| The Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor and the Tennessee Economic Council on Women have an exciting national demonstration project that links students, ages 15-21, with mentors in nursing occupations via a website, email and special events. Group Electronic Mentoring in Nursing (GEM-Nursing) encourages students to pursue nursing careers through innovation group e-mentoring. The project began as a pilot in the Women’s Bureau Chicago regional office in 2002 as Group Electronic Mentoring in Healthcare Services (GEM-HS) with students and mentors in Illinois and Michigan. The Women's Bureau has asked the Tennessee Economic Council on Women (TECW) to lead the GEM-Nursing project in Tennessee and TECW is currently seeking nurse professionals and health care organizations to participate in the project as mentors and/or collaborative partners.
The Tennessee Economic Council on Women was created by the state legislature in 1998 to serve as an economic advocate for women throughout Tennessee on issues that include education, career development and job training opportunities, among others. In 2002, the Council began a statewide career mentoring campaign to prepare girls and women with the skills and knowledge to pursue high paying, high demand jobs, including those in healthcare. In addition to the e-nursing project, the Council heads a healthcare career campaign in Warren County that includes a speakers' bureau, healthcare entrepreneur conference, nursing club and job shadowing opportunities. |
