Health care careers, political candidates,
get your ZZZs

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.

Get political

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.

Rest easy

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.

NCLEX updates

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.

Have your say

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.