Oncology Nursing Society Offers Minority Mentoring Program

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Are you a minority cancer nurse or nursing student who could benefit from the guidance and professional support of an experienced oncology nurse who has "been there?" Do you ever wish you had a mentor who could give you constructive advice and feedback, introduce you to new opportunities in your field, serve as a sounding board for your ideas and help you develop personal and professional skills that will make you more effective in your career and your community? Then the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Ethnic Minority Mentoring Program may be just what you're looking for.

Available exclusively to ONS members, the Ethnic Minority Mentoring Program is designed to encourage oncology nurses from diverse backgrounds to become leaders in the Society and in the nursing profession. The program pairs newer nurses or students one-on-one with veteran oncology nurses who share their same ethnic heritage, background and clinical or research interests.

Potential mentees can enroll in the program online at the Society's Web site. The enrollment process includes filling out a questionnaire that helps match the candidate with a participating ONS colleague who will be a good "fit" as a mentor. Once both parties have agreed to a mentoring arrangement, the mentor and mentee can communicate with each other via the online program, email, telephone and/or in person. Mentoring relationships can be either short-term or long-term. However, participants should be willing to make a minimum commitment of two hours per month for one year.

The Ethnic Minority Mentoring Program is one of several recent ONS diversity initiatives designed to promote inclusiveness and cultural competency among its membership and in the oncology nursing specialization. Other projects include the ONS Diversity Virtual Community, the Diversity Champions Program and the REMO Campaign (Recruiting Ethnic Minorities into ONS). For more information about these programs, visit the Virtual Community at www.diversity.vc.ons.org. To learn how to become a member of the Oncology Nursing Society, see www.ons.org.

—compiled by Pam Chwedyk