Sigma Theta Tau International is an honour society of nursing whose activities are designed to improve the populations’ health through scientific development in nursing practice. One of the main unifying principles of this society is the concept of excellence. It seeks to congregate all who distinguish themselves for their excellence, whether in clinical practice, education, research and/or leadership in nursing. Since its foundation, in 1922, its work has been driven by this search for excellence. Soon it recognized the value of research for nursing quality development and, in 1936, it was already the first US organization providing funds for research in nursing. In this area, it supports different experiences, perspectives and knowledge, aiming at enhancing professional development. Bearing in mind the needs for professional development and improvement in population’s health, it has established over the years a range of services and organizations to support research and the development of intervention programmes. Member support activities are directed to all stages of career development, from recruitment to retirement, offering from consulting services to leadership courses.

Sigma Theta Tau International has a very wide variety of published material, from books to newsletters, where the important contribution of its scientific journals and magazines stands out. Besides the publication of the Journal of Nursing Scholarship, with an impact factor ranking of 1.459 (ISI Journal Citation Reports® Ranking: 2009), it publishes the periodical Reflections on Nursing Leadership, which is how society recognizes, through dissemination, the relevant nursing contributions to people’s health all over the world. This is an on-line quarterly publication for all members of the organization. The STTI also publishes Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, a quarterly periodical, which displays the best research and available evidence applicable to nursing practice and health management, education and policies. It is available both in print and on-line.

Adding these concerns to the dissemination of knowledge, Sigma Theta Tau International harbours a repository in Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library, which displays over 34,000 research studies and conference abstracts from all over the world. For consultation, please go to http://www.nursinglibrary.org/portal/main.aspx.

The STTI has also founded the Nursing Knowledge International (http://www.nursingknowledge.org/Portal/main.aspx), which provides evidence-based solutions that are developed by nurses and for nurses. It has also founded the International Academic Nursing Alliance (IANA) (http://www.nursingalliance.org/portal/main.aspx), a nursing professors’ global internet network which potentiates the articulation of resources and information from nursing schools, thus facilitating collaboration, exchange programmes, opportunity orientation, research and the academic environment development.