WEEK 9: FORMATION OF HEALTH WORKERS

In Community Health Nursing, it is very evident that the job of the health team does not only
revolves on performing different kinds of medical interventions in order to address the health
needs of the patients inside the community, thus, it also views the “bigger picture” upon what
are the essential needs of community to achieve sustainable healthcare to all of its citizens.
Based on what I’ve learned in week 9 which tackles about the formation of health workers, I’ve
learned that conducting programs such as training and seminars are very important aspects to
hone the skills and knowledge of a potential candidate in the position of being part of the health
team. We all know that being a part of the community health requires you to be more passionate
about your job because each day, there are different types of people whom you will encounter
inside the community. In order to build the confidence and competency of an potential health
worker, he/she must engages and participate actively to different programs implemented by the
health sector such as; lectures, discussions, role plays, games, return demonstrations, story
telling, image analysis, care analysis, poetry, group/peer discussions, forums, meetings, collage
making, photo language, herb hunting, field trips, trainings/workshops, real-life simulations, and
structured learning experience. In this way, it is rest-assured that potential candidates who have
undergone/are able to attend these kinds of activities facilitated by the health sector will result in
skilled and proficient health worker/s who are ready to implement various interventions and
provide health teachings that will improve the overall health condition of the community. Also, as
an organizer of these programs being catered to the potential candidates for the position of
health worker, Planning and building effective training programs will serve as their foundation in
rendering and conducting programs among the members of the community. Therefore, analysis
must be done first in order to assess the needs of the programs you will render. Second,
establishment of requirements and standards is also done in this process in order to filter the
best among the best or the person who is suitable for the job. Also, development of content is
essential because this will serve as their guide all throughout the program, therefore contents
must be checked accordingly. Another important consideration was to select the appropriate
method suitable to your audience. In this way, learnings can be absorbed quickly and also
participation of the audience will be secured during the entire program. Pretest and evaluation of
the programs is also essential to visualize the flow of the program which allows to see areas
that require further improvement. Once the flaws of the program are noted, revisions must be
done together with the team in order to improve and finalize the program.

In this reading, this also enhances my knowledge in terms of the importance of COPAR in the
improvement of the selected community. To effectively implement this program, it is very
important for the potential candidate to identify the perceptions of the community and its
members in order to meet their standards and establish a smooth relationship. Also, the trainee
must be able to impart among the members of the community regarding the current condition of
both national and local health situation for them to visualize the overall aspect of health which
results in realization of the importance of participation in these kinds of programs. After we
provide an overview of the overall condition of national and local health, we must also notify the
members of the community regarding the basic definitions and information that they need to
know in terms of health or illness. Through this, we’ll be able to impart knowledge on what are
the basic things that they need to know which leads to modification of their lifestyle and habits.
We all know that the community itself cannot diagnose its problem without the supervision of
experts and professionals. Therefore, the role of the health worker serves a major role upon
helping the community to identify and solve their problem. The Community Organizing and
Participatory Approach (COPAR) is a program done by the whole community including various
sectors, health teams, and most importantly the citizens of the chosen community. This process
requires collaborative work which encompasses to seek development and resilience of the
chosen community in addressing their own problems such as health and livelihood. Lastly,
evaluation of the implemented programs in the community is also important in order to
document the changes that occurred all throughout and also to take note of areas that require
immediate improvements or attention.

Once the trainors had able to undergo all the seminars and training programs essential for
directing the community health workers inside the community, it is now the time to employ these
learnings and start putting it into action. Advance training programs on the part of
trainors/educators allows them to visualize the role and importance of community health
workers inside the community. This will also be the time for them to select criterias and
standards for the potential CHWs suitable/has the potential and skills for the job. Effective
teaching serves an important role in terms of imparting knowledge to the community. Therefore,
this will also be the time to select the adequate mode of teaching for the community health
workers such as asking them on what type of language they are comfortable with, which among
the methods is easy for them to understand, and are there any other concerns which affect their
learning? By asking these questions, you’ll be able to understand their concerns and select the
appropriate method of teaching suitable for them. Once selection of teaching methods is done,
the educator may also employ task analysis in order to monitor their actions and serve as their
training grounds before engaging into real-life scenarios. Evaluation is important to monitor an
individual’s progress/actions. Also, it is done to assess the effectiveness and flaws of a
program. Therefore, evaluation tool must be formulated to ensure that these programs are
beneficial to its audience. After all the planning and formulation, demonstration of skills in terms
of making aids and technology must be done as well to make these programs more engaging
and effective to its audience.

Being a health educator requires passion for your job and not just only doing it for the sake of
income. Thus, I’ve learned during my reading that in order to become an effective health
educator, there are certain qualities which you need to acquire or to be learnt with. In the
community setting, one of the jobs of a community health worker was to engage along with the
citizens of the community to address its needs, hence, it is said that an educator must be
efficient in order to accommodate the needs of the community. Another important quality that an
educator must have is he/she must be a good communicator by means of imparting information
that is reliable and applicable to the life of the citizens inside the community. Listening to the
concerns and problems being raised by the community is one of the roles of an health educator
as well, therefore by listening to these problems, he/she will have the idea regarding what is the
situation of the community which leads to the conclusion of possible solutions. Also, being
observant is also important as a health educator.Through this, he/she monitors the movement
inside the community. In times when the community struggles to find out a solution to a specific
problem, it is important that the health educator solves these problems systematically and
accordingly. It is also the role of a health educator that these available resources inside their
community where being utilized in combination with creativity. Through this, the budget of the
community will increase which lessens the cost of their expenditures in terms of materials.
Critical thinking or “thinking outside of the box” is one of the important qualities that an health
educator must have as it maximizes opportunities to improve the system inside the community.
Like mentioned earlier, inside the community there are different types of people whom we
encounter everyday. Therefore, in addressing community’s issues, an health educator must
remain its composure and explain it with a low intonation of voice showing respect, yet
expressing his/her thoughts with regards to the subject. Moreover, the knowledge and learnings
of a health educator must be always updated in order to impart knowledge that is based on
truths and facts. Thus, he/she must be open-minded to the ideas, suggestions, and even
criticisms being raised by the members for the betterment of their community. Sense of humor
also plays a key role during programs and seminars being hosted by the health educator as it
catches the attention of its participants resulting in increased learning. Lastly, a health educator
is being seen by the other members of the community as their role model therefore, this image
must not be broken, hence, the educator motivates and involves its members by sharing
information that will serve as their inspiration towards change.

Aside from these mentioned qualities which an health educator must have, another thing that
I’ve learned during my reading was there are different guidelines in order to become an effective
educator. First, the educator must choose a proper and suitable method of teaching among its
audience. In selecting a teaching method, it is very important to consider that the audience must
be able to understand what you or the host tries to convey during the entire program. Also,
different learning methods are categorized in terms of; learning, attitude, and skill. To start with,
on the category of learning, this includes programs that will cater new knowledge and ideas
which the audience can apply into their daily lives such as; trainings, lectures, panel
discussions, symposiums, conferences, field trip, project methods, film showing, coaching, on
the job training (OJT), and programmed discussion. Meanwhile, under the category of attitude,
this category is specifically entitled to promote active participation and interaction of the
audience at the same time they grasp new ideas being presented. Examples of these programs
under attitude are; role play, case study, group discussion, simulation, management games, and
sensitivity training. Lastly, under the skill category, this promotes adaptation of new learnings
and activities that is seen by the audience applicable nor beneficial to their condition such as;
demonstration, apprenticeship, exercises, role play, project methods, task force,and even on the
job training. Furthermore, to become an effective health educator, another important component
was to prepare the necessary materials or paraphernalias essential to your program like; use of
visual aids, blackboard, cartolina, video presentations/clips, pens, markers, and the likes.
Through preparation of these materials, it is assured that the program will run smoothly which
facilitates learning and acquisition of knowledge on the part of the audience. Also, formulation of
teaching plans and strategies is important to consider as this will serve your
framework/guideline in formulating a program fitted to your audience. Finally this will also
prepare the health educator on the possible scenarios he/she may encounter during the actual
program.