Spiritual_Wellness_Holistic_Health_and_the_Practic

64 Philosophical Foundations of Health Education
Here is one writer ’ s version (Cox & Hoover, 1992) of the ten commandments of
leadership. I think they describe how a health educator becomes personally powerful:
1. cultivate a high standard of personal ethics;
2. maintain a high level of energy (don’ t get worn out by the petty issues, but trust
your own judgment on these and see the big picture);
3. know what your working priorities are so you can remain stable under pressure;
4. have courage (isn’ t it the Marines who say, “ do what you fear or fear will be
in charge ”);
5. have commitment and dedication (no one ever worked himself to death on a job
he loved);
6. go with the urge to create because innovators own the future;
7. have a goal;
8. maintain enthusiasm (this is mostly important because it ’ s contagious);
9. stay level - headed, which means see things as they really are, not as you wish
they were;
10. help others to grow — an open exchange of ideas leads to synergy and synergy
means change.
As health education leaders, what should we do to meet the future with confidence?
A 1992 paper by ASTDPHE president Brick Lancaster presented some ideas.
In it he stated that a fundamental task for health education is to close the gap between
practice and research. In brief, he recommended that we create many kinds of opportunities
for researchers and practitioners to talk to each other and influence each others ’
work. He recommended that practitioners give up their anti - intellectual ways and
utilize findings from health education research more often and more effectively. He
recommended that researchers forego their “ we ’ re too sophisticated for you ” attitude
and develop research that is more based on realities as they exist in the communities
we ’ re supposed to be serving. He gave examples of ways in which practitioners and
researchers have forged collaborations and both groups have benefited. He also suggested
that we create a national health education agenda perhaps by establishing a
public and private partnership of academic, government, voluntary, and private organizations.
This is a great idea, and I would recommend a technology subcommittee.
Why not establish advanced technology groups: collaborations between researchers
and practitioners that emphasize how people can use technology to learn. We need
a group to (1) identify promising technology; (2) rethink existing paradigms for education
and explore how various forms of technology could transform the way things
are done now; (3) share the vision broadly in the field of health education; (4) anticipate
consequences of use of technology and find ways to reduce any potentially negative