5 Things to Consider Before Becoming Your Nursing Class President

I'll never forget the day I was elected to be my nursing class president. It was September 2010 at the orientation for our second semester of nursing school at Essex County College in NJ. When the professors asked the class for nominations, all of a sudden my name came up. When the voting was over, I had won by a landslide. Not bad since I wasn't looking to be nominated in the first place.

I have served as my nursing class president now for 2 semesters. This fall will be our final semester before graduation. My primary function as nursing class president has been to serve as a liaison between students and teachers. The balance between studying and serving as class president is challenging to say the least. If you are a student nurse and you have the opportunity to become your nursing class president, here are five things to consider before accepting this huge responsibility.

Do you have time?

Any student nurse will tell you it is next to impossible to work full time and go to nursing school. But if you want the added responsibility of serving as nursing class president, proceed with caution. Between answering students emails, raising funds for graduation, and assisting professors with distributing information to your class, do you think you can squeeze this added 10-20 hours a week into your lifestyle? And remember, being a stay at home mom is a full time job.

Can you be fair and balanced?

This is tricky. On one hand, you are a student just like the rest of your class. On the other hand, professors may look at you as their assistant. And when it comes to complaints and issues that arise, you are caught in the middle. How objective can you be? And how well can you communicate with students and teachers so that neither one thinks you are taking sides against the other?

Can you delegate work?

You will not serve as your nursing class president alone. You will have other class officers: vice president, treasurer, and secretary. Can you avoid the trap of micromanaging and delegate appropriate tasks to your fellow class officers? For example, do you agree that your treasurer is just as qualified to attend student government meetings to request funds as you are? Trust me, you do not want to run the entire show by yourself.

How are your grades?

Are you scoring well on your tests or barely passing even the basic fundamentals of nursing class? Not only will serving as nursing class president take more time away from your studies, but you run the risk of failing and loosing your position. The class is best off with someone who will serve as their president from beginning to end.

Are you a good writer and speaker?

There is nothing worse than reading a letter or an email that is riddled with typos and grammatical errors. This will not help your image as a capable leader in the eyes of your classmates and your professors. And how are you at public speaking? Remember, you may be expected to give a speech at your pinning ceremony! Can you hold the audience's attention?

Sources:

Personal experience