Happy Nurses Month!

“Nursing is a progressive art such that to stand still is to go backwards.” – Florence Nightingale

Nurses, YOU Make a Difference!

From the ANA Nurses Month website: “the evergreen theme, Nurses Make a Difference honors the varying roles of nurses and their positive impact on our lives. Nurses make a difference as trusted advocates who ensure individuals, families, and populations receive quality patient care and services. Nurses make a difference by influencing and shaping health policy decisions that ensure all Americans have access to high-quality, affordable health care coverage.”

**This document contains some affiliate links. See the end of the post for more information. 

Every year Nurses Week is celebrated starting on May 6 and ending on May 12 (Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820.) 

In tribute to nurses everywhere, major nursing organizations are preparing celebrations for the month of May and all year long. In 2020, the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife was recognized and Nurses “Week” was extended to the entire month of May — and it stuck!  Here are the official days celebrating nurses in the month of May:

National Nurses Month: May

National Nurses Day May 6        
National Student Nurses Day May 8
International Nurses Day May 12

Certified Nurses Day  May 19

My celebration of fellow nurses and nursing students is a 20% discount on my paid membership levels – the NEE Insider and Premier Memberships – good through the end of May 2022. 

Each year, in May, the American Nurses Association (ANA) offers weekly free resources available for ALL nurses and nursing students to recognize your service and vital role in healthcare. You do not have to be a member of ANA to participate. 

There are four themes for each week in May to celebrate and recognize nurses and their contributions to healthcare:(descriptions are from the ANA website)

• Self-Care (5/1-5/7): Use this week to focus on yours’ and your colleagues’ mental health and physical well-being.
• Recognition (5/8-5/14): Raise the visibility of the critical work nurses do by honoring nurse heroes, innovators, and leaders. 
• Professional Development (5/15-5/21): The free Nurses Month Webinar on May 19 will focus on YOU Make a Difference — LIVE Nurses Event. Click for more information and to register.
• Community Engagement (5/22-5/31): Help promote nurses’ invaluable contributions by engaging virtually with your community, educating them on what nurses do, and encouraging support for current and future nurses.

Click on the links and join in! And don’t forget to check out your nursing specialty organization’s website to see what resources they are offering their members. Many are available to non-members, too!

For more information about the history of Nurses Week and how Nurses Week is celebrated in the U.S. and all over the world, and on the origination of the International Year of the Nurse, see the posts: Celebrate National Nurses Week! and 2020: International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

See also Flo’s Corner on the ANA website for more info about Florence Nightingale.

Recognize the Nurse (or Nursing Student) in Your Life!

If you are interested in recognizing the nurses in your life with a small token of appreciation, you could Google “national nurses week gifts” for traditional gift ideas and many sites will pop up. And, of course, Amazon has just about everything – gifts for nurses week –  included.

 

 

 

How to Cite this Blog Post (in 7th ed. APA)*: Thompson, C. J. (2022, May 5). National nurses month 2022: Nurses make a difference! Nursing Education Expert. https://nursingeducationexpert.com/national-nurses-month-2022

 

References (7th ed. APA)*

*Hanging indent doesn’t work on my blog posts, so just know that you need to use a hanging indent for your reference page citations when using APA format.

American Nurses Association (ANA). (2020). About year of the nurse. https://anayearofthenurse.org/about-year-of-the-nurse

American Nurses Association (ANA). (2022). About nurses month. https://nursesmonth.org/about-nurses-month/

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Year of the nurse and the midwife 2020. https://www.who.int/news-room/campaigns/year-of-the-nurse-and-the-midwife-2020

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