Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, worth it to join?

Nurses General Nursing

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well guys/gals, just finally passed my boards and i'm working. get a call from a teacher from my program saying, "oh, become a member of epsilon kappa chapter # ***of stti," , "you need it for graduate school!"

is it worth the hype?

alright is this true, it's like 100 bucks every year i mean i won't be going to graduate school for at least 4 years so why join now?; can't i just join like 1 year before graduate school? or is this not possible?

thanks for your time in advance,

joe

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Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

Yes, yes, and yes! It is the exclusive nursing honor society. It is an honor to be invited. I'd feel flattered and accept the invitation, as long as you care about your nursing career and commitment to nursing.

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I belong to Phi Theta Kappa, which is the International Honor Society for 2 year colleges. I too was informed that due to my wanting to go on to gain my BSN, MSN, and most likely Phd, that it would be a "respectable addition to my transcript." I did, it only cost like 75 a year, it has several perks (discounts to this and that), but I did contact the university I plan on continuing my education with and the admission counselor said that, "ANY honor society is highly appreciated and looked upon favorably when considering applicants." So I don't know about you but with all the fuss associated with getting into nursing school, I will gladly take any boost I can get.

Oh, an added surprise with the honor society...Once enrolled and accepted, at least in PTK, we are automatically placed on a list for academic scholarships ( I was not aware of this). I was contacted last week, via mail, with a 2,000 scholarship! Talk about a nice surprise!

As for should you join now, with PTK, once you are in the gpa requirement is lowered from a 3.8 to a 3.5. It may not sound like much but if you come across a class that really runs you through the mind gutter, it is a nice cushion.

GOOD LUCK

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Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigma_Theta_Tau
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Specializes in SRNA.

My induction to Sigma Theta Tau is this Saturday.

I went to one meeting after I was invited to join and I enjoyed it. We had a wonderful speaker, a great meal, and the opportunity to network with nurses in the community was amazing. At the time, I was still a student, but RNs receive CE credits for attending meetings that have speakers, so that will be a nice benefit. Also, they seem to heavily sponsor research and scholarship of its members.

I was amazed by what the nurses in my community were doing. One was recently elected to the NCSBN, so will be influencing nursing standards across the country. Others were staff nurses like me, whereas others were some very high level administrators at various facilities around Northern NV. I think it will be a great opportunity to network and be involved in my profession.

As an undergrad, we had an assignment to create a poster presentation of a current research study that interested us and we got to present our posters at a Nursing Research Event hosted by our local STTI chapter. It was a good experience! Even though we were presenting our interpretation of someone else's research, it really drove home the importance of nursing research and introduced us to that whole realm of the nursing profession. It was actually quite exciting.

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Absolutely!

As mentioned above it is a great honor to be invited and you should be proud of your accomplishments thus far.

Its officers and members are well respected nurses who are on top of their field. It helps promote unity and professionalism among our community.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

I think it is an honor and looks good on your CV/resume, but I have gotten accepted to 3 different grad schools and I am currently going to nurse anesthesia school w/o ever being a member. So yes it looks good but I have serious doubts it is going to make any real difference in furthering your nursing education/career.

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Specializes in CRNA.
I think it is an honor and looks good on your CV/resume, but I have gotten accepted to 3 different grad schools and I am currently going to nurse anesthesia school w/o ever being a member. So yes it looks good but I have serious doubts it is going to make any real difference in furthering your nursing education/career.

Completely agree dude. I am currently in my second year of anesthesia school. Instructed to Join the "honor" society 2 semesters ago. Yeah I think it looks good on a resume, but can't say that it has helped me any. Actually, I see it as a $100 that could have been spent on a nice dinner with the wife and a coupla beers with the fellas after a hard day at the beach. I didn't realize we had to pay that much every year....hope its not on the automatic payment plan.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PACU.

IMHO, it looked good on my resume and they have a fine looking pin to wear-other than that, I find no useful purpose in being a member and will not pay those horrendous dues another year. However, in their defense, what you get from it may be related to the quality of the particular chapter.

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Specializes in SRNA.

Ya, if your intent is to pay the $100 only so you can put it on a resume, it isn't worth it. :grn:

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PACU.
Ya, if your intent is to pay the $100 only so you can put it on a resume, it isn't worth it. :grn:

Exactly. This is about all that the Chapter that inducted me had to offer!

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Specializes in general surgical, women's surgery.

I think it's definitely worth joining. You can always drop it later, if you don't want to continue. It's an international honor society for nurses graduating in the top of their class and with honorable character, etc. Not all nurses are aware of it because it's only offered on the university level.... i.e. 4 year degree or above (BSN, MSN, ND, PhD).

I was a member of Phi Theta Kappa honor society at the 2 yr community college and also inducted into the university's academic honor society. During my senior year, I was honored to be inducted into STT, (last March), but haven't since been to any other meetings b/c I've had so much to deal with since graduation: death of both parents within 6 months, son's wedding, birth of 1st grandchild, adjusting to night shift work, etc. I hope to return for the annual induction ceremony this March, if my new job's schedule allows.

STT promotes the professionalism of nursing. I think associating with its members is a proactive way to prevent burn-out, improve the working environment for nurses, and fight against the jaded/cynical attitudes that I see pervading so many areas of hospital nursing. I know I personally need to be around those who are still looking forward, still wanting to grow, and who remain positive about choosing nursing as a profession.

STT also offers guidance and resources for nursing research... whether be it for grad school or for other nursing environments. The hospital where I work applied for Magnet status, but was turned down simply because of its lack of nursing research. Even if we aren't headed to grad school, there are still opportunities to promote our profession through research.

Congratulations for being a chosen leader! Give STT a try and see who you might meet. RIght now, I'm sure you're sick of school, but after you've worked a while, you might want to begin thinking about moving into a different area of nursing and STT could be a great resource. It can be pretty tough out there in the real world of nursing and I"m very appreciative of the classy nurses to whom I can look up to for encouragement and advice. Choose your role models wisely. Only take the best.

We need to do all we can to increase respect for our profession. I'm married to a family physician. After observing physicians working together for over 30, I can tell you that if nurses would support one another while protecting & promoting the art of nursing as a profession in the same manner physicians have, we'd be paid much better and gain more respect from the world of healthcare professionals.

Joining professional organizations is a key way to promote and protect our profession.

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