Peer Health Educators

Expectations

Skidmore College Peer Health Educators are students committed to promoting healthy choices and lifestyles through educating and empowering themselves and their peers on a variety of health related topics.  By providing innovative, creative and educational programming, outreach and one-on-one interaction opportunities, the Peer Health Educators will serves as a resource, referral agent and role model for their peers.  Through training and group dynamic development, the Peer Health Educators will learn to take care of their own wellness, deal appropriately with stress, over commitment and potential burnout and increase their leadership skills so that they can create positive, interactive fun and non-judgmental programming aimed at providing their peers with information to make healthy, informed decisions regarding their health and wellbeing.

 Peer Health Educators will:

• Be in, and remain in, good social and academic standing with the College
• Sign up for, attend and complete a for credit Peer Health Educator training course each semester that they are a PHE
• Research, develop and execute interactive, positive, fun and non-judgmental programming for campus population
• Uphold standards of confidentiality befitting their role
• Learn the basics of prevention, college wellness, the strategies for change in high-risk behaviors, listening skills, responding and referral skills
• Create awareness of health topics affecting Skidmore College students through such means as poster campaigns, restroom readers, newsletters, Skidnews editorials and Public Service Announcements, one-on-one interactions, tabling and general availability
• Know their abilities and limits and help students find more long term and appropriate on and off campus resources to support healthy behaviors by making referrals of students at risk to professionals (Health Promotions staff, Counseling Center, Health Services, Campus Safety, etc.)

Committment

A significant amount of time, effort and commitment is expected of Peer Health Educators.  This commitment is composed of:

1) Peer Health Educator for credit class (Spring, 2013 - Mondays 1:30pm - 3:30pm):

• Attendance at PHE class
• Completion of all reading and response assignments for PHE class
• Enthusiastic, engaging and thoughtful participation in  class discussion

2) Health Promotion Programs

• Adopt-a-Hall and provide programming, postering, outreach and one-on-one/small group availability to students within that Residence Hall
• Campus Wide Programs

3) Other outreach developed through class may include:

• Restroom Readers
• Newsletters
• Poster Campaigns
• Contribute to campus dialogue through editorials, articles and Public Service Announcements in SkidNews

Sophomore Year Experience - Peer Health Educator Hall Representative

Students who successfully complete the PHE 3 credit training during the spring of their 1st year at Skidmore will be pre-housed in a single room in an assigned residence hall for their sophomore year.  PHE Res Hall Rep are expected to:

• Meet with Health Promotion staff on a weekly basis
• Come back to campus early to attend a mandatory training and to participate in orientation for incoming first-year students
• Attend a monthly Res Hall Staff meeting (schedule with Head Resident of your respective hall)
• Provide information, resources, programming, peer counseling and visibility to your residence hall by:
• • Creating and displaying a monthly bulletin board
  • Creating and hanging a monthly restroom reader
  • Collaborating with Res Hall staff to offer monthly res hall programs
  • Being available to students in your building for information and one-on-one conversations
  • Creating awareness of your presence in Res Hall (where you live, how you can be accessed, what you do, what the PHE program is, etc) by:
  • • Holding an awareness program during the first two weeks you are on campus
    • Participating in building and floor meetings, especially the first building and the Fire and Safety meeting lead by Campus Safety where you will introduce yourself, your role in the building, etc.

• Attend programs put on by other building leaders (IHB all halls, Eco Rep programs, Res Life staff member programs) when possible
• Support Health Promotions by (but not limited to):
• • Hanging posters in buildings
  • Support campus-wide events
  • Staffing tables

Peer Health Educators will be trained in and provide education to the student body on a variety of, but not limited to, the following topics:

• AIDS and HIV
• Alcohol and Drug Use
• Body Image and Eating Disorders
• Contraception Choices
• Gender Expression and Identity
• Healthy Relationships and Domestic Violence
• Fitness
• Mental Health including stress/anxiety and depression
• Nutrition
• Peer Pressure and college students
• Physical activity
• Self Esteem
• Sex Health
• Sexual Irresponsibility
• Sexually Transmitted Infections
• Sexuality, Sexual Expression + Sexual Identification
• Sleep
• Violence including Sexual Assault
• Tobacco Use