Some of the organizations that can help you get started or provide more information include:

Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow
A coalition of 32 nursing and health care organizations working to launch a communications campaign to attract people to the nursing profession. The organization sent a 30-second public service announcement to 200 television stations nationwide.
Sonja Popp-Stahly, (317) 262-8080, Sonja@hetcom.com

Coalition for Nursing Careers in California
A California organization that works to attract young people to nursing through a multimedia campaign. It recently launched a Web site at www.choosenursing.com where students can read stories of different nurses. Nurses interested in being ambassadors for the profession also can download presentation materials.
Valerie Hall, (510) 987-2622, choosenursing@kp.org

Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.)
A hospital in Minnesota that runs an annual Nursing Career Day for high school students. The students, who are escorted by nurse volunteers, participate in a hands-on skills fair, and nurses present their specialties in a panel discussion.
Gwen Harkins, (507) 255-5433, harkins.gwen@mayo.edu

UNITE-LA
A federally funded school-to-career program in the Los Angeles area in which students can take hospital tours or listen to health professionals who visit classrooms.
June Levine, (818) 368-0202, www.unitela.com [click "Contact Us"]

Century College (Minnesota)
Nursing students teach classes such as health and sex education to elementary students.
Lora Kincade, (651) 450-8600, lkincad@ih.cc.mn.us

Altru Health System (Grand Forks, N.D.)
Local high school students in Grand Forks take a class in which they learn the role of nursing assistants. The students also work as interns at Altru Health System.
Mame Wyman, (701) 780-5173, mwyman@altru.org

Maryvale High School Student Nurse Academy (Arizona)
A high school program in the Phoenix area in which high school students earn LVN licenses. The students spend time with RNs in hospitals and can attend a nursing camp. School nurse Randy Peterson runs the program.
Randy Peterson, (602) 764-2024, Peterson@phxhs.k12.az.us

Dallas Fort Worth Area Health Education Center
A group working to increase the enrollment of under-represented groups in the health professions. One popular program is a two-day session for high school juniors and seniors. The students visit a nursing school campus for seminars.
Lori Schell, (972) 791-0717, Ext. 518, Lschell@dwfhc.org

Colleagues in Caring
A nursing workforce development project that allows different regions to share ideas and information about attracting, educating, retaining and keeping track of nurses. Colleagues in Caring includes 40 regional sites in 40 states. The organization has a Web site aimed at high school, middle school and elementary school students. The group also produced a video to show how nurses make a difference in people's lives.
(202) 496-1095