Becoming a Health Educator, particularly a certified one, is not an easy path. To earn a bachelor's degree in Health Education, you'll take a wide range of courses in the health and other sciences, any core curriculum courses that your college or university may require, and in many cases, you will find yourself applying your skills in a real-world setting such as a high school, community health program, or local health care organization. In your internship or field work program (or internship, or whatever the term for it is that your school uses), you'll be working as a health educator under the supervision of someone who is already certified in that area.
If you haven't worked in a professional setting before, doing so as part of your Health Education degree program can be a whole learning experience by itself. It's important to understand that you will be expected to meet professional standards for your workplace conduct and that if you don't, you may end up delaying or even putting an end to your career hopes in the Health Education area.
If you are notified that someone has filed a misconduct complaint against you in connection with your Health Education practical work experience, contact the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team at once. The sooner you get help with this, the more likely you are to have a favorable outcome. Our experienced student defense attorneys will help you understand the complaint that's been filed against you and will make sure your rights are vigorously defended.
What Kinds of Discipline can Health Education Students Encounter?
There are several levels of possible discipline when you are accused of misconduct during your health education practical work experience. That's because even if the work experience is off-campus, with some outside agency or organization, it's still connected with your school, and so you may end up being disciplined more than once for the same misconduct claim.
- Workplace Discipline. Almost all workplaces have employee manuals that describe the types of behavior that are expected of employees and the types that are prohibited. The manual may also describe the process the organization uses to investigate and resolve misconduct claims. It's very important to review this manual as soon as you begin your internship because even though you may not be a full employee, you are very likely expected to behave as if you are. And that means if you do engage in some misconduct, you may be disciplined in the same way that the organization's employees (and sometimes volunteers) can be disciplined.
- School Discipline. Because your fieldwork program is most likely connected to your school, a misconduct claim for behavior at your internship may also be referred to your school for possible disciplinary action. All schools have student manuals or honor codes that let students know what behaviors are not permitted, even off-campus in school-related situations. As a result, if your school receives a misconduct complaint from the organization you're interning with, the school may also elect to treat the complaint as a potential violation of the school's student conduct standards.
- Membership Organization Discipline. The National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC) offers a certification exam (called the CHES exam) for students who have a Health Education degree or who are on track to receive one in the near future. Health Education professionals who are certified by the NCHEC can also be disciplined by the NCHEC, and while you may not yet be certified when you are meeting your internship or fieldwork requirements, if you have been disciplined, it could affect your ability to take the CHES exam, particularly if successful completion of the CHES exam is a required part of your Health Education degree program.
What Kinds of Conduct Can Result in Discipline?
There is a wide range of workplace misconduct that could result in the kind of discipline that could delay or ruin your chances of a career as a Health Educator.
- Failing to meet the organization's basic expectations. Arriving late, leaving early, taking breaks, failing to prepare for classes you're expected to teach – some of these may or may not rise to the level of misconduct, but if the organization you are working with decides that you have failed to meet minimum workplace standards, you could find yourself out of an internship before it was scheduled to end.
- Working while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If you show up for your practical experience while under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or prescription or non-prescription drugs, you could quickly find yourself out of an internship.
- Sexual harassment or abuse. Workplaces are now very regulated when it comes to sexual harassment or abuse of co-workers and clients (which, in your case, may be students). Comments, even if they're meant to be humorous, about someone's looks or sexual orientation can result in misconduct claims. Non-consensual touching may also lead to a misconduct claim. Even an agreed relationship between two people working at the same organization may violate workplace standards if those standards require workers to disclose relationships to the HR department.
- Fraud. Claiming you've been at work when you aren't, whether it's in the office or at an off-site teaching session, can lead to claims that you're trying to defraud the organization you're working for or their clients. Similarly, if you're expected to present certain Health Education learning modules, and you fail to do so but say that you did, you could be disciplined for fraud.
How are Misconduct Allegations Resolved?
Each organization has its own way of resolving misconduct allegations. In the case of the organization you're working for, it may have a very limited investigation and resolution procedure that could quickly end up with you losing your internship. That said, where there is a formal investigation and hearing process in place, you may find it includes some or all of the following steps:
- Investigation of the misconduct claim. If the misconduct allegation is of the type that the organization reviews, it may be investigated. How intensive this investigation is depends on the type of claim, the organization and its resources, and its experience with investigating misconduct claims. In many cases, you may want to conduct your own investigation because many schools and employers don't have the resources or experience to fully and properly investigate a misconduct claim. This is where our skilled attorneys, who are part of the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team, can help. They've spearheaded investigations on behalf of many student clients all over the US and often uncover information that can be very helpful to the client's defense.
- An offer to resolve the matter. If the investigation finds support for the misconduct claim, you may receive a proposal from the disciplining organization that would require you to accept certain facts and a certain sanction but would save you from having to go through a hearing. Whether to accept these kinds of offers is something the experienced student defense attorneys from the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you with. We have seen these proposals many times before, and we can also review your case and advise whether it may make more sense to defend yourself at the next stage – a hearing.
- A hearing on the merits. This will be a court-like proceeding where you and the disciplining organization will be able to question and cross-examine witnesses, submit and object to documentary and data evidence, and make arguments in support of each of your sides. The judge or panel in charge of the hearing will review all of the evidence and will rule on the misconduct charges. If the ruling is in your favor, the matter will usually end there. If it goes against you, you'll usually have the chance to appeal.
- Appeal. The appeal is a separate procedure and may be limited only to certain types of issues. If the appeal panel rules in your favor, however, you will be cleared of the misconduct charges unless the ruling sends the case back to the hearing panel for another hearing.
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team Can Help
Being notified that you've been accused of serious misconduct that can delay or bring an end to your Health Educator studies can be an extremely stressful event. It can take weeks or months to resolve, and you may have to go through an interview with an investigator as part of the process. The experienced student defense attorneys from the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you get through this. We can make sure you meet all of the disciplinary proceeding deadlines, help you prepare for your interview, investigate the misconduct claims on your behalf, help you negotiate a settlement if that is possible, represent you vigorously in any hearing if settlement isn't in the cards; and help craft a compelling appeal where necessary.
What you don't want to try to do is to face a serious misconduct claim by yourself. Call the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team today at 888.535.3686, or use our online contact form to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our student defense attorneys. We know how important your education and career goals are to you, and we're here to listen and to help!
