Easy as PIE: A Recipe for Approaching the Areas of Responsibility and Competencies for Health Education Specialists

Abstract

Nearly four decades later, the Seven Areas of Responsibility and associated Competencies common to all entry-level health education specialists were outlined, leading to the founding of the NCHEC in 1988 and the first certification exam for health education specialists in 1990 (NCHEC, 1996). The Framework for the health education model of professional practice was updated in 2015, which retained the Seven Areas of Responsibility with 36 competencies further classified into 258 subcompetencies (NCHEC & SOPHE, 2015). These updates to competencies and exams, as well as achieving and maintaining nationally accredited programs for both entry-and advanced-level health education specialist certifications occurred through the efforts of the NCHEC, SOPHE, American Association for Health Education (AAHE), and partners such as the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH;