To join or not to join a Professional Nursing Organization...

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm giving a presentation on Professional Nursing Organizations in a few weeks and am conducting my own unofficial, unscientific survey:D

How many of you belong to a Professional Nursing Organization (PNO)?

How important do you think active membership in a PNO is to your career and to the nursing profession in general?

How has belonging to a PNO benefitted your career?

Thanks for your participation/input!

Specializes in Cardiac.

California is the best example, that I can think of, of how getting involved politically with a PO can create change (i.e., nurse/patient ratios).

Can anyone provide some examples of how their local or national PO is striving to improve nursing practice?

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I belong to the Emergency Nurses Association and the IL Society of Advanced Practice Nurses.

I do not belong to the ANA because in IL that costs $512/year and that to me is outrageious.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

I joined ANA a few years back because I was working at a hospital that was trying to get Magnet status, and decided to do the "career ladder" thingie in order to get a "bonus" (which really turned out to be, not that much money for a lot of trouble that I went through). Joining ANA was part of my "career ladder".

It's really been of little use to me, quite honestly. I keep thinking I'm going to cancel my membership, but then I think "what if it really looks good on job applications"? I mean really, it looks like a pretty small percentage of nurses in my state are members; there are only about 44 members in my district.

Well, I have to go back and edit my original post; it HAS been somewhat useful. The journals that come along with membership do have useful articles, and you get a lot of free and discounted CEU's.

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Specializes in M/S,Tele,HIV/AIDS,Research,IV Therapy.

I am currently a member of ANAC Association of Nurses in AIDS Care and am joining the INS Infusion Nurses Society. I feel personally, that a "specialty association" will provide me with more needed or usable benefits than the ANA for example. ie: journals, CEU's and the like. Hope this helps.

Good Luck !

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