reflection 1

What interests you about adolescent health promotion?
The benefits that are possible from working in health promotion are huge. You can prevent major disease complications and problems before they begin to affect a persons social, mental, physical and economic well being. But by targeting adolescents specifically, you are choosing the stage in life where major behavioral health habits and beliefs are forming and influenced, and this affect the most important part of the life cycle, which will have repercussions throughout the persons entire life. I am mostly interested in family planning and sexual health/rights and I feel that adolescence is the prime time to intervene.
What do you expect to gain from this course?
I hope to learn more about the opportunities that exist to tailor health promotion schemes to adolescents and how to best approach different topics to them.
How do you think this course will contribute to your career?
I hope to work in adolescent health when I graduate, and as a nurse I want to learn a more teaching/ health promotion aspect as opposed to my clinical background.
What skills/abilities to you bring to adolescent health promotion?
I have a bachelor of science in nursing, and have been an emergency dept nurse at GW for three years. We see the gamut of the DC population, including adolescents with complex problems. But I need the behavioral intervention piece. I only get to do five minute discharge teaching with them, I need practice planning longer programs to educate about the different health problems/behaviors that affect health.
Kate Dieringer