The Francis Marion University (FMU) Department of Nursing’s honor society inducted 32 new members into its ranks on Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m.

Those who were chosen to become new members of the honor society were the best among the pre-licensure students, RN-BSN students and nurse leaders.

Hannah Legendre, senior nursing major, was among the group of pre-licensure students that entered the nursing honor society. According to Legendre, entering the society was an honor she had strived for ever since she entered the BSN program in her junior year at FMU.

“The first time I heard about the Nursing honor society was when one of my friends got inducted into it last year,” Legendre said. “I got really excited because I knew that for us, the society is extremely important, especially for furthering our educations.”

Legendre went on to say that she did not know what the requirements were, but that she knew she would have to be in the top of her class to be inducted.  She said that when she received the letter that informed her of her impending induction, she was elated because she did not think she had done well enough to get in.

According to Legendre, induction into the nursing honor society has brought her one step closer to her future career as either a nurse practitioner or a midwife.

“It is important for me to be in the honor society because it shows my academic and leadership skills, and it also gives me a competitive edge above some of my fellow nurses,” Legendre said. “I cannot wait until March when our chapter gets inducted into the international honor society.  I am really excited about that and what it means for us as a university.”

The organization that Legendre spoke of is Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). According to Dr. Karen Gittings, assistant professor of nursing and president of the Nursing honor society, FMU is in the final stages of approval as an official chapter of STTI.

Gittings said that Sigma Theta Tau, which stands for “love,” “courage” and “honor,” accepts members on an invitation-only basis.

Gittings went on to say that the criteria for entry into the FMU’s Nursing honor society include completion of half of the program, a 3.0 grade point average, being in the top 35 percent of your class and showing good leadership potential.

“The students who are being inducted have shown achievement in research, publication, education and clinical work; this signifies [their] commitment to nursing,” Gittings said.

Dr. Deborah Hopla, assistant professor of nursing and coordinator of the MSN/FNP track, was the guest speaker at the induction ceremony. One of Hopla’s main points was to emphasize the importance of communication in the medical field.

Hopla said that in the United States, 40 states have earned an “F” in communication, while 7 other states have earned a “D”

“We have Facebook, Twitter and all these other social networks, but we aren’t communicating well with each other,” Hopla said.

Hopla also stressed the importance of the production of nurse educators. She said that even though FMU produces quality nurses every semester, our region is experiencing a shortage of those that continue their careers in an instructive capacity.

“Our faculty members are aging,” Hopla said. “We have failed to put the desire into our students to take our places after they graduate.”