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Abstract
Professional socialization has been identified as a key component of professional preparation in other health/allied health disciplines such as medicine, dentistry, nursing, and social work. However, there is a void in health education on this issue.
The purpose of this study was to begin addressing this void by examining the extent to which community health education majors are professionalized.
One hundred seventy-nine students representing 15 community health education programs across the country were the sample for this investigation. The instrument used to measure extent of professionalization was the Occupation Inventory (OI).
Students' scores on the OI indicated a moderate-high degree of professionalization. Of the variables, gender, class status, professional organization membership, age, program, and intention to take the CHES examination, it was the last that significantly affected the professionalization scores. Students who intended to take the CHES exam were more professionalized, more likely to belong to a professional organization, and had a greater commitment to public service than those who did not intend to take the CHES exam.