President

Caroline Peltz, PhD, RN, MSHSA

Vice President

Chelsea Noble, MSN, RN

Treasurer

Marty Raymond, PhD, RN

Secretary

Jaydene Morris- Wagner, MSN, RN

Faculty Counselor

Kathryn Hughesdon, PhD, RN

Leadership Succession Team

Lisa Friedman, MSN, RN

Rosa Emeigh, MSN, RN

Elizabeth Loomis, DNP, APRN,

FNP-BC

Lisa Firestine, MSN, RN

Governance Committee

Vicki Washington, MSN, RN

Valerie Pauli, EdD, MSN

Archivist

Rosa Emeigh, MSN, RN

Happy New Year SIGMA Eta Rho! It truly is an honor to have been approved by the Eta Rho board to serve as Eta Rho Chapter president for a third term! We have an amazing diverse chapter leadership team this year including faculty, advanced practice nurses, nurse educators, administrators, retirees, graduate and undergraduate students! Our board reflects the diversity of our Eta Rho members. They do an excellent job representing us at local, national, and global levels through their dedication to the core values of SIGMA! We have had our challenges during these times of uncertainty; however, the Eta Rho board strives to INFUSE JOY in all they do!

Eta Rho held their first virtual induction ceremony in December! As you move through the newsletter, please find the press release that was sent out by EMU today celebrating this global event! We have sponsored and co-sponsored CE programs partnering with IPN and Rho Chapter. Our Student Leader Intern is working with EMU SNA to bridge membership to our chapter. Upcoming events include a drive to support EMU’s SWOOP’s pantry and CE programs on pain, human trafficking, and implicit bias. Details to follow!

Eta Rho would not exist without the support of YOU…our members! Please continue to support our chapter by continuing membership, supporting events, and becoming involved! If you are interested in helping or shadowing a board position, we welcome hearing from you! Eta Rho can only meet its goals if you help us! We are committed to excellence. We change lives and advance healthcare. We are the future of Nursing. WE ARE SIGMA NURSES!

Stay safe! Stay well! Best wishes for a healthy 2021!

SIGMA membership includes:

 CE programs available to members at no additional cost! Visit the SIGMA CE website at

https://www.sigmanursing.org/learn-grow/education

 Access to two peer-reviewed journals, Journal of Nursing Scholarship and Worldviews on

Evidenced-Based Nursing online at SigmaNursing.org/Publications

 Visit The Circle and the Career Center for additional membership benefits!

1. What does Sigma Eta Rho Membership mean to you?

I joined STTI Eta Rho in the Spring of 2010 while completing my RN to BSN program at Eastern Michigan University. Sigma Eta Rho membership mattered to me as I felt I was valued as a Sigma team member. Additionally, membership means I am connected with other nurses around the world, and have access to so many resources.

2. What opportunities have you had being a member of Sigma Eta Rho?

As a member of Sigma Eta Rho, I have had several opportunities to present at NERC. I have served as Faculty Counselor for Sigma Eta Rho and represented at Biennial as a delegate. I have had the pleasure of providing faculty support to students who presented their research at Biennial. The opportunities to work with global partners has been an extremely rewarding experience for me. Also, there have been so very many opportunities to foster leadership, not only in myself, but with the nursing students that I educate. I truly love my friends and colleagues from Sigma Eta Rho and look forward to the work.

3. What are your future aspirations in serving on the Eta Rho Board?

I served as Sigma Eta Rho Faculty Counselor for the past several years and currently serve on the Governance Committee. The Governance Committee role is new to me so my aim is to learn about the responsibilities that include overseeing the bylaws, development of the Eta Rho Chapter, and issues related to eligibility for membership.

4. What are your future professional plans?

Future professional plans include completion of my Doctor of Nursing Practice education (graduation December 2021). As faculty at EMU, I plan to continue to educate nursing students. Yet, with my terminal DNP degree, I will be able to spread my wings and educate nursing students in the graduate programs. Additionally, I plan to continue to serve in a professional role as a board member for Sigma Eta Rho.

5. Would you like to share your accomplishments with the Eta Rho members?

I am a perpetual student and a lifelong learner. I was inducted into Sigma Eta Rho April of 2010, while completing my RN to BSN (I graduated December 2010). I completed a graduate certificate in healthcare teaching December 2011, and my masters degree in nursing December 2012. For a few years, I practiced as a Clinical Nurse Specialist full-time, and then had the opportunity to teach in the clinical lab setting part-time. At that time, I realized just how much I loved teaching and working with the nursing students. Yet, I found myself yearning to continue my education. In January of 2020 I started my DNP education journey and have completed more than half of my DNP education to date; graduation December 2021. I am so very excited that the terminal DNP degree will allow me to promote in the academic setting as well as broaden my leadership skills.

1. What does Sigma Eta Rho Membership mean to you?

Sigma Eta Rho membership means so much to me. I joined Sigma Theta Tau Eta Rho in 2017. Once I joined, I found that the more I involved myself with the chapter, the more I got out of my membership. The membership means connecting and networking with nursing scholars, a reminder of my commitment to nursing excellence, and professional growth.

2. What opportunities have you had being a member of Sigma Eta Rho?

I have been presented with opportunities from STTI that I would have never been able to achieve otherwise. Through the connections I have made and my membership with STTI, I have been able to present projects at the Biennial conventions. These conventions have proven to be quite important to me!

3. What are your future aspirations in serving on the Eta Rho Board?

I hope to continue serving as the Vice President for Eta Rho. This is a new position for me this year. I would like to continue this role and develop into it.

4. What are your future professional plans?

Eta Rho has been there with me throughout meeting all of my professional goals. I expect and know Eta Rho will be there as my professional goals grow. I hope to grow my practice further as a Nurse Practitioner working in women's, sexual, and reproductive health. Clinically, I hope to precept students in their nurse practitioner clinical rotations to give back to nursing education. In addition to this, I hope to find myself in a faculty position in the years to come. I love education, academics, and clinical practice. I hope to blend all three!

5. Would you like to share your accomplishments with the Eta Rho members?

My most recent accomplishments include graduating from EMU with my Masters of Science in Nursing in December of 2019. In February of 2020, took and passed my national certification as an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner. Amidst the pandemic, landed a dream job working for an organization that sits close to my heart! Lastly, finishing up my Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at EMU this year!

§Do Thi Thu Hein, PhD, RN

Haiduong Medical Technical University

Haiduong city, Vietnam

•Dam Thi Thuy, MSN, RN

Haiduong Medical Technical University

Haiduong city, Vietnam

Eastern Michigan University School of Nursing’s Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau

International Honor Society for Nursing inducts group of students and Nurse

Leaders into prestigious organization. Inductees include 83 students and 2 nurse leaders from Haiduong Medical Technical University (HMTU) in Vietnam who are recognized and celebrated for their scholarship, leadership and service within nursing.

YPSILANTI – The Eastern Michigan University School of Nursing's chapter of Sigma

Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing (Eta Rho), will be holding a virtual

induction on Tuesday, December 6 at 6 p.m. to welcome new members who have been

invited to join this prestigious organization.

Sigma members are leaders at all levels of the healthcare industry. The society only

extends membership to students in baccalaureate or graduate level programs who have

demonstrated superior academic achievement, academic integrity, and professional

leadership potential and to nurse leader candidates exhibiting exceptional achievements

in nursing.

Inductees will include both undergraduate and graduate students who have met the

academic goal of maintaining a GPA of 3.5 or higher while pursuing their baccalaureate

or master's degree in nursing, and two Nurse Leaders selected and sponsored by the

Eta Rho board for the contributions they have made to nursing education and practice

at Haiduong Medical Technical University (HMTU) in Vietnam.

The Nurse Leaders from Vietnam are Do Thi Hien, RN, PhD, who leads the Nursing

Department at HMTU, and faculty member Dam Thi Thuy, RN, MS. Hien and Thuy are

the only two nurses in Vietnam to secure membership in Sigma Theta Tau International

Honor Society for Nursing, thanks to EMU's Chapter, Eta Rho.

“Eastern Michigan University's honorary nursing society continues to deepen its

relationship with colleagues on the other side of the globe in honoring students and

nurses from the Vietnamese Haiduong Medical Technical University,” said Caroline

Peltz, EMU Eta Rho Chapter President. “Moving forward, Eta Rho will continue to build

a relationship with HMTU to advance nursing education and practice.”

During the ceremony, the values any symbolism of SIGMA will be shared to remind

inductees of their commitment to wisdom and discernment; service, professional

endeavor, and strength of leadership; and knowledge. Names of the inductees will be

read and honored, followed by the group reciting the SIGMA pledge. Remarks will be

shared from Dr. Caroline Peltz, Associate Professor and Eta Rho President, Dr. Donald

Rose, Associate Professor and North America Region 10 Coordinator for Sigma, Dr.

Michael Williams, EMU Director of the School of Nursing, Dr. Betty Beard, EMU

Professor of Nursing Emeritus. In addition, EMU’s President Dr. Smith and HMTU’s

President Dr. Huang will provide congratulatory remarks to the honorees during the

ceremony.

The Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing’s mission is to develop

nurse leaders anywhere to improve healthcare everywhere. Founded in 1922, SIGMA

has been recognizing and celebrating excellence in scholarship, leadership and service

within nursing and midwifery for almost 100 years. The organization has grown from six

founding members to more than 135,000 members and more than 560 chapters in over

countries. The founders chose the Greek Letters – Sigma, Theta, Tau –

taken from the Greek words meaning Love, Courage, and Honor, as they believed them

to be the enduring values that are the root of the nursing profession.

For more information on the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing,

visit the organization’s homepage.

For more information on EMU’s chapter, visit the Eta Rho Chapter homepage.