National Nurses Week May 6 – 12
Follow and join the conversation with #NationalNursesWeek and #NursesWeek
Led by the American Nursing Association, National Nurses Week is May 6 – 12. The week celebration always concludes on May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. During the week, May 8 is National Student Nurses Day and the Wednesday is National School Nurse Day. National Nurses Week promotes the nursing profession and encourages celebrations to recognize the contributions of nurses at the local, state, and national level. First proposed to President Eisenhower in 1953 by Dorothy Sutherland of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, a proclamation was never made. More attempts were made to declare a National Nurses Day throughout the next decades. In 1982, a proclamation was signed by President Ronald Reagan proclaiming “National Recognition Day for Nurses” to be May 6, 1982. By 1990, The American Nursing Association expanded the recognition day to be week-long event.
About the ANA
The American Nurses Association’s (ANA) mission statement is: Nurses advancing our profession to improve health for all. Representing the interests of the United State’s 3.1 million registered nurses, the ANA is their only full-time service organization. The ANA fulfills this mission by cultivating high standards in nursing practices, advocating for the rights of nurses, lobbying Congress for issues that affect nurses and portraying a true and valued image of the nursing profession.
2015 National Nurses Week Theme
The 2015 #NursesWeek theme is “Ethical Practice. Quality Care. In conjunction with the ANA’s 2015 Year of Ethics, this theme advocates for the health and safety of all nurses and patients. Recognizing that ethics is an important part of nursing, this year National Nurses Week highlights the commitment, compassion and care nurses provide everyday in their profession.
Get Involved
To celebrate National Nurses Week 2015 at your organization, download the Toolkit, a resource provided by the ANA with ideas to recognize and celebrate your nursing staff while promoting their professional skills and abilities.
Webinar: My Patient, My Code, My Practice: Ethical Decision Making and Action
Hosted by: American Nursing Association
When: Thursday, May 7 at 1:00pm, ET
Featured Speakers: Eileen Weber, DNP, JD, BSN, PHN, RN, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota and Anna Dermenchyan, BSN, RN, CCRN-CSC, Clinical Quality Specialist, UCLA Health
Register: Click here
