If you are a nursing student, whether you have gone through the petitioning process or not, there are a few interesting opportunities to get involved on campus. That may seem like a big ask as being a nursing student is such a great commitment of your time. However I promise that there are so many benefits, as the three nursing specific organizations on campus all have so much to offer to students!
These three organizations membership consists of many wonderful nursing students who are experiencing, or have already experienced the same things that you are in your school journey. Making these connections can be a memorable and enjoyable part of the college experience, but they are also there to support each other through school and beyond. If you are in your first year before you have even petitioned to enter the program, you can connect with others who have already conquered the dreaded Anatomy and Physiology. These are students who have already taken the PAX-NLN and can assure you that it “really isn’t so bad if you make sure you study.”
Maybe you are a student in your first semester in the LPN or ADN program, and are struggling to get the hang of the med math. This is a real struggle for many nursing students, but it is one that is easier if you are in an encouraging community. Secretary for the Nursing Students Without Borders says “the study tips” she learned from joining with her fellow nursing students were incredibly beneficial. If you are in your last semester of the RN program it is by no means too late to join up, and I would say that this is the time where you might need the most support!
The three organizations on campus at MATC are the Nursing Students Without Borders (NSWB,) the Future Black Nurse Association (FBNA,) and the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA.) Any of these three groups would be a terrific place to get plugged in at school, while each offering different opportunities.
The National Student Nurses Association is a nationally recognized organization and exists on many different campuses across the country! If you plan on transferring to a four-year school after your time at MATC you will find yourself already among peers. Alumni from this organization have said that the SNA “Helped me develop my professional and leadership skills.” “Provided me with contacts that I can network with.” “Helped me learn how to market myself.” and that “Employers find it impressive that I am an active member of NSNA.”
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The Future Black Nurses Association is another nationally recognized organization, and is especially focused on supporting nursing students, specifically those of minority backgrounds. They say “FBNA is determined to continuously add minority students to the workforce, however, it has been shown that minority students are not completing the program like non-minority students. FBNA provides resources to minority students with the help of the faculty advisors, (mostly informing them of the resources available to them as an MATC student) with the goal to retain and support minority students, with hopes of helping them succeed.”
Last but not least is the Nursing Students Without Borders, who are internationally recognized. They are the newest of these organizations but have a lot of energy with which they approach nursing student involvement with an activist lens. Their mission statement is powerful, and reads “Nursing Students Without Borders empowers under-served communities through health education, the creation of networks to access health care resources and the distribution of material donations – while expanding the perspective of the nursing student.”
As a nursing student myself I find the opportunity to be involved in campus life to be very exciting, and plan on at least joining one of these excellent groups, if not all three!
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