Phi Theta Kappa - Haven't we all been invited?

I was recently invited to join Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) and was wondering if anyone who has experience with this honor society has found it beneficial other than it looking nice on resumes. My thinking is that most nursing students qualify for this honor due to the grades that must be maintained/acquired for nursing school. How would this make someone stand out in the field of nursing if most nursing students probably qualify?

Has anyone found that it helped them get any new-grad positions when they graduated? Did it help with scholarships? Did it look good when you wanted to transfer to a university? Did you find it helpful in terms of networking? Did it apply to any or none of the above?

I was also wondering what the GPA cutoff is? How low can your GPA fall before they kick you out? I could always ask this at the orientation meeting, but that isn't anytime soon.

I had also heard of Sigma Theta Tau (specifically for nurses) and was wondering what one would need to do in order to be invited to join?

Thanks for reading.

106 Answers

I took the opportunity to join PTK at the community college while trying to get into the nursing program, primarily because it would look good on the resume. I graduated with an Associates in Science degree last week and start nursing school in January. By being in PTK, I was chosen, out of almost 500 graduates to be the student speaker at the graduation, representing not only PTK, but the college, as well.

I also have had the chance to be involved in various communtiy service projects, and am looking forward to potential scholarships when I continue on for my BSN!

And like a previous poster said, being in PTK does wonders to make a parent proud!!!

I was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa Alpha Iota Alpha Chapter this past December. I am not in nursing school as of yet, but am waiting to hear if I have been accepted over the coming weeks. The GPA cutoff is 3.5, and they also give you one semester for reprieve (if you fall below the GPA requirement for one semester, you can still remain a member). Our advisor is always emailing the members with new and pertinent scholarship information, to which I have recently applied and am waiting to hear feedback. I am guessing that most nursing students wouldnt qualify, because most have a 73 or so grade requirement, not nearly close to the 3.5 cutoff. It is an honor to be invited to join, and should be treated as such. Congratulations and welcome to PTK!!

C:nurse:

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

I joined last year. I can't say there's been much benefit to it so far other than spicing up the resume...and yes, I am proud that I've done well in school and will be able to graduate with the regalia ? They do have scholarship info but since I'm not pursuing a BSN right away, I haven't checked into it.

In our school, you need a 3.5 to qualify for membership, and you need to maintain a 3.2 to stay in.

I think it is an honor to be part of it. I personally don't think that it makes a difference tho in finding a job. Most places are not really going to care about that cause what they really care about is that you pass the NCLEX, thats it in a nutshell.

Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.

Every single person in my nursing class was invited, since you had to have a 3.5 GPA to be in the program anyway. It does look nice on a Resume. Our instructors encouraged us to join. I did, and never had a problem finding a job, but I don't know if it was because of that or not.

Specializes in ICU.
SDChargersGirl#31 said:
I had also heard of Sigma Theta Tau (specifically for nurses) and was wondering what one would need to do in order to be invited to join?

Join Phi Theta Kappa - yes, it looks good on your resume, and may make a difference when interviewing for competitive jobs or educational programs.

To be offered membership in Sigma Theta Tau, you've got to have a 3.0 GPA minimum, AND be in the top 35% of your graduating class. Membership candidate decisions are made after you've completed 1/2 of your nursing curriculum. For all the gory details, please see:

https://www.sigmanursing.org/why-sigma/sigma-membership/apply-now/student-membership-criteria

(Yes, I joined both of them)

Enjoy!

I am a member of Phi Theta Kappa at my school. There are many benefits to the honor society, and being a member can be beneficial in many ways.

First, there are a lot of schools that offer transfer scholarships when transferring to a four year institution. Next, there are many additional scholarships that are only available to Phi Theta Kappa members. Also, they will write letters of recommendation to schools as well as employers. A letter of recommendation from an academic honor society looks good. Additionally, the organization offers you an opportunity to perform community service projects. Finally, once you are a member there is a stamp of "Phi Theta Kappa" on your transcript. These are just to name a few. A $75 fee to gain access to $1,000's of dollars in scholarships, letters of recommendation, and the prestige of being a member of a international honor society is well worth it.

Some will say that it isn't really that big of a deal. However, it speaks volumes on your work ethic, discipline, ability to accomplish a task set before you, your teachability, as well as your ability to excel.

You should consider anything that will set you apart from those that your are competing with.

Specializes in Critical Care, Clinical Documentation Specialist.

I'm a PTK Member as well and joined so I can permanently have it on my resume. Any academic accolade as RB2000 says, "looks good".

I called our nursing school about the transfer scholarships and they said that the nursing school and the University have different pools of money, so the PTK scholarship is only good transferring into the U itself, not the nursing school. That was a bummer, but oh well.

I'm graduating this May with my Assoc of Science and PTK will send me a gold seal that I can place on my diploma signaling my membership. I'm looking forward to hanging it next to my PTK certificate already on my wall.

Specializes in Hospice & Palliative Care, Oncology, M/S.

I'm also a member of PTK, and I do believe it helped me get into the nursing program as well as my university. I did have the points necessary for the nursing program, however my cumulative wasn't wonderful thanks to mistakes I made when I was 17. Having the PTK on my transcript was a good way to show schools (and employers) that I mean business. :)

I've also had someone hire me in the past over another applicant because I was a member of PTK. It does matter, and that $75 will seem like nothing after you're able to show what you're made of.

I joined Phi Theta Kappa for a couple of reasons. First of all, the economy is tough right now. Hopefully by the time I graduate and have my license, it won't be quite so difficult to find a nursing job. However, PTK is a very quick and easy way to set yourself apart from the crowd of applicants. It is recognition for your hard work and don't let anyone tell you that good grades don't matter. Sure, the person who is #1 in the class and the person who is #50 in a class will have the same license. However, hospitals are going to look at #1 before #50 whenever possible and PTK on your resume lets them know that you were a good student.

I would never recommend things like "who's who in nursing school" type awards. The ones that put you in their book if you buy a copy. But, PTK is not a scam. It is a recognized academic honor society and you should be proud that you have worked hard enough to be asked to join.

Specializes in Emergency, Pre-Op, PACU, OR.

I'm a PTK member too, and if nothing else, listing it on your resume (for schools or jobs) says something about your discipline and academic excellence, so I'd say go for it!

I joined and honestly I feel it was a waste of cash. But a lot of that had to do with my chapter. I tried to get involved several times and each time it was far to difficult. I had to contact person A to find out the time, then try to get in touch with person B to find out the specifics of location....just a mess.

It turned out that the leadership were all business students and if you weren't in classes with them....it was nearly impossible to get involved.

They didn't offer scholarships to any of the nursing schools in my area and send A LOT of SPAM to my e-mail address about things I can buy from them that say Phi Theta Kappa.

If I had it to do all again.....I'd save my $80.

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