Sororities/Fraternities

EmilyUSFRN, RN · Oct 9, 2007

I was a Chi Omega (social sorority) throughout college, lived in the house, was an officer, recruitment counselor, etc.

I also worked and went through nursing school.

You can do both. Sigma Theta Tau is a honor society who invites you to join based on GPA, etc. and at least at my school, didn't really have too many social activities.

There are many social sororities out there that value education, require study hours based on GPA, set up study partners for those in the same field of study, etc.

If you want to do it, then go for it. It takes a commitment to not just the social aspect or the educational aspect but a HUGE commitment to time management and prioritization (I truly feel what I took away from my sorority in terms of time management and professionalism has impacted my first year of nursing tremendously in that I'm comfortable with these skills).

Good luck!

ND76 · Oct 9, 2007

Are there any nurses who are apart of sororities/fraternities? If so, which ones? And how did you manage both while in nursing school?
And lastly, is it possible to be in a sorority/frat and still be apart of the nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau?

I think that this is the same as anything else...your mileage may vary.

I went to a 4 year university and have a bachelors degree from a school with a very high pass rate (i.e. HIGH expectations from faculty and staff.) They told us right off the bat we were going to eat, breathe, sleep nursing school for four semesters, and there would be very little time for anything else. We all had advisement sessions before first day of class, and my advisor told me I needed to drop most of my extracurriculars. I was NOT willing to do that. Yes, I went to college to learn and plan for a career, but I also went to expand my horizons personally and socially.

I went to nursing school with people who didn't work, were single and had no kids, and they couldn't pass to save their lives.

I was a member of a national sorority. I was an officer, a Panhellenic officer, a rush counselor, a Student Goverment Senator, a freshman orientation counselor, an college ambassador, a member of several student planning committees, and active in residence life when I lived in sorority housing. I went to parties, socials, mixers, bars, clubs and road tripped with my girlfriends. I also worked all but one semester of nursing school, usually about 20 hours per week. Somewhere in the middle I managed to meet DH and lay the foundation for our marriage. In fact, I used nursing school as an excuse when I wanted to get OUT of a social engagement. It's all about balance, time management skills, and prioritizing.

My teachers gave me HELL the first semester or so. I had an instructor give me a big "U" in clinical one day when I passed out and left class early because she thought I had been out drinking the night before. (Somewhat true, but she didn't KNOW that for a fact.) Then they realized that I was prepared for clinicals, I made mostly B's and A's on tests, and I didn't need the spoon feeding a lot of my classmates did. I honestly think that juggling all that stuff during college prepared me to be a good nurse. I started off with mad time management skills, and could multi-task with the best of them, which is usually one of the hardest things to learn!

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Apr 23, 2010

You can be part of a social sorority/fraternity and be in a service/honor sorority/fraternity (Chi Eta Phi, Sigma Theta Tau, Sigma Alpha Lambda, etc etc etc), even if you terminated your membership with the social one! I used to be a part of a social sorority but I terminated...now I'm a member of Chi Eta Phi :)

BellaInBlueScrubsRN · Apr 23, 2010

I was a member of a social sorority for all 4 years of my college. It is a HUGE committment! Mine was even harder since I had to work also to pay those bills (and sorority dues!). Still, if I had to do it all over again, I would be more involved. A lot of my sisters were nursing majors, and you get more involved in school as well. Although many see sororities as purely drinking, they actually have very strict rules for grades. And if you fall behind, they set up study nights, etc to help you. They want you to succeed!

Kristen<3 · Apr 29, 2010

I am a member of a social sorority -Phi sigma sigma- and honestly cannot imagine being an active member during nursing school. Sorority's take up a lot of time, on top of all the the fun stuff that your going to want to do we are always having mandatory events. Honestly as much as I love being in a sorority I will be going inactive next year because I really think the distraction would be damaging to me and is not worth it.

ReordonaSRN · Mar 18, 2011

I belong to Sigma Rho Nu... Which makes nursing school easier to go through because of all the support you get from the active members. I guess that's why it stands for Student Registered Nurse.