Professinal organizations

[nealmaxfield]

My name is Neal Maxfield and I am currently an active member of the National Student Nurse Association (NSNA). I will be graduating in May, and I would like to join a professional organization similar to NSNA. However, I have had my head stuck in books for a while now and I really haven't had time to research it adequately. I would appreciate any input you could give me (positive or negative) reguarding this issue. Thanks.

Neal

[Julie, RN]

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation, I will be graduating also this May! As for professional organizations, we just discussed this in my Leadership class. The professor recommended we at least be a part of the ANA. She also stated that even though we have over 2 million RN's in the U.S., only 200,000 are members of the ANA. She suggested that this contributed to the fact that nursing is a very "fragmented" un-united, and unrepresented profession. I am curious about what other nurses think/feel about this?

[iodine]

Hi, Neal, congrats: I would recommend you join your state nursing org. and after you have determined your specialy, seek out an organization which matches your interests and needs. Fees can run up for all the org. out there, so wait and be selective, seeking the ones which you can actually attend the meetings and contribute to the process. Otherwise you are just sending them money. ANA and NLN have been around a long time and have used the same complaints about their lack of progress. My perception of them is that