Goldfarb Men Excelling in Nursing (GMEN) is a club aimed to supporting men in the nursing profession. Did you know Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing has a club aimed at supporting men in the nursing profession? The club is called Goldfarb Men Excelling in Nursing (GMEN), and it is open to all Goldfarb nursing students, both men and women.
Founded in 2011, the club provides a forum for student nurses to meet as a group to discuss and influence matters that affect men as nurses. GMEN is the local chapter of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing (AAMN), the national organization for men in the nursing profession.
“The goal of our chapter is to offer resources for educational and professional development as male nursing students move through their educational process at Goldfarb,” says Josh Danback, president of the Goldfarb chapter. “Additionally, we aim to increase visibility of men in nursing and their contributions to the profession in order to help increase the number of men in nursing.
Currently, men make up only about 5 to 10% of all nurses; a number the AAMN hopes to raise to 20% by 2020. Goldfarb presently has an above average male student population rate of 12% for the undergrad programs.
The GMEN club meets two times per term so members can talk about their experiences, learn about educational/scholarship information, and hear from guest speakers who discuss topics that are of interest to men in the nursing profession.
In addition to meetings, the group partakes in social and charitable activities. In December, the club ran a holiday toy drive and delivered the toys to the oncology floor at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and to St. Louis Children’s Child Life Services Department. Over the summer, the group led educational activities at Goldfarb for a group of high school students from the St. Louis Public School District. The purpose of the day-long event was to help the students learn more about the nursing profession and to spend time in the school’s simulation lab where they get hands-on nursing experience.
The club also knows how to have fun. GMEN participated in a fantasy football league, which was won by Mike McLean, a student at the Goldfarb west campus. The GMEN NCAA March Madness Final Four Brackets league will also be starting soon.
“We are looking to get more students, both male and female, involved in this group,” noted Danback. “Together we can help to create a diverse nursing workforce by providing our students and the St. Louis community with education, knowledge and skills to enhance the role of men in the nursing profession.”
For more information, or to learn about how to get involved in GMEN, contact Staff Advisor Nick Silva at NSilva@bjc.org. More information is also available on their Facebook page by searching for GMEN and AAMN St. Louis Local Chapter.
