Become a Health Teacher in District of Columbia - DC

By Kathy Foust, allied health world contributing writer
Published: February, 11 2010

Health Education in Washington, D.C.

Those who wish to pursue a career in health education can begin by deciding on the specific elements of health education they are most interested in. Interested parties should expect to be gain knowledge through traditional educational means as well as hands on experience. The reason for this is that health educators are normally licensed or certified in the field of their expertise so that they are not only able to educate in the area, but also able to perform the functions that they are educating on. For this reason, individuals should plan to first pursue the area of interest first before considering how to pursue the ability to educate in that area.

Once the area of interest is determined, the individual can best serve themselves by contacting the District of Columbia Department of Health or the District of Columbia Health Professional Administration. Both of these facilities will be able to provide the individual with information specific to the needs of the field of their interest. In this way the interested individual may be able to learn about certification and licensing requirements for their field as well as particular job openings and areas of high need within the region.

Health educator careers in Washington, DC begin after earning a bachelor’s degree.  This allows for provisional certification while completing a master’s program in health education.  Students enrolling in such a program should be sure to check that the program is accredited. After enrollment and successful completion of said program, the student will be eligible to apply for certification and/or licensure through the District of Columbia Professional Administration, Department of Health. Once the individual is certified or licensed, there may be additional requirements to be met in order to actually educate in the field instead of simply practicing in the field. These requirements may include further schooling, training and certification checkpoints along with any other applicable requirements to be determined by the licensing agency.

District of Columbia Department of Health
825 North Capitol Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 442-5955

Health Professional Administration
Department of Health
717 14th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 724-4900