Creating the Next Generation of Nurses Look around your community—there are bound to be a plethora of organizations (from small local start-ups to national chapters) for you to join. Informing nurses. Plus, involvement looks great on a resume! Join your colleagues, look for the next meeting of your specialty’s professional organization and attend. Why join nursing organizations? Since its inception in 1990, SPN has grown to over 3,500 members including from over 28 sub-specializations. Professional nurse organizations gain strength through the collaborative exchange of ideas, and members benefit from a foundation built on shared professional experiences. The benefits of joining professional associations are always being touted and for good reason. For example, some join to learn what's going on and stay current in their field or specialty. With a paucity of literature on professional organization membership by nurse practitioners (NPs), the authors base the discussion of the personal benefits associated with membership on literature focusing on clinicians other than NPs and their personal experiences as members of multiple organizations. Professional organizations provide an outlet for your professional development outside of the walls of your facility. Then join and let your voice be heard and your vote be counted. Specialty nursing organizations focus their attention on distributing information and offering support for specific medical conditions. Dedicated specifically to pediatric nursing, this association is a must join for all pediatric nurses. 40, 50, 60 years ago, the decision to join an organization was much more cut and dry because there were fewer organizations. You can get additional benefits by paying membership dues. Even if you’re a new nurse right out of school, a membership is a valuable tool—it can help you to “connect the dots” between your nursing education and professional practice. Here are a few professional organizations to consider joining: 1. If you don’t currently belong to any nursing organizations, we urge you to join one now. Background: Many nursing associations in the world are facing difficulties in increasing nurses’ membership. However, committee work can lead to many positive outcomes for nurses seeking a novel way to dig deeper into their career trajectory and involvement in healthcare leadership. Participation in professional organizations is not tied to the licensure process. Being a member gives a nurse the opportunity to connect with other nurses, learn about recent health care changes, attend conventions for continuing education and gain specialized certifications. There are a variety of reasons why people don’t join an association. Others want to network or enjoy the peer recognition that comes from being an active member of a major organization. The ANA is one of more than 100 national nursing organizations (Matthews, 2012). 7. Professional Organizations – Why Should You Join? Professional nursing organizations support nurses and advance the nursing profession. You often find resources just by browsing the websites of national organizations. 05/30/2019 15:37 Participation in professional organizations has substantially shaped my career and has provided me with opportunities to not only become a more productive, informed and engaged nurse, but also a more thoughtful and globally-connected individual citizen. However, there can be considerable advantages to joining one (or more). With so many competing interests between industries, professions, and so on, representation is important. Nursing comprises the largest number of health care workers in the country. However, most of these unions are neither organized nor led by nurses. As outlined in the Nursing 2017 Journal, it is important for nurses to join one or more professional organizations. Professional interaction and sharing are professional imperatives to follow if nurses want to continue to be the biggest part of the workforce and best in healthcare. Register on the Nurses on Boards Coalition database. Organization’s board: Advocate for a nurse to join your facility’s board. Many nurses see unions, and what they stand for, as unprofessional and against … When you work for a hospital that is run by business people, it is great to be part of an organization that is run by nurses!