Member Stories

Behind the Scenes—Volunteer Experience

By Pam George

At the recent Biennium I participated as a teller for the elections of officers for Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). As in all elections, there were requirements for selection and specific duties along a timeline. Each teller is screened to ensure that a member of the teller’s chapter is not running for an office. The teller is notified that they have met this qualification is writing before arriving at the conference. Tellers meet with the head teller and Sigma Theta Tau Staff member for orientation during conference. This orientation reviews responsibilities, timelines and mapping of the conference.

During the election process, the teller distributes, collects and tallies ballots. Each chapter has two votes. Currently there are over 400 chapters in STTI. The teller must verify the votes by chapter name and number before providing the ballot to the delegate.

Once all ballots are distributed, the President announces the vote. At a announced time the ballots are collected and secured. The tellers with the ballots proceed to a separate room to correct and count the ballots. Correct the ballots? If a delegate has marked the ballot with pen rather than pencil or the marks are outside the circle on the scantron a teller must redue the ballot prior to scanning. Ballots are scanned three times to ensure a correct count.

Candidates are notified the following morning before the conference convenes. Each candidate is greeted by the President and receives results in a sealed envelope. Tellers are sworn to secrecy and confidentiality during the process.

The work behind the scenes is completed by a STTI staff member: the coding of chapter ballots, the conference mapping, teller orientation and notification process. The election could not be a success without the tellers.

Benefits of this experience include meeting other STTI members from different chapters, working with STTI staff members and giving time to STTI.
 

Conference Report

By Thongsouy Sitanon

I am deeply appreciated for providing me a 2005 Leadership Education Grant provided by the Edith Anderson Fund. This grant helps support me to gain more knowledge and experience as follows:

Meeting Knowledgeable People: I have known many professors during the conference and I have learned from them as a nursing student when talking and sharing my knowledge and experience in terms of nursing education, research, and practice.

Presenting My Research: I am very happy that I had a chance to present a story about parenting of sick infants in the NICU to knowledgeable audiences and they were interested in asking some questions. Their questions help me think more as a researcher in terms of helping and improving the parenting care during infant’s hospitalization in the NICU. This is my first presentation in a big event in the US using English language.

I was nervous before presenting it. However, I have been impressed and I have learned from being together with knowledgeable nurses and researchers around the world. I have learned how to provide warm environment when sharing our knowledge and experience to each other in order to improve our nursing knowledge, research, and care and I have also learned how to handle all questions from my audiences.

Being a Moderator: Being a moderator in a presentation room is important and it is a good idea to invite participants to volunteer to do this work in a very big event of STTI. I grasped that opportunity and did it. I can tell that I gain a lot of experience from volunteering to do it.

Before going to Hawaii, I talked to my professors at the University of Washington about how to be a good moderator. They gave me a great suggestion. STTI also prepared a script and procedures to me. I am now more comfortable to volunteer to help to do this work in the future. If I had not volunteered to do that work, all experience above would not happen.

In brief, having an opportunity to join the research congress event of STTI increases my knowledge and experience as a nursing student. However, because of financial issues, I might not have had this great opportunity even though I attempted to fulfill my study goals.

The Leadership Education Grant is a great example that STTI offers to support students to be able to make their dreams come true. Even though the grant did not cover all expenses I have spent, the grant means a lot for a full-time international nursing student. Last but not least, I would like to thank you Tara Bateman again for her works and all information she provided for me.

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Conference Report