Student Nurse Association, is it worth it? (career wise)

[Taegashi]

Ok, I'm older and have a family. I don't live on campus and I already have a fairly large and strong resume thanks to my medical experience from the Army. Now that aside, would it be worth my time, money, and family's expense to be apart of my school's SNA? Would it actually benefit my nurse career? For that matter, what about the NSNA? I'd rather spend my time studying or with my family. As far as I know it doesn't cost anything to join my SNA but most of their functions are way after my class times and I don't want to spend any more time on campus than I already have to unless it benefits me. So far the only benefit I have seen is if you accumulate enough points you get to wear a different cord that only nurse graduates can wear during graduation, but only if you accumulate the points which generally requires either you spending money or time. Again I have a family so my time and finances are tight but once I commit I'm all in. What do yall think?

[llg, PhD, RN]

Some of the activities might help you learn more about nursing careers, getting jobs, etc. If that's the case, then it would probably help you to be plugged into those resources. If their activities are non-professional in nature (just a social club), then you can probably skip them safely.

Simply paying your dues and attending a meeting or two doesn't usually help you get a job. But being a leader of the group can help. It can also help if you network with professionals during their activities and/or have meetings that give you information on the job market, sessions about careers, tips on interviews, etc. So investigate the nature of their activities and make your decision based on that.

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

I had fun in my SNA when I was there but it was free to us and we went to state convention for free.