ches certified

i am a certified health education specialist--i found out today i passed the ches exam i took in april.  this is the national certification that accredits community health education majors.  this is an exam i paid to take, prayed to pass, and now that i have passed, i get to accrue 75 continuing education credits over the next 5 years and pay to renew my certification.  this makes me laugh for two reasons:

1. when i tell people i graduated in community health education, i get a confused look and they ask, "what does that mean?", or, "so, that focuses in...?", or, "so, is that like a nurse?"  in the most general of definitions, a community health major focuses on preventing disease and promoting health within a community.  typical occupational settings include a public health department, workplace wellness programs, hospital health education outreach programs, etc.  in a health department, for example, the health educator would visit middle schools or elementary schools teaching about tobacco prevention, std education, or promoting gold medal school dietary lunch programs.  within a hospital, the health educator would educate patients, families, or community members about cancers, diabetes, or healthy lifestyle choices.  
2. now that i am ches certified, and tell people i am a certified health education specialist, i am sure i will get confused looks again.  in the most general of definitions, a ches is a professional who designs, conducts, and evaluates activities and or programs that help improve the health of a community. 

in case anything i wrote above sounded like a bunch of mumbo jumbo, just remember this:

HEALTH + NERD = CHES