Nursing Profession in Pakistan Achieves an Important Landmark
Pakistan became the first Muslim country to achieve chapter status in the Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) global network, when on, September 9, 2000, Aga Khan University School of Nursing Honor Society (AKUSON-HS) received its Charter.

STTI is an international honor nursing society, with more than a quarter of a million members representing 94 countries. It has 406 chapters in colleges and universities in Australia, Canada, China, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. This linkage is particularly significant because it will assist in enhancing nursing education, research and practice in Pakistan.

Shanaz Cassum with the Coat of Arms during the chartering ceremony of the AKUSON Honor Society.

One hundred and thirty-one nurses were inducted at the chartering ceremony. They included Ms. Faiz Alam Zaib, Vice President, Pakistan, Nursing Council, Dr. Yasmin Amarsi, Associate Dean of Nursing, AKU, and other nursing leaders. Ms. Rafat Jan, Assistant Professor, AKUSON, was the prime mover for establishing this chapter and went on to become its founding President. Membership to the Chapter is by invitation to baccalaureate and graduate nursing students from all national nursing institutions, who demonstrate excellence in scholarship. Community nursing leaders exhibiting exceptional achievements in nursing are also invited for membership.

The AKUSON Honor Society was established in 1996, and its petition to become a chapter of STTI was accepted in 1999. At the chartering ceremony, the Chapter was formally named the "Rho Delta Chapter" by the Installing Officer nominated by STTI, Dr. Melanie Dreher, Dean and Professor, College of Nursing, University of Iowa. The Charter of Rho Delta was received by the founding President, Ms. Rafat Jan, while Shanaz Cassum, Vice-President, received its Coat of Arms.

The affiliation between AKUSON and STTI will provide Pakistani nurses access to international nursing literature and research, in particular, via the Virginia Henderson Electronic Library. Nurses in this country will also have publication opportunities in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship as well as be able to network and dialogue with the experts in their field at international research forums.

In the long term, this congregation of the best and brightest minds in nursing on a global level, will ensure the dissemination of nursing knowledge for the future benefit of mankind. Rho Delta will aspire to be a nursing "think tank", by proposing strategies to ensure through education, the professionalization of nursing practice and enhancement of quality health care delivery.