What are some of the advantages and disadvantages to joining a professional organization?

You and your friends in the nursing program are having lunch after a class that covered content found in this chapter. One of your friends says, “I was bored when we got to all that information on professionalism and nursing organizations. What a waste of time. I just want to be a nurse.” All of you are struggling to figure out what you have gotten yourself into. You turn to your friends and suggest it might be helpful to have an open discussion on the comment just made. So over lunch, you all talk about the comment. It was clear that the students who had read the chapter were better able to discuss the issue, but everyone had an opinion.