| 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. |
