President's Message

President's Message



Welcome to the Eta Pi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

I am thrilled to begin my 4th year as president of the Eta Pi Chapter.  Sigma Theta Tau has changed its logo but the mission and vision have remained the same.  To remind you, STTI's Mission is "Advancing world health and celebrating nursing excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service" and their vision is "The global organization of choice for nursing."  After completing the past 3 years as president of the Eta Pi chapter I can proudly say that our chapter is doing its part to support the above stated mission and values, and more importantly our members are increasing in number and engagement so this year’s impact will be even greater.

The Eta Pi Chapter is now in its 34th year. Its distinguished membership includes almost 2,000 nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse researchers, and nurse faculty, all of whom are advancing health through nursing scholarship, service, practice, and research.  During my last year as president I plan to continue to focus on increasing membership in Eta Pi by continuing to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to join, but by also focusing on doctoral students and community leaders.


Some goals / events that I have over the next year include:

  • Host a Past President's gathering in hopes of capturing and documenting the historical perspective of Eta PI, gain insights/ideas from our past leaders, and thank them for their efforts in forming/leading this awesome organization
  • Develop a Strategic Plan for the next binnenium
  • Apply for the 2018-2020 Chapter Key Award 
  • Host Scholarship Nights twice per year -- with a focus on increasing our communities involvement (collaborate with Kappa Pi at Large Chapter (UWGB and Bellin) 
  • Induct another amazing group of nursing students and Nurse leaders in the Spring of 2019
  • Coordinate 2018 - 19 Blood Drives - Member volunteer and donors will be needed 
    • October 3, 10:30am - 3:00pm
    • April 22, Noon - 3:30pm
  • Participate in the re:TH!NK Addiction Run and offer our support in fighting the opioid addiction crisis that our country is facing
    • Sept 9 - early morning 
  • Restructure our Research committee and determine what sort of grant/scholarship opportunities we can offer
  • Host the viewing of the Opioid Epidemic Series: The TRADE
  • Continuing current offering of Welcome Back and Finals Day snacks and Pi Day on 3/14.
  • Remain financially sound by increasing membership and fundraising -- this will help support our ability to offer other events as requested by our membership.

I am excited to be a part of the many new and innovative ideas that my board has been discussing.  

In closing, I would like to invite nurses from Oshkosh, the surrounding communities and beyond to join our Eta Pi Board of Directors, our new inductees, and seasoned members as we tap into our creative leadership ideas and initiatives to advance global health for all. 

Feel free to e-mail me with any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions related to Eta Pi.
Sincerely,

Bonnie

Bonnie Nickasch, DNP, APNP, FNP-BC

President, Eta Pi Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing 
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh College of Nursing 
Associate Professor
Director, DNP Family Nurse Practitioner Emphasis