If you are a nursing student, joining nursing student associations can offer great resources during school and beyond. Many of these organizations offer networking and professional development opportunities, mentoring, and more while connecting you to a community of like-minded people.
An important aspect of choosing a future career is ensuring that you will be satisfied in the long run with your choice. A good career should be fulfilling and allow for plenty of opportunities for growth. Otherwise, you may end up feeling lost in a dead-end job or burnt out at the end of the day. That’s why we offer an Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, which can be completed in as little as 16 months. This program is a great option if you find yourself needing a career change.
A great way of determining whether a certain career offers professional development opportunities is by looking at professional organizations tied to that field. These nursing student associations offer you the chance to grow through workshops, courses, and other opportunities. You can also see how the community within that field works together.
The first step toward a nursing career is a nursing program. See what you can expect from an accelerated nursing program.
Student Nurses Association Benefits
Professional organizations within the nursing community provide many benefits to future and current registered nurses, including professional development, networking, mentoring, career assistance, and more.
Several organizations are more traditionally for registered nurses, but all of those included in our list have student membership options. If you are already in nursing school, you should consider joining one or more of these great nursing student associations. While we know money is tight while you are in nursing school, student memberships are much less expensive than the professional rate, and sometimes they are free with proof that you are a current student. Not to mention, the great opportunities that can be offered through these organizations can make a membership fee well worth it.
Another benefit of joining these organizations is that they can be a great way to make friends with other nurses and nursing students. While it is beneficial to build up your professional network, making friends with other nursing professionals can be a great way to build a support system of individuals who understand what you might be going through during nursing school and beyond. Getting advice for your career and your life from people who have similar ambitions and have had similar experiences is priceless.
Nursing school is hard, but forming support groups can be a great way to help you through it. Here are even more tips to help you succeed.
Nursing Student Associations with Marian Chapters
Marian University has chapters associated with various professional organizations, including some targeted toward our BSN nursing students. These organizations can be incredibly helpful to future nurses, which is why we encourage our students to join at least one, if not both, of these organizations.
Sigma Theta Tau
Sigma Theta Tau is an international nursing honor society founded nearly a century ago at Indiana University. Baccalaureate nursing students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA and be in the top 35 percent of their class for nomination.
Marian University Student Nurses’ Association
Anyone in nursing at Marian University is eligible to join the Marian University Student Nurses’ Association (MUSNA). MUSNA exists “to build a support system both academically and socially for greater success as a nursing student.”
National Nursing Organizations
In addition to the organizations with Marian-specific chapters, a plethora of nursing organizations offer memberships to nursing students. These national organizations often have many chapters across the nation, so students have many options of which professional organizations to join.
National Student Nurses’ Association
The National Student Nurses’ Association provides educational resources (including discounts on NCLEX study tools), leadership opportunities, scholarships, and career guidance. There are both Indiana (Indiana Association of Nursing Students) and Tennessee (Tennessee Association of Student Nurses) chapters.
American Nurses Association
The American Nurses Association offers many professional development opportunities for its members. It offers resources to its student subscribers, including career support, network building, and opportunities to participate in advocacy initiatives. It is important to note that if students are members of the National Student Nurses’ Association, the $10 student subscription fee is waived, and you can join for free.
Nursing Organizations Targeted to Specific Populations
Several national nursing organizations target specific populations. Belonging to one of these organizations can help connect you to like-minded individuals passionate about the same issues as you. Many of these organizations work to promote diversity in the nursing field and improve the quality of healthcare for minority groups.
National Black Nurses Association, Inc.
The National Black Nurses Association, Inc. (NBNA) is an organization whose mission is to organize black nurses across the nation to advocate for healthcare strategies that ensure high-quality care for patients of color. The NBNA offers many different services to its members, including career fairs, scholarships, conferences, and networking opportunities.
National Association of Hispanic Nurses
The main goal of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) is to further advance the quality of healthcare provided to Hispanic patients and communities and advocate for Hispanic nurses across the nation. Members of the NAHN are offered various educational, leadership, and professional advancement opportunities.
American Assembly for Men in Nursing
The American Assembly for Men in Nursing is an organization focused on supporting men in nursing and encouraging more men to enter the nursing profession. Members of this organization receive professional support and focus on improving diversity and advocating for men’s health issues. While the emphasis of this organization is to support and increase men in nursing, any nurses are encouraged to join, regardless of gender. Student nurses are also encouraged to join and may do so at a discounted rate.
InterVarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship
The InterVarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship is an organization focused on providing both career and spiritual support to its members. Specifically for its student members, this organization offers bible studies and the opportunity to explore their faith within the context of nursing while also offering professional development, mentoring, and networking opportunities.
Learn how a faith-based education can help to set you up for success as a nurse.
Associations for Nursing Specialties
If you already have a nursing specialty in mind, you can also potentially find an organization that supports that nursing specialty to help you learn more and become better connected to other student nurses studying or planning to pursue that specialty. A good example is the National Association of School Nurses, which focuses on supporting current and future school nurses.
General Health Occupation Associations
While joining a nursing-specific organization can connect you to some great resources to help you with your nursing career, you might also consider joining some broader organizations open to all individuals in the healthcare field. For example, the Health Occupations Students Association’s (HOSA’s) Post-secondary/Collegiate Division is for students enrolled in health sciences programs at the collegiate level, specifically seeking a baccalaureate degree (for HOSA competitive events). There are Indiana and Tennessee associations of HOSA. According to their website, “HOSA’s two-fold mission is to promote career opportunities in the health care industry and to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people.”
Joining these types of organizations can help you get a broader perspective of how the healthcare field works. Learning about the roles of other professionals can give you a better understanding of how to work as part of a healthcare team in your career.
Interested in Pursuing a Nursing Degree and Joining Nursing Student Associations?
While our summary of available nursing student associations is certainly not all-inclusive, it should give you a good idea of the specific groups and types available for you to join during nursing school. We encourage you to choose one or more of these groups and get involved! You may even want to start a chapter of a nursing student association at your school.
Here at Marian, we have plenty of opportunities for our students to get involved. Our curriculum, composed of online courses, in-person labs, and clinicals, and our three start dates per year, is designed to allow us to accept more qualified candidates.
Take the first step to becoming a nurse now, by contacting us about Marian University’s admission requirements for our ABSN program so you can earn a BSN degree in as little as 16 months.