NSNA - Student Nurses' Association

MySimplePlan · Mar 7, 2008

Is anyone part of the National Student Nurses' Association? If so, what are the benefits of being a member other than what they have listed on their website. Are there any other associations/clubs that are useful in the field of Nursing, that are great resume builders? I don't have any Nursing experience so I'm trying to build a resume with the hopes that a couple of associations/clubs and other affiliations would help.
What are your thoughts?

I never joined. To me, it's busy work staffing bake sales and toy campaigns during the holidays. I need that time to study and get a high GPA, which really DOES matter on a resume. There's not a whole lot of nursing going on in the SNA, IMNSHO.

I'm in the minority in this, but if one is being honest, it's accurate.

Veruka · Mar 7, 2008

I am in the Student Nurse Association. In fact, I am very involved. It is not just "busy work". Yes, we do bake sales and toy drives, but we also help our student nurses that are in financial need, we coordinate the graduation activites for the graduating students, we make contacts, we network, etc... This year, we are doing Relay For Life for one of our very own students who was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and had to leave nursing school. I really could go on and on. It is a great organization. It also looks great on a resume. I find that it does not require that much more extra time a month to do these things. It's very enjoyable.

I respect what you think about it, MySimplePlan, but I don't agree with you. :twocents:

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 9, 2008

I think that any involvement in a profesisonal nursing organization, such as NSNA looks excellent on a resume.

I joined at the National level and was able to get a discount on other professional organizational memberships, such as the Oncology Nursing Society.

I respectfully disagree with the above poster. While GPA is important, I feel that membership in professional organizations is just as important. I was just hired as a nurse extern, I was never never asked me my GPA. However, they were very interested in participation in extracurricular activities and organizations.

Best,

Diane

tonyal · Mar 9, 2008

do you have to be a nursing student already,or can you join if you are waiting to get into a program?

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 9, 2008

do you have to be a nursing student already,or can you join if you are waiting to get into a program?

This link should answer all of your questions...

http://www.nsna.org/membership/

Kookubear · Mar 24, 2008

Is anyone part of the National Student Nurses' Association? If so, what are the benefits of being a member other than what they have listed on their website. Are there any other associations/clubs that are useful in the field of Nursing, that are great resume builders? I don't have any Nursing experience so I'm trying to build a resume with the hopes that a couple of associations/clubs and other affiliations would help.
What are your thoughts?

As a member, you also can go to the NSNA conventions held yearly. (Members holding office go for free as do a lottery-selected group of others at my school). These are not only a lot of fun, but you can network and build up contacts. There are reps from all sorts of areas of nursing. They have seminars on nursing issues and an 8-hr NCLEX review.

The SNA, like many school organizations, is also good experience for future involvement in professional organizations. As they keep drilling into us in class, nurses are the most numerous group in healthcare. If we want positive changes, we need to organize and support groups like the ANA who are trying to improve the nursing field.

It's also good leadership experience and beyond bakesales, there are service projects you can do such as organizing groups for things like Race for the Cure, Relay for Life; getting people to donate supplies to send to nurses/medical facilities in war-torn areas, volunteering...

2BArmyRN · Apr 1, 2008

I just got back from the NSNA 56th Annual Convention on Saturday - it was one of the most important things I've done in my life, actually. I served as a delegate for the state of PA, and spent a lot of time debating the resolutions brought to the floor with my fellow students (who are all younger than me, by the way - I'm an adult student in an accelerated program). Thinking about these issues, debating them, hearing lots of other points-of-view, all helped me finally decide where I really want to take my nursing career -- to the advocacy and legislative level.

Granted, not everyone will have this experience. But, if all nurses are patient advocates by nature, then I think being involved in professional organizations (even if just to stay on top of the issues) is really important. And, who knows? Participating in an NSNA conference might just help you further define where you want to take your nursing career.

I'm just sorry I didn't consider nursing when I was doing my first undergraduate degree! I'd have gotten really involved in NSNA then. As it stands, I graduate in July, so this was my first and last convention. But I will have the lessons I learned this past week with me for the rest of my life, I think. So, I would recommend to any nursing student - get involved at some level. You might get a lot more out of it than you think!