Did you get any real benefit from being in the Student Nurses Assoc.?

Thanks DolceVita. I hope you do get something out of your membership. I'm going to look into it. I'm a "joiner" by nature. I joined my professional (medical transcription) association and quickly found myself getting very involved. I ended up as president of the local chapter (very small), but that was fantastic for making friends, building confidence, networking, and ultimately an all-expenses-paid trip to the annual national convention and expo in my third year as president. As it just happened to be in Hawaii that year, I was a very happy camper.I have no idea how things work in this new field though.

Believe me, it was toooo easy to become president of that small chapter, and I really did work for the perks. I'd be willing to do it again, but I have a feeling things will be pretty different in what must be a huge association. Don't come running to me for your air fare when they won't pay your way to Paradise next year. LOL! nbch:

Oh, I forgot to mention, I was elected as an officer to my local NSA. That's what got me the trip. Officers and a couple of active members got to go.

LOL!! I got to go to the convention in Salt Lake City too!! It was pretty fun. We went from Univ. of South Alabama in Mobile.

I was a member of MaSNA, the MA branch of the NSNA. They did nothing for me. I got to attend 2 state conferences for free, but that was it.

Not worth it. Didn't even list it on my resume as I wasn't active in it. I've always seen it as a sort of cheating to join things but be inactive...and list it on your resume.

Here, the cost of membership is greater than the benefit it supplies. Members are the only ones who get to wear cords at pinning. However, to me, cords mean nothing if they are merely purchased rather than earned.

I was a member of NSNA, my state association and my local chapter. Later, I served as the advisor in two nursing programs, as well as for the state. I believe that you will get out of any professional membership what you put into it. If you want to be a dues paying member only, because you are busy and can't make it to meetings or to association activities, that is fine. You'll get the same publications in the mail and free offers that others on this forum have spoken of. If you want to become more involved, attend the meetings (local, state and national), and you'll have the opportunity to network with other nursing students aas well as meet practicing nurses, and get tips on NCLEX and nursing specialties. State and National conventions often offer mini NCLEX reviews, that I found helpful. As a state officer, I met some interesting prominent nurses who spoke at our convention, namely Kaye Lani Rafko, the Miss America who was also a nurse, as well as General Clara Adams Ender, the highest ranking nurse in the military at the time. I also talked with many recruiters at conventions.

Professionalism is a choice, and in that choice is the opportunity to become more involved in nursing beyond the bedside. Professional membership organization is a choice. I've found that it opened many doors for me, and gave me the opportunity to learn and refine leadership skills such as planning and organizing conventions, booking speakers, creating newsletters, budgeting, teamwork, and public speaking, to name a few. And going into nursing school, I was a bit reserved, somewhat quiet, and maybe even shy. I think that I was put into positions in the student organization that helped me to develop leadership skills.

If you don't like what your local or state or even national organization has to offer, then step up to the plate and run for an officer position or volunteer to serve as a committee member. Be the person that makes the positive suggestions to the board members who can act on your suggestions and are probably looking for suggestions. At the very least, fill out the surveys that are sent to the members for input. Believe it or not, very few of those seem to be returned.

I'd highly endorse being involved in NSNA, as well as your state and local chapters. Upon graduation, I'd recommend being involved in the professional organization(s) of your choice. It certainly made a difference for me, and I've been a nurse for 20 years. Student membership fees only cost about what a tank or two of gas costs. Professional membership fees vary, but you can often get monthly checking drafts for the dues and you never miss what you never had to budget with anyway. (And those professional membership dues often cover money to pay lobbyists to lobby in the interest of nurses in DC and in your state. I think that is a great benefit, considering the state of politics currently.)

And wise recruiters will say "I see you were a member of your student nurse association. Tell me about your involvement with them." That question weeds out dues paying members who wanted a line on their resume versus those who attended meetings and participated in service projects. I've had several recruiters tell me that they used that question.