Sigma Theta Tau

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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".

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History

The Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, today known as Sigma, was founded in 1922 at what is now the Indiana University school of nursing. The founders chose the society's name from the meaning of the Greek words Storge, Tharsos, and Time: "love," "courage" and "honor." The founders' vision for the society helped bring recognition to nursing as a science. In 1936 it became the first organization in the United States to fund nursing research. Since then 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.

More than 360,000 nurse scholars have been inducted into Sigma. With 135,000 active members, it is the second largest nursing organization in the world. Members are active in more than 90 countries and territories, and the 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.

Maps Sigma Theta Tau

Membership

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.

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Initiatives

Sigma was one of the first organizations to fund nursing research in the United States, awarding a US $600 grant to Alice Crist Malone in 1936. 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 US and internationally.

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

The Journal of Nursing Scholarship 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.

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.