Sigma Theta Tau

Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma)
Abbreviation Sigma
Motto Improving world health through knowledge
Formation 1922 (1922)
Type Honor Society
Purpose to support the learning, knowledge and professional development of nurses committed to making a difference in health worldwide
Headquarters 550 W. North Street – Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA
Membership
nurses
President
 Beth Baldwin Tigges
Website www.sigmanursing.org

The Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma) is the second-largest nursing organization in the world with approximately 135,000 active members.

While often referred to by nurses as "Sigma Theta Tau" or even just "Sigma," the actual official name is "the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International".

History

In 1922 six Indiana University students at the Indiana University Training School for Nurses (the present-day IU School of Nursing) founded Sigma Theta Tau at their dormitory in Indianapolis, Indiana. The founders' vision for the new honorary society was to advance the nursing profession as a science, support nursing scholarship, and to recognize its leaders. IU's Alpha chapter was officially chartered on October 4, 1922, and the organization's first national conference was held in 1929 in Indianapolis.[1][2] The society's name is derived from the initials of three Greek words: storga, tharos, and tima, which mean "love," "courage," and "honor."[2][3]

In 1936 the organization "funded the first recorded research grant" for nursing in the United States. Since that time the organization has awarded more than $100,000 annually for research around the world.[2]

Sigma Theta Tau International’s Center for Nursing Scholarship was constructed on the IUPUI campus in 1989.[4] By 2014 the society’s membership had grown to 130,000 active members in more than eighty-five countries and territories.[2]

Membership

More than 360,000 nurse scholars have been inducted into Sigma. It is the second largest nursing organization in the world. Its 530 chapters are located on more than 700 college and university campuses in the United States and countries including Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, China (Hong Kong), South Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Africa, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania and the United Kingdom.

Membership is by invitation to baccalaureate and graduate nursing students, who demonstrate excellence in scholarship, and to nurse leaders exhibiting exceptional achievements in nursing. 61% of active members hold master’s and/or doctoral degrees; 56% have a specialty certification; 48% are clinicians; 40% have more than 15 years of work experience; 21% are administrators or supervisors, and 20% are educators or researchers. In addition to English, members are fluent in 20 other languages including Spanish, Dutch and Finnish.

Student Membership Criteria

Graduate students (master's and doctorate) must have completed ¼ of the nursing curriculum; achieve academic excellence (at schools where a 4.0 grade point average system is used, this equates to a 3.5 or higher); and meet the expectation of academic integrity. They must also be in the top 35 percentile of their nursing program.

Nurse Leader Membership Criteria

Nurse Leader Candidates must be legally recognized to practice nursing in his/her country; have a minimum of a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent in any field; and demonstrate achievement in nursing.

I have demonstrated achievement in nursing by contributing to assist Ursuline college and other nursing students in completing their senior practicum in the operating room. Previously nursing students were not given the opportunity to do such clinicals in the OR due to the culture Or belief of starting their nursing career would be more beneficial if they have started in medsurge first. I have visited Ursuline college with my employer educator to increase awareness and knowledge of a rewarding career in the OR. Since my visit, I have precepted nursing students complete their Senior practicum in the operating room and have been successful in gaining new Registered Nurses to the specialty of Perioperative Nursing.

Initiatives

Sigma was one of the first organizations to fund nursing research in the United States. A US $600 grant awarded to Alice Crist Malone of Ohio State University in 1936 supported research to measure student achieve based on new curriculum objectives.[2]

With its chapters and grant partners (corporations, associations, and foundations) the society contributes more than US $650,000 annually to nursing research through grants, scholarships and monetary awards. More than 250 research-oriented educational programs are sponsored or co-sponsored annually by Sigma in the United States and internationally.[5] The honor society has underwritten more than 250 small or "seed" grants, which often begin a whole body of research. These peer-reviewed grants are often the first recognition of potent concepts that eventually lead to major, wide-scale research projects and innovation in the nursing profession.

Sigma also has a nursing research repository, the Virginia Henderson Global Nursing e-Repository, which offers nurses access to nursing research and evidence-based knowledge.

Publications

The society’s publishing arm produces two scholarly journals and numerous other publications designed to fulfill the society’s mission of disseminating nursing knowledge:

  • Journal of Nursing Scholarship[6] contains peer-reviewed, thought-provoking articles representing research by some of the world’s leading nurse researchers. This bimonthly publication is published by Wiley.
  • Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, a peer-reviewed, evidence-based nursing journal, is a primary source of information to improve patient care. This bimonthly publication is published by Wiley.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dorcas Irene Rock (1956). A History of the Indiana University Training School for Nurses. I. Bloomington: Indiana University. pp. 47–48. OCLC 12429556.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Leslie Flowers (2014). A Legacy of Leadership: Indiana University School of Nursing 1914–2014. I. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-253-01532-7.
  3. ↑ "The founders". Sigma Theta Tau International. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  4. ↑ Flowers, p. 94.
  5. ↑ Daniel Pesut (February 2004). "on SigmaTheta Tau International". Nurseweek. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  6. ↑ "Journal of Nursing Scholarship". www.sigmanursing.org. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
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