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 that leaves you feeling nothing but burnt out at the end of the day.
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 many other opportunities. You can also see how the community within that field works together.
Professional organizations within the nursing community provide many benefits to future and current registered nurses, including:
- Professional development
- Networking opportunities
- Mentoring
- Career assistance
If you are already in nursing school, you should consider joining one or more of these great nursing student associations. Several organizations are more traditionally for registered nurses, but all of those included in our list have student membership options. While we know money is tight while you are in nursing school, student memberships are much less expensive than the professional rate, and sometimes are even free with proof that you are a current student.
If you are still deciding whether you want to become a nurse or if you are in the process of researching nursing schools, you should still review the list and information below on nursing organizations you can anticipate joining as a student. If you decide to proceed with returning to school for nursing, groups like this will help you feel more connected to your classmates and other nurses-to-be in general, regardless of the school you choose.
Nursing Student Associations with Marian Chapters
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.
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”.
BSN nursing students in any of Marian University’s programs should consider joining at least MUSNA, as well as Sigma Theta Tau if qualified.
National Nursing Organization with Indiana and Tennessee Chapters
The National Student Nurses’ Association provides educational resources, leadership opportunities and career guidance. There are both Indiana (Indiana Association of Nursing Students) and Tennessee (Tennessee Association of Student Nurses) chapters.
Nursing Organizations Targeted to Specific Populations
Several national nursing organizations are targeted to specific populations. The ones we found include:
- National Black Nurses Association, Inc.
- National Association of Hispanic Nurses
- American Assembly for Men in Nursing
- Intervarsity Nurses Christian Fellowship.
Follow the links to find out more about your specific nursing organization of interest. Each group has a student rate that is much more reasonable than their normal, professional membership rate.
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 of this is the National Association of School Nurses.
General Health Occupation Associations
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 the purposes of HOSA competitive events). 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”. There are also both Indiana and Tennessee associations of HOSA.
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 of groups available for you to join during nursing school. The most important thing is for you to choose one or more of these groups and to get involved! You may even want to start a chapter of one of these or a different nursing student associations at your school. Whether you are a leader paving the way for a new chapter or organization or you are a contributing member, both roles are important and could help your future nursing career.
Take the first step to becoming a nurse now, by contacting us about enrolling in Marian University’s accredited ABSN program in Indianapolis or accredited nursing program in Nashville, where you can earn a BSN degree in as few as 16 months.
