Memberships in professional associations have helped me to develop as a professional, and a hospice and palliative care provider. Through membership I have experienced opportunities for learning, providing feedback to the community and connecting with colleagues across the continent. These are my three “must-have”  memberships. I also invite you to comment here on the Blog or the Facebook page about your top three professional associations, or your thoughts on the benefits of memberships in professional associations.

Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Nurses Group (CHPC NG)

The Nurses Group (a subgroup of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association) is a MUST for all nurses interested in hospice and palliative care in Canada. YOU DO NOT NEED TO work in specialty hospice or palliative care units to benefit from this group! As health care integrates a palliative approach into care, all nurses will need knowledge and skills in hospice and palliative care. In this group you can access a “members only community of practice” site and accrue HPC certification hours. All members can participate in and enhance the collective national voice of HPC nursing, influence policy development, legislation and practice. You can be elected to the CHPCNG board of directors, serve on committees, be nominated for one of two awards that recognize HPC nurse leaders in Canada. I am delighted to serve on this board, and honoured to rub shoulders with great nurses from across Canada.
You can join this group if you are an RN, NP, LPN/RPN, RPN or nursing student in Canada. Membership is April 1st to March 31st.
To join the CHPCA, go to https://membership.chpca.net/. To join the CHPC NG, use this link

Nurse Educators Interest Group – Palliative and End of Life Care (Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN))

 

 

CASN interest groups provide nurse educators an opportunity to discuss ideas, exchange information, build research and scholarship capacity, as well as promote quality of a specific area of nursing education, at a national level.

This is an excellent group for educators who have a particular desire to strengthen palliative care education in core curriculum, continuing education, and workplace education.  As with the CHPC NG, this group provides members with the opportunity to connect, dialogue, share resources, build capacity, exchange ideas to strengthen palliative care in Canada, and to contribute to national dialogue. This group meets four times a year via teleconference. For more information and to join this group, https://www.casn.ca/about-casn/nurse-educator-interest-groups/

Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association

In the United States, this is a strong group, and like the Canadian group, provides members with the opportunities to network, contribute to national discussion, participate in annual conferences, build community of practice, and grow in the profession. There are a variety of special interest groups, and opportunity for certification, fellowships, scholarships… and more! An interesting sidenote: the CEO of HPNA is Sally Welsh, who is very active on Twitter. She can  link you with discussion on many current issues. For more information on this group, use this link

I invite you to consider membership in these organizations! Are there organizations that are your “must have” memberships? Let us know in a comment.