Each year, nurses across the U.S., including travel nursing professionals, are honored during National Nurses Week from May 6th to May 12th. This celebration allows many organizations and associations to extend their appreciation to nurses for the important role they play in society and their positive impact on patient care. The theme of National Nurses Week 2015 is “Ethical Practice. Quality Care.” to address patient rights and advocacy.
National Nurses Week recognizes nurses for decades
Although the American Nurses Association has supported nurses since 1896, it took a long time for National Nurses Week to become the excellent event it is today, and there were a lot of notable events throughout the 20th century to make this happen. The May dates were selected because May 6th kicks off the week as National Nurses Day, and May 12th marks Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Additionally, May 8th was selected as National Student Nurses Day in 1998, and since 2003, National School Nurse Day has been celebrated on the Wednesday of every National Nurses Week.
Here are some other historical milestones related to National Nurses Week, according to the American Nurses Association:
- In 1953, Dorothy Sutherland, who was the head of what was then the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, offered a proposal to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The proposal included establishing a “Nurse Day” in October starting in 1954, but Eisenhower never made the proclamation during his tenure.
- National Nurse Week began to be observed during October starting in 1954, though no official declaration from the government was made. This was a special year to mark National Nurse Week, as it honored the centennial observance of Florence Nightingale’s historic Crimean mission.
- The next year during the 1955 meeting of Congress, a bill was introduced to establish a National Nurse Week, but the legislation eventually lost traction. Many national week observances were discontinued during this time, including this one. According to Nurse.com, although Ohio House Representative Frances Bolton tried to initiate legislation for the event, it eventually failed to gain any traction from other representatives.
- In 1972, after nearly two decades, a resolution started in the House of Representatives that urged the president to name a “National Registered Nurse Day,” but this failed to be passed by the White House.
- Two years later in 1974, the International Council of Nurses proclaimed May 12 to be “International Nurse Day” to honor the birthday of Florence Nightingale.
- Just one month later in February of 1974, President Richard Nixon officially designated National Nurse Week.
- Efforts to declare May 6 as National Nurse Day officially started with New Jersey Governor Brendon Byrne following a 1978 campaign for the cause by Edward Scanlan.
- Three years later in 1981, the American Nurses Association and several other organizations combined efforts to have May 6, 1982, become a “National Recognition Day for Nurses in New Mexico” with Congressman Manuel Lujan. In 1982, the Board of Directors with the ANA officially designated May 6 as National Nurses Day and the action was formally approved through a Congressional joint resolution. The proclamation was then signed by President Ronald Reagan on March 25, according to Scrubs Magazine.
- It wasn’t until 1990 that the week-long celebration for National Nurses Week officially began, as approved by the ANA Board of Directors. By 1993, the dates May 6 through May 12 became permanent and the board decided that they would serve all subsequent years.
- 1996 marked “National RN Recombination Day” on May 6, and the ANA has continued to encourage state and territorial associations to follow these designations. The next year in 1997, the board officially designated May 8 as National Student Nurses Day following a request from the National Student Nurses Association.
Though it is important to honor nurses year round, including those working in travel nursing jobs, National Nurse Week is a special event that highlights the invaluable work of nurses and their importance to our nation’s health and well-being.