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The National
Institutes of Health Office of Science Education
has a fun site for students of all ages . Young (and
older) visitors can explore careers at a section of
the site called “LifeWorks.” The career
finder lists 109 jobs and gives users a series of questions
to narrow down the jobs that would interest them. At
the end of the questionnaire, a customized set of career
results is produced. The user then can explore information
about the careers, including educational requirements,
skills, abilities, interests, job outlook, salary, working
context and conditions. Additional links connect visitors
to the accrediting boards for careers, as well as associations.
The 2004 election campaigns are upon us and nurses
who are researching the presidential candidates can
find a wealth of information at the American
Nurses Association Election 2004 Action Center.
(The ANA is endorsing Democratic presidential candidate
Sen. John Kerry.) Information is provided about each
of the candidates, their proposed health care plans
and links to information specifically addressing nurses
and nursing issues. This site allows nurses to track
legislation and find information about members of Congress.
You can enter your ZIP code to identify your state’s
political players and find out how they voted on health-related
issues. The site also lists hot issues and how nurses
can take action for or against these issues.
Are you getting enough sleep? Sleep is vital to our
health and well-being. Yet according to the National
Sleep Foundation, millions of us are not
getting enough sleep or suffer from sleep problems.
A survey conducted by the foundation reveals that 60
percent of adults report having sleep problems a few
nights a week or more. The foundation is an independent,
nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public
health by helping people understand sleep, sleep disorders
and supporting education for sleep-related research
and advocacy. It sponsors National Sleep Awareness Week,
Drive Alert, Arrive Alive and a news magazine called
Sleepmatters. Many educational materials can be printed,
such as a sleep diary, brochures on strategies for shift
workers, sleep and aging, melatonin, and pain and sleep.
The site also provides interactive sleep quizzes and
a caffeine calculator to find out how much caffeine
you are consuming.
If you are curious as to how the new graduates are
doing on their NCLEX,
visit the National Council of State Boards of Nursing
site. The NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN examination statistics
can be reviewed by year for the past 10 years. The results
can be viewed by all candidates, first-time candidates
vs. repeat candidates, and U.S.-educated candidates
vs. foreign-educated candidates.
Do you have an opinion about nursing, staffing ratios
and Medicare delivery? RN=Real
News is the access point for the American
Nurses Association media relations and staff. While
this site is designed primarily for the media, it also
has a nurses’ tool kit where nurses can view recent
ANA-related media publications and that provides an
avenue for nurses who are interested in writing letters
to the editor. It includes sample letters to get you
started, helpful hints about how long a letter should
be and what kind of information it should include. The
site also provides directories to help you find your
local paper after you’ve composed your letter.
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