Neil Jess, BSN, RN, CNOR, knew he wanted to make an impact. He had mentored students before and understood how powerful it can be. When the opportunity came last year to mentor a Nashville high school student considering a health care career, he jumped.
“I thought, ‘Let me get involved with this, see if there’s any way I can help,’” he recalled.
Jess was one of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurses who served as mentors this school year at the Health Science Academy at Pearl-Cohn High School in North Nashville. The mentorship program — a partnership between VUMC’s Nurse Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and Metro Nashville Public Schools — has enabled staff nurses to empower students eyeing nursing and health care professions.
Each week during the school year, he had a virtual meeting with Aries Beck, 17, to discuss diverse topics that are foundational to an individual’s success as a health care professional. He helped her set goals, including applying to the top five colleges of her choice.
“The opportunity was great,” Jess said.
In March, he met Aries in person at a career fair that the VUMC Nurse Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee organized, which brought a multidisciplinary group of more than 20 Vanderbilt professionals, including representatives of nursing, social work, EMS, pharmacy, medicine and surgical and radiology technologists.
Aries just graduated from Pearl-Cohn and will attend Belmont University in the fall.
She said she’s interested in studying the brain and becoming a neurologist.
It’s an interest that has been building since she attended the Vanderbilt Brain Institute’s Brain Blast as a second grader.
“I love learning about the brain and how it functions,” she said.
Jess described her as a very engaged person who did very well in school while balancing a part-time job.
“I definitely feel like her future is bright,” Jess said. “I think because of the person she is she will be successful.”
Aries said Jess has helped her find information on the internet about career paths she’s considered, pathways she couldn’t always find on her own. “He’s very understanding,” she said. “He’s just a cool person to talk to.”
Jess is a veteran nurse who joined Vanderbilt in 2004. His experience is broad, including ICU, dialysis and the Emergency Department. For the last 18 years, he has worked in the operating room environment. His current title is OR board charge nurse for Perioperative Services.
Jess is just one of the VUMC nurses who serve as mentors in the Health Sciences Academy program who meet weekly with their mentees.
For VUMC, the mentorship work is an opportunity to reach out to a diverse area to recruit future nurses, medical assistants and care partners — all positions in demand.
The VUMC Nurse Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee has studied best practices for community outreach with an eye toward building a pipeline for diverse health care workers.The program will also help VUMC better understand barriers to that diversity.
Mamie Williams, PhD, MPH, MSN, APRN, senior director of Nurse Diversity and Inclusion, affirmed the sustained benefits of the VUMC Nursing and MNPS Health Care Academies partnership. “This initiative allows VUMC nurses to mentor underrepresented individuals in nursing, providing hands-on experience in the field,” she said.
Williams expressed pride in the nurses’ commitment to nurturing aspiring health care professionals. “The program’s success is a testament to its value, and the anticipation for its future is high.”
To learn more about the Nurse Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, please visit www.vumc.org/vndei/welcome.
