The mission of the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA) “is to mentor students preparing for initial licensure as registered nurses, and to convey the standards, ethics, and skills that students will need as responsible and accountable leaders and members of the profession,” as stated on NSNA.org. Before I was even accepted into nursing school, I found the NSNA, just about every nursing program has their own chapter. The membership of this organization ranges from a school level to national level. They have national conferences that potentially could be anywhere. Not even accepted yet, my nursing bucket list was to become a member, an officer, and go to a convention. During my second semester, I was voted as my chapter’s Secretary and then voted to go to the National Convention in Phoenix, AR. Every nursing student should become active in their school’s SNA chapter.
#1 Resume Builder
If you are still applying to nursing school or grinding through the program itself, graduation might seem like the light at the end of a very long tunnel. But it will come, and so much sooner than any student could contemplate. After the short celebratory of graduation and pinning, then the intense study for the NCLEX. If you’re new to the medical field, your resume will seem empty. If you are at least an active member, participated in events or gone to meetings, it’s a line under “Professional Organizations.” This will show potential employers that you want to be involved. Many hospitals work through several committees, this is how standards and policies are reviewed and changed are made, without people who want to be involved change will either be very one-sided or not at all. Fundraising and volunteering take many soft skills, such as delegating, people skills, time management, and a level of commitment to a cause. I volunteered at BINGO night along with other members of my chapter at a rehabilitation center. I also initiated and worked a fundraiser to assist the underclassmen coming into the program with attaining stethoscopes and other items needed for clinical. Everyone knows how hard nursing school can be, this piece gives you a visible layer that you are capable of managing projects, prioritization and time management. Members who become officers show a position of leadership. Most employers want to see a person who wants more, who will work towards a promotion to become supervisor or manager. So much can be said and interpreted on that one line of the resume.
#2 Be part of something bigger.
Nursing school can become a lonely time in a student’s career. It is easier for someone to be lost in the pile of thick medical nursing textbooks and the catacombs of study. All non-nursing school friends try to act as if they understand, but really you feel that the friend complaining about their hard Anatomy and Physiology or College Algebra class is a little bit of a slap in your face, when thinking about the amount of stress and study time a nursing student endures. Everyone at one time feels this way. As a member of the SNA at any level, you feel instantly connected and part of something bigger. At a school level, we did some volunteer services, helping out during BINGO at a rehab facility, assisted with organizing at a food bank, collected items for food drives, and a Toy Drive for the Children’s Hospital. As a group, we fundraise for trips to the National Convention and the Summer Conference. The SNA, a group, who knows exactly what it is like, an immediate outlet with other individuals faced with the same day to day struggle. If you are lucky enough to go to the national convention and be among thousands and thousands of students from all over. Every student there shares a similar goal, to sit for the NCLEX and become a Nurse, it’s hard to feel lonely there.
#3 Exposure to the new.
My favorite part of the convention was the trade show. I remember the ribbon cutting ceremony before opening the doors. The mad dash reminded me of a scene from a television show or movie when the main character is a huge sale or a toy store right before Christmas. Someone could have fallen and become trampled on quickly. It’s fun and a little crazy to be swept up into the energy. Once we made it inside, there were rows and rows of everything nursing. A couple of publishers selling their supplemental study book at a discounted rate, local clinics, hospitals, and organizations some were performing on the spot interviews. Merchants selling stethoscopes, tote bags, and other medical supplies, schools promoting their graduate program or RN-to-BSN programs, and several professional organizations as well were in attendance. It was here I initially became a member of the American Nursing Association and Oncology Nursing Society, a student member at first since the membership was free for the students attending the convention, then after getting my license, I became a full fee paying member.
My educational goal has always been to one day received a doctoral degree in nursing, as of current I have my Associates, so finding an RN-to-BSN program was on my to-do list. I lived in Connecticut and planned to move to Texas. My google searches had me looking at several Austin based schools. There were so many schools represented, from all over the country. My eyes were opened to the number of schools with online programs. One table I walked up to, The University of Alabama, had a complete online RN-to-BSN, RN-to-MSN, and even DNP or EdD. I walked over to the table because my father-in-law and sister-in-law were alumni. After speaking with a representative, I learned of the online options of Bama by Distance and the one significant plus of paying tuition at in-state prices. I was looking at the University of Texas since the campus is only a 15-20-minute drive from my apartment. But the tuition was going to be costly since technically I would have been an out-of-state student for the first year. I would have never even contemplated The University of Alabama if it wasn’t for the convention and NSNA.
#4 Meet new People.
Much like high school, nursing school can become clicky. From day one the people you form relationships with could be people you sit around on the first day of lecture or your first clinical group. It was my first clinical group that I sat with, went out for drinks with, and knew about personally. I am not a type A personality I prefer to observe and learn people before I can become social, initially meeting me I come across shy and quiet. I also prefer to sit in the back and not be the center of attention. Participating in the SNA was the means for me to meet other students outside that one particular group. Our chapter could do incredible things between volunteering, increasing and sustaining members, and leaving a school club better than when it was handed to us. This was a group effort NOT one person had all the ideas or able to initiate a plan without the group. The SNA was an excellent way for different people, different perspectives, and different voices to be heard. This was the forum for the quiet girl who sits in the back to befriend the loud spoken student who sat in the front row.
#5 The first look at nursing, politics and the road to change.
The NSNA has resolutions. “A resolution is a written statement that, when adopted by the House of Delegates, is the basis for the policies and actions of the National Student Nurses Association…NSNA encourages constituents to use a resolution to submit a stance on an issue to the House of Delegates”, as stated in the NSNA Guidelines for Planning Resolution found on their website. Students write and submit resolutions to the organization. During the convention, time is put aside to speak to the authors of the resolution. The resolution is brought to the house of delegates, which are made up of students from different chapters. The number of delegates allowed per school is dependent on the chapter’s roster. This is where change is made, and the voices of the student are heard. Similar, to making changes to patient policy, nursing policy, and all other things within the medical field. This mirrors the judicial branch of our government in lawmaking. The SNA simulates this process and shows nursing students the valuable lesson of legislation, how to change the landscape of nursing, and the power of a voice.
#6 Making a difference to the next class.
The NSNA allows a mix of courses. Whether your program is a 2 year or 4 years. You will have under classmates. When my class was in its freshman year, the group ahead of us, other than coming in during orientation to tell us to join SNA, made themselves scarce. My class felt that a little more help from the one before us would have been a great resource. We went to the orientation, spoke to the group about their first year, the SNA, and our fundraiser. We put together a fundraiser to sell stethoscopes and other medical instruments that would be needed during clinical. After the orientation, we stayed, we had a table set up with everything out for display. There was about 10 of us and 100 of them. We answered all questions and advised them on items that they would need or never use. They knew our face, they had our emails. During the first semester, we started a mentoring program. A senior and a freshman paired up and talked about ways to organize and study. The freshman really appreciated the hard work we put in and hoping that they pay it forward.
The time I spent in the NSNA lead me to meet some fantastic people, and accomplishing some amazing things. If you are a student, who is trying to get out as much as possible from your academic experience, join NSNA. Interested in joining or for more information go the NSNA website.