Briefs

Group E-Mentoring in Nursing Seeks Nurse Mentors

Group e-mentoring in Nursing is being sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau. The project (GEM-Nursing) is looking for nurse mentors. GEM-Nursing is in its second year and ends Sept. 30, 2005. It will provide an avenue for students ages 15-21 to interact with nursing professionals through email in a question-and-answer format. Students will be able to explore educational and career opportunities in nursing through the GEM-Nursing listserv and receive advice from nursing professionals who have volunteered to be mentors.

The University of Michigan is hosting and maintaining the listserv as well as sending participants a Daily Digest containing the questions and answers, is providing nursing and technical expertise, and has created a Web site for participants. The Web site includes biographies of mentors, links to other nursing-related Web sites, scholarship information for nursing students, financial aid information and an archive of daily digests.

The project seeks nursing professionals, both female and male, who can volunteer their time as a mentor for this project. Mentors who are currently participating in the program have said it takes about 15 minutes a week to look at the Web site and to answer questions posed by students.

Nurse mentors are wanted in many specialty areas, including nurse anesthetists, endoscopy nurses, nurse lawyers, nurse researchers and travel nurses. Staff nurses are also being recruited from emergency rooms, operating rooms and med-surg. Guidelines and description for the program with more details on how the project works, can be found online at www.aana.com/news/pdfs/gem_nursing_overview.pdf; the mentor registration form is available at www.aana.com/news/pdfs/nursing_program_sponsor.pdf.

Gastric Cancer Still Found After H. pylori Eradication

A study in the May issue of Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics found that even after H. pylori infection has been eradicated in patients with early gastric cancer or gastric ulcer, gastric cancer may still be found.

Eliminating H. pylori infection may prevent the development of gastric cancer, but not universally, the study finds. Researchers performed a prospective study to identify clinical features of patients who had successful H. pylori eradication but were later diagnosed with gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer was found in 1.1 percent of the 1,787 patients. The authors conclude, “Careful endoscopic examination is necessary even after successful eradication of H. pylori in patients with early gastric cancer or gastric ulcer with severe mucosal atrophy in the corpus.”

Survey Focuses on Attracting Men to the Nursing Profession

NEW YORK — Results of a recent survey of 498 men in the nursing profession conducted by the healthcare division of the Bernard Hodes Group reveal nursing as a viable career option for men. With only 6 percent of the U.S. nurse workforce comprised of men, the survey reveals the drivers necessary to encourage this untapped resource to consider a first or second career in nursing to stem the nursing shortage.

Survey results are available online at www.hodes.com/MeninNursingSurvey. The survey was conducted by Bernard Hodes Group in association with the California Institute for Nursing and Healthcare, Coalition for Nursing Careers in California and the American Assembly for Men in Nursing.

Overwhelmingly, the respondents re-ported that helping people and the ability to make a meaningful contribution to society are the top rewards of their careers. Most of the men said if they had to do it all over again, they would still enter the profession.

The survey revealed the following observations that could prove helpful in developing recruitment plans to attract more men into the nursing profession:

• More knowledgeable career counselors at the high school level . In-school presentations by men in nursing targeting young males.
• Most men in nursing believe they are dissuaded from becoming nurses
• The benefits of a career in nursing need to be more clearly articulated to men
• Customized content needs to be created specifically for men in nursing to use in their recruitment efforts

Source: Bernard Hodes Group