Was your professional membership or affiliation helpful?

[Icooka4u]

Has a professional membership or affiliation with nat'l/local or a sorority/fraternity helped you in your career?

[llg, PhD, RN]

I get lots of educational material from the professional organization of my specialty. I get discounted rates to their conferences, free Continuing Education Credits through free webinars, etc.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I haven't found sorority or fraternity helpful but then I was a non-traditional student. The professional memberships like ENA, ANNA, ISAPN have been more helpful as they relate to my specialty and experience level

[Flatline, BSN, RN]

Yes. Membership and involvement with professional nursing organizations have directly helped me get at least 2 jobs, 1 of which I was wholly unqualified for but due to my affiliation they hired me.

Beyond that I have learned much from the meetings which usually had a speaker and allowed me to network with colleagues. I believe much of my professional success is directly due to my membership and involvement in key organizations.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I think OP is referring to social rather than professional organizations. Professional organizations are not gender-segregated (sororities and fraternities). Professional organizations can add a lot of value. Most have quite a few "freebies" that are included with membership, such as journals, CE programs, etc.

[Icooka4u]

I think OP is referring to social rather than professional organizations. Professional organizations are not gender-segregated (sororities and fraternities). Professional organizations can add a lot of value. Most have quite a few "freebies" that are included with membership, such as journals, CE programs, etc.

I meant both but specifically sororities and fraternities on the social spectrum. With recruitment, they tend to show networking later on in your career as a huge benefit to secure jobs & other related opportunities. They usually have a core area that they promote i.e. community service, health care... I'm researching professional memberships & certifications, and which one's would actually be beneficial vs superficial as in just looks good on paper, and wanted to hear people's experiences that have those memberships/associations.

[Flatline, BSN, RN]

I meant both but specifically sororities and fraternities on the social spectrum. With recruitment, they tend to show networking later on in your career as a huge benefit to secure jobs & other related opportunities. They usually have a core area that they promote i.e. community service, health care... I'm researching professional memberships & certifications, and which one's would actually be beneficial vs superficial as in just looks good on paper, and wanted to hear people's experiences that have those memberships/associations.

I have only seen sororities and fraternities referred to in a negative way in the hospital. Keep in mind that at the core of it, nursing is a blue collar profession still which is why you will sometimes encounter negative social pressure when someone either has or is trying to achieve a higher than typical educational achievement.

The corporate world is different however, being white collar at the core, I have often seen sororities and fraternities being used to network and form alliances and friendships that would otherwise not have existed.

[llg, PhD, RN]

My college sorority? Nothing helpful professionally ... that was just for fun in college.

Professional organizations after graduation? Helpful.