Why should you join a professional nursing organization, especially if you're busy with a job and a family?

"One of strongest reasons is networking and how it relates to professional development," said Debbie Hatmaker, Ph.D, RN, SANE-A, CEO of the Georgia Nurses Association. "Aside from the tangible benefits — such as access to professional liability insurance, continuing education and consumer products — the ability to work collectively to better the profession is a driving force."

The Georgia Nurses Association, which has local chapters across the state, is associated with the American Nurses Association. Both groups play several roles, including offering continuing education courses and serving as the voice of nursing to elected officials and to the public.

"The GNA and ANA are the mechanisms for connecting nurses with each other and speaking in one voice about issues of concern, whether it's improving patient access [or] caring for the underinsured, removing barriers to allow prescriptive authority for advance practice nurses or advocating for a nursing work force center to improve data analysis and projecting nursing needs over next few decades," Hatmaker said.

The first step to getting involved in the Georgia Nurses Association joining a local chapter.

"It's somewhat frustrating for many nurses who get busy with work and personal life demands [and] often push active membership in a professional organization to the bottom of the list," Hatmaker said. "There's always an ebb and flow, and even though you may not be able to serve on committees right away, you can still network, attend chapter meetings and access other benefits of belonging."

Benefits include newsletters and journals; discounts on insurance and uniforms; continuing education programs, member-only Web site access; and networking. Being a member also provides opportunities for leadership and career mobility.

Membership in a nursing association also benefits the profession.

"You need to support your professional nursing association because that's what protects your practice," said Cindy Balkstra, RN, MS, CNS-BC, president of the Georgia Nurses Association. "Not only do we work for the profession as a whole but [also] for individual nurses."

Having access to other nurses is essential for career advancement, not only from the networking standpoint but as a resource for information and answers to questions.

"Individual concerns that may come up in their own practice often spur nurses to look toward professional associations for answers," Hatmaker said. "Sometimes our own resources are limited, but when we can build a large cadre of nurses who want to work collectively through their professional organizations, the knowledge base is expanded. I may not know all the answers, but I know who to call and where to go to find them."

In Georgia, most allied health professions have associations. One example is the Physical Therapy Association of Georgia — affiliated with the American Physical Therapy Association — which offers professional resources, continuing education, clinical residency, credentialing and funding for research.

The Georgia Pharmacy Association is one of the oldest state pharmacy associations in the nation. Created in 1875, it represents pharmacists in all practice areas and has nearly 2,500 members.

"Being a member of an association gives you a chance to make a difference in the profession, in addition to the work of our daily jobs," Hatmaker said.