Reasons to Get a Master’s in Health Education
Why Healthcare Professionals Should Consider a Master's in Education
The healthcare field offers a truly exciting opportunity, which is the chance to support and empower patients. Many professionals find this field deeply meaningful and take great pride in their clinical contributions.
There are many other ways to make a positive difference as a healthcare professional, but not everybody will remain committed to clinical work indefinitely. Giving back may also mean helping other clinical professionals achieve their full potential, and this is where healthcare education can make all the difference.
Educators advance the healthcare field by sharing their expertise and helping other passion-driven professionals follow in their footsteps. They draw on years of experience while integrating a newly developed skill set – the instructional abilities that allow them to connect with and inspire their students. These abilities are best gained through graduate-level education, which links instructional theories and techniques to clinical practices, all while encouraging aspiring educators to embrace their own unique talents and perspectives.
Ready to expand your influence and elevate your career? The right degree could get this exciting journey off to a strong start. Below, we will explain, why get a master's in education? Keep reading to discover the benefits of an education degree and the opportunities for building education into your healthcare career path.
The Intersection of Healthcare and Education
Healthcare and education are closely linked. Yes, they may involve different settings and distinct skill sets, but both share a spirit of service and commitment to improving the lives of others. These areas can influence one another. Clinical professionals, for example, may educate patients on diagnoses or treatment plans, while educators may incorporate health literacy into their curricula.
With healthcare education, these areas are even more closely intertwined, with educators drawing on their background in the healthcare sector to prepare future clinical professionals to provide quality care. These educators must possess not only high-level instructional skills, but also in-depth clinical knowledge so that they provide accurate and tailored training.
What Is a Master's in Health Education?
The master's in health education is a career-focused graduate program that explores educational concepts and opportunities in the context of the healthcare field. This degree highlights today's most influential pedagogical philosophies and techniques, revealing what it takes to equip future healthcare professionals with clinical competencies, not to mention soft skills such as critical thinking. Through exposure to widely applicable instructional concepts, this program can also help students learn to more effectively educate patients and community members.
How a Master's in Education Complements a Healthcare Career
So, why get a master's in education? Simply put, this degree can enhance your healthcare career path, offering access to new opportunities that might otherwise feel out of reach. This program reveals many ways to make a difference through the power of curated training and higher education. As you explore new opportunities for advancing your healthcare career, consider how you might leverage these key benefits of an education degree:
Strengthen Teaching and Training Skills
Many clinical professionals understand how to educate individual patients but may struggle to bring these abilities into the classroom setting or provide targeted clinical training for larger groups of students. A master's in education can reveal the secrets to engaging clinical students and professionals, highlighting best practices for cultivating welcoming and motivational learning environments.
Supports Interdisciplinary Collaboration
The healthcare field relies on interdisciplinary collaboration, with many types of professionals sharing their insights to promote coordinated care. The master's in health education highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the field, offering opportunities to explore interprofessional education (IPE), where experts from different specialties learn from and support each other.
Improves Professional Development
Professional development involves an ongoing effort to learn and grow, purposefully acquiring new skills and knowledge while striving to keep up with industry trends. There are many ways to seek professional development in the healthcare sector, and while many ambitious individuals pursue advanced degrees in areas such as advanced practice nursing, education-focused programs also qualify. Fascinating coursework promotes professional development, which is further enhanced through research projects and practicum experiences.
The Benefits of an Education Degree for Healthcare Professionals
A master's in health education can unlock exciting new career possibilities, prompting a meaningful transition from clinical care into educational opportunities. This unique degree program promises many compelling benefits, including these noteworthy advantages:
Enhance Patient Education and Communication
One of the core functions of the modern healthcare professional is to educate patients. This can be challenging as patients often struggle to understand medical concepts or to put their providers' recommendations into action.
Healthcare educators can help clinical professionals understand which communication styles are most likely to produce genuine understanding. Because this program provides such thorough coverage of teaching styles and strategies, it's also a great option for those who want to continue providing clinical services but hope to relate more effectively to their patients.
Advanced Career Opportunities in Academia and Training
While many EDHP graduates pursue roles such as nurse educator or clinical instructor, there are plenty of other ways to harness the academic advantages of a master's in health education. This degree can provide a solid pathway to exciting college opportunities, including everything from research to curriculum development. EDHP graduates may also seek roles in training and development. This involves shaping training programs, which could have a significant impact on dozens, even hundreds, of passionate healthcare professionals.
Leadership and Administrative Roles in Healthcare Education
The powerful influence of healthcare education certainly does not end with delivering classroom or clinical instruction. Leadership roles expand on this opportunity, providing exciting opportunities for long-term career advancement.
Healthcare education leaders oversee academic and training programs, guiding instructional strategies to ensure that all students can enjoy cohesive learning experiences. As program directors or department chairs, these leaders have the chance to shape curricula while supporting fellow healthcare educators.
Similarly, clinical education directors ensure seamless integration between academic institutions and healthcare providers. It may even be possible to advance into the C-suite by pursuing roles such as chief learning officer (CLO).
Make an Impact on Public Health Initiatives
Healthcare and public health are closely linked. While public health professionals study disease patterns and communicate their findings with potentially vulnerable populations, healthcare professionals can bring a more personable approach. Nurses, for example, can help patients understand key risk factors or encourage patients to pursue meaningful lifestyle changes or hygiene habits.
Healthcare educators contribute to this effort, introducing clinical professionals to the educational strategies most likely to resonate with various types of patients. A master's in health education can also influence public health programming, as trained educators recognize which materials or communication styles have the greatest impact.
Bridge the Gap Between Clinical Expertise and Teaching
It takes years of targeted training to develop clinical expertise, especially when evidence-based practice is a priority. These clinical skills may seem challenging to develop, but they could prove even more difficult to nurture in others.
The master's in health education addresses this common obstacle, allowing aspiring instructors to bridge the gap between what they know and what they want future healthcare professionals to learn. This program reveals the most effective strategies for transferring theory to practice, highlighting opportunities such as simulations or clinical teaching experiences.
Meets the Growing Demand for Healthcare Educators
There is a strong demand for healthcare educators, driven partly by clinical labor shortages and emerging specializations. Skill gaps abound throughout the healthcare sector, but educators can help meet rising demands, all by taking on compelling instructional roles while equipping students with practical skills currently in short supply. Ultimately, this also helps to resolve ongoing issues with faculty shortages, which, if not addressed, could limit student capacity and exacerbate clinical labor concerns.
Expand Professional Influence
Healthcare educators are highly influential. Their insights can shape entire career paths, giving aspiring healthcare professionals the insight and encouragement needed to make a positive difference. These well-trained clinical professionals inspire patients to adopt healthy habits or closely follow treatment plans.
Boasting years of experience and a wealth of knowledge, healthcare educators represent some of the most trusted and respected professionals in the vast healthcare field. They command respect not only due to their clinical expertise, but also based on their ability to foster excellence in others.
Who Should Consider a Master's in Education?
Many healthcare professionals can benefit from pursuing a master's in health education, but given the tailored and career-driven nature of this degree, it is vital to confirm that it aligns with personal goals and interests. At Texas A&M, Education for Healthcare Professionals (EDHP) students tend to fall into one of a few main categories, as highlighted below:
Healthcare Professionals Looking to Transition Into Teaching
Are you a proud healthcare professional with a desire to share your expertise? Learn to connect with students and provide compelling instruction through EDHP coursework, which will introduce you to the theories of instruction and other essential pedagogical concepts. This could help you feel confident and excited as you prepare to take on education-focused roles.
Practicing Clinicians Who Want to Improve Patient Education
Perhaps you want to continue working in a clinical capacity but hope to have a greater impact through patient education. A master's in education can help you hone in on this specific competency, improving your communication skills while also allowing you show empathy and understanding when interacting with a wide range of patients. Insights into diverse learning styles could even help you tailor your messaging to reflect different patient needs.
Healthcare Leaders Focused on Training and Development
Training programs cannot reach their full potential unless they are strategically designed by experts who understand the intricacies of pedagogical practice. Development-focused roles encourage you to craft learning materials and experiences that drive genuine understanding. You can explore these opportunities through EDHP courses that detail the intricacies of topic identification and curriculum alignment.
How to Choose the Right Master's in Education Program
Once you've decided to pursue a master's in health education, think carefully about where you'll apply and how you'll navigate this demanding academic experience. The right program will help you meet your full potential as a healthcare educator, exposing you to research-backed strategies for designing curricula, assessing students, and promoting hands-on skill development.
Quality instruction is essential, but you also want to feel supported as you navigate this potentially challenging transition. Consider available learning formats. Can you take classes online to accommodate your busy schedule? Will you be able to apply your skills in real-world educational settings? Don't hesitate to discuss your options with trusted mentors or to chat with program advisors.
Elevate Your Healthcare Career With TAMU's EDHP Program
Are you ready to level up your healthcare career? Do you have the passion and knowledge it takes to support future healthcare professionals? Look to Texas A&M's Education for Healthcare Professionals (EDHP) program for support as you prepare for an exciting career transition.
As you explore respected pedagogical techniques, you will feel driven to shape a new generation of passion-driven healthcare leaders. Get in touch to learn more about EDHP certificate and degree opportunities.
Sources
https://medicine.tamu.edu/degrees/edhp.html
https://catalog.tamu.edu/graduate/course-descriptions/edhp/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10364267/
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40670-020-01128-3
https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-data/fact-sheets/nursing-faculty-shortage