Discussion
As hypothesized, more clinical skills are needed to secure health education positions in the clinical setting. Most respondents felt a CHES certification was beneficial to their positions. When asked what heath educators could do to “sell” themselves to prospective employers, 60% (n=15) said demonstrating knowledge of health education, program planning, program implementation, evaluation and grant writing were the best skills to have to sell themselves. In addition, being able to communicate or explain what health educators can do for a company was answered by 24% (n=6) of the respondents. Twelve percent (n=3) said to research the company and find out how you can meet their needs. One respondent (4%) suggested taking examples of work done from internships and classes such as brochures, PowerPoint® presentations, display boards, and other works to show the prospective employer. When asked about other course work they would recommend in terms of academic preparation to be a health educator in a clinical setting, 24% (n=6) said clinical physiological testing skills were important to know. Twelve percent (n=3) said volunteer experience in a clinical setting was important, marketing and sales courses, communication classes and education courses would be helpful. Counseling or social work courses, medical terminology and nutrition courses were the answer given by 8% (n=2) of the respondents of courses helpful in preparation of a career as health educators.

What do these results mean for the profession of health education? If upon graduation, health education students want to work in the clinical setting, they must make good choices on how to choose their elective courses. The courses they choose should emphasize clinical skills, communication, education, marketing, counseling, medical terminology, and nutrition. They should also have volunteer experience in a clinical setting, and choose to complete an internship in a clinical setting. After graduation, when trying to gain employment in a clinical setting, they need to be able to demonstrate the knowledge they possess, the experiences they have gained and demonstrate what they can offer to prospective employers. Many employers do not know very much about health education graduates and need to be educated to the benefits of hiring a health educator to fill clinical positions.

This study was not without its limitations. The greatest limitation was the selection of the participants. The snowball sampling technique was used because resources were limited and a probability sample was too costly and time consuming to complete. Non-probability samples have limitations because results can only be generalized to those who participated. Bias may occur since those who are not included in the sample may differ in ways from those who are included in the sample (McKenzie et al., 2005).

Conclusions
In conclusion, additional studies on health educators working in the clinical setting need to be completed to gain a better understanding of the profession. Leaders of organizations who employ people in clinical settings need to have a better understanding of what health educators are doing and the potential they can bring to an organization. In order to change the mind-set of many who feel that only those with clinical training should do patient education creates a great obstacle, which needs to be overcome. Only with more information available and continued monitoring of credentialing to provide a set of standards for health educators, can attitudes be changed and gains be made in the area of health educators working in a clinical setting.