From Gloria McNair...
I’ve been a Community Outreach
Health Educator for three years; however, I’ve been a member of the MCH Family
Planning Team for six years. Prior to working at the Health Department, I was
an Environmental Health Officer for the U.S. Navy where my specialty was
Preventive Medicine. After retirement, I wanted to find a job that would
provide the same level of satisfaction in serving the community.
In thinking about what I’m most
excited about with my work, this is going to sound corny but I enjoy all
aspects of the project. Our teens and young adults are the country’s future.
That future can be so much brighter and filled with promise if they are allowed
to make informed decisions regarding their health. Working with our Peer Health
Advocates (PHA) gives me the opportunity to provide positive, factual and
appropriate information to a community of at-risk young adults.
The biggest challenge ahead is
that our PHAs are from the Faith-based community. Learning to speak openly
about Sexual and Reproductive Health presented some challenges for the group as
a whole. They have started to come out of their shells but I do know that they
will need my continued mentoring.
As far as my favorite resources, honestly
what has helped me the most is training from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention on the Diffusion of Evidence Based Interventions; especially the Popular
Opinion Leader (POL) intervention which we are now using in our project.
From Autumn Gaines...
I am a recent hire with the
Florida Department of Health in Duval County under Maternal and Child Health
Division as the Community Assistance Specialist for Every Woman Southeast. In the process of completing my Bachelor of
Science in Health degree I found myself in an unusual place. I felt as if I was missing the hands-on training,
the ability to put my knowledge and skills to the test. Not long after I received a mass e-mail for a
volunteer position with the former Duval County Health Department as an
educator to adolescent males about sexual health, STDs, HIV/AIDS, etc. I have
volunteered with the health department since December 2011. Early May of this year, I received an e-mail
for a current position as the Community Assistance Specialist. After a
successful panel interview, within a week I received a phone call and later a
letter in the mail congratulating me as a new member of the Florida Department
of Health in Duval County team.
The most excitement I get from
this job is being in the community speaking with individuals and groups on the
importance of physical health, unplanned pregnancy prevention, and disease
prevention. When you are in the field
trying to understand the community’s way of thinking, what provokes their
actions (good or bad), you learn how to cater the message to their personal
needs, which ultimately leads to one less person becoming a part of a negative
health statistic.
I believe my biggest challenge will be getting acclimated
with the transition into taking a more lead role with the different churches of
Every Woman Southeast Peer Education for the Soul. Other than that, I am excited about working
with the peer health advocates and influential leaders in the church.
Throughout the public health program at the University of
North Florida I was exposed to many great resources. For instance, scholarly/peer-reviewed
health journals (American Association for Health Education), websites (Center
for Disease Control and Prevention, The National Program to Prevent Teen and
Unplanned Pregnancy, and Healthy People), and research databases (CINAHL:
Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health), which I definitely recommend to
others.
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