Residence Requirements:

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. There are two vacancies at the Erie County Department of Health.

Examples of Duties:

A Public Health Educator provides health education services in the department’s health program;

Organizes and works with community groups and directs educational efforts to influence public attitudes and behavior with regard to given health needs;

Participates in studies and surveys of public health education needs in the community and evaluates the materials and methods used to determine the effectiveness of the program;

Assists in planning and directing workshops, institutes forums and discussions groups to promote public health and health education;

Assists in researching, writing, implementing and managing grants for funding support of educational activities;

Writes, edits and proofreads health education materials such as fact sheets, pamphlets and brochures.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

A) A Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a major in health education, or;

B) A Bachelor’s Degree in a health related or behavioral science* (see Note 1) field, plus two (2) years experience in health education, or;

C) A Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university plus a minimum of four (4) years experience in health education.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Candidates must satisfactorily complete fifteen (15) hours of continuing education in health education related topics approved by New York State Health Department within one year of appointment.

Candidates and appointees must possess and maintain a valid New York State Drivers License and have automotive transportation available for use.

Notes:

1. *Examples of acceptable degrees include Nursing, Speech Pathology, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation Counseling, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Nutrition/ Dietetics, and other closely related fields.

2. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the full-time experience requirements.

3. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

Subjects of Examination: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Educating and interacting with the public

These questions test for knowledge of techniques used to interact effectively with individuals and/or community groups, to educate or inform them about topics of concern, to publicize or clarify agency programs or policies, to negotiate conflicts or resolve complaints, and to represent one's agency or program in a manner in keeping with good public relations practices. Questions may also cover interacting with others in cooperative efforts of public outreach or service.

2. Planning, implementing, and evaluating health education programs

A test of knowledge of facts, trends, principles, and theories in the area.

The subtest will deal with, but not necessarily be confined to: the planning process; program planning; identifying program objectives; identifying target groups; analyzing target groups; determining knowledges, skills, and aptitudes to be developed in target groups; designing and organizing the specific learning; implementing experiences; staffing; program evaluation; and the evaluation of appropriate materials.

3. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

4. Principles of educating and training

These questions test for the knowledge and abilities used to provide instruction to individuals and groups in settings typically outside the workplace. Instruction of this sort may be given to members of the public or groups with a specialized interest or concern. The questions address issues such as determining what is to be taught; developing and evaluating instructional plans; developing, using, and evaluating training methods and materials; motivation; learning; interacting with learners; and evaluating the success of instruction.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  It is recommended that candidates use a quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculator.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.