teach.
- Effective teacher: Has experience in technology (related to nursing) and educational media. Teaches home management for special problems
Pedagogical competent:
- Effective helping patient: Helps patients achieve desired objectives.
- Adept: Aware of alternative teaching methods and strategies
- Flexible: Adaptable in selecting and implementing teaching methods.
- Communicator: Communicates objectives to patients.
- Enviroment provider: Provides an appropriate learning environment and prepares appropriate teaching materials.
- Ensures safety: Ensures patient safety while alleviating anxiety and providing individualized written instructions. Generates questions to engage learners.
- Monitors understanding: Monitors learner understanding and provides appropriate feedback.
Culturally Sensitive:
- Understand the patient's culture: Understands core values, beliefs, and customs.
- Develop culturally appropriate materials: Develop materials in the patient's native language.
Ethically Committed:
- Supports informed decision-making: Supports the right of individuals to make informed decisions.
- Communicates potential consequences: Communicates the potential benefits and consequences of services.
- Fair & objective: Treats patients and clients fairly and objectively, regardless of nationality or culture
- Active participation: Respects the right of individuals to be actively involved in the educational process.
- Truthful communication: Provides truthful information to patients.
- Maintains confidentiality: Maintains confidentiality about patient information, except in specified instances (e.g., suspected suicide, infectious diseases, legislative requirements).

Communication Skills

Empathy: Identifies with another person's feelings, is sensitive to patient feelings/problems, remains objective.
Use validation: Actively listens and responds congruently to assure shared understanding of a problem/issue.
Caring: Exhibits emotional involvement between the nurse and the client.
Active listening: Includes hearing and interpreting both verbal and nonverbal cues.
Use of silence: A valuable communication tool.

Teaching Methods

One-way/didactic: Lecture, films, charts, exhibits, flashcards.
General approach: TV, radio, news paper, printed material, posters, films
Role of the nurse as health educator: Combines clinical abilities with assessments, planning, and developing health education programs. Implements and conducts research. Presents at nursing conferences and facilitates education. Promotes partnership with individuals and communities