when is icu nurses week 2021?
For all they sacrifice, nurses deserve more appreciation than we can express. In the second week of May, National Nurses Week gives communities, employers, and individuals the opportunity to thank nurses and the nursing profession for all that they do.
Week is celebrated each year from May 6 to May 12 to honor nurses and the vital role they play in ensuring our health and prosperity. This brief history of the nursing profession and National Nurses Week highlights the many different ways that nursing organizations, the health care industry, and communities across the U.S. commemorate the occasion.
The word “nurse” is derived from the Latin nutire, which means “to nurture” or “suckle.” The term was first applied to wet nurses. By the late 16th century, it referred to an individual who cared for the sick.
Perhaps Nightingale’s greatest single contribution to the nursing profession was setting an example as a leader in enforcing standards in nursing practice and education. She was one of the first proponents of evidence-based care and understood the powerful role nurses play in promoting quality care for patients and workplace safety for nurses.
Other important contributors to the development of the nursing profession in the 19th and early 20th centuries include:
The contributions of nurses are now celebrated in countries around the world, but official recognition for the nursing profession was a long time coming. The American Nurses Association (ANA) was founded in 1896 and grew rapidly in the first decades of the 20th century. ANA lobbied for the establishment of an eight-hour workday for nurses in 1934 and championed other causes in support of the nursing profession and public health.
In January 1974, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) first announced that May 12 would be celebrated as International Nurse Day. The date was chosen because it’s the anniversary of Nightingale’s birth in 1820.
National Nurses Week runs from May 6 to May 12 of each year to honor the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, whose heroic efforts to treat soldiers injured during the Crimean War established the first standards of nursing care.
National Nurses Week in 2021 coincided with the release of the National Academy of Medicine’s report titled The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Health Equity. The report presents a framework for addressing the challenges that the nursing profession faces in this decade:
Groups around the world celebrate nurses with events held on and around the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. The ANA recognized National Nurses Day, National Nurses Week, and National Nurses Month. In addition to honoring nurses, the ANA plans activities and provides resources based on themes such as self care and professional development.
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) recognizes International Nurses Day. The theme for ICN’s International Nurses Day 2022 is “Nursing the World Back to Health.” Activities will focus on the influence nurses can have on the future of health care.
When asked what was most important for their well-being, nurses focused on having their work recognized, improving channels of communication, and having greater accessibility to support resources. These are the support initiatives that nurses deemed most important, according to McKinsey & Company. More appropriate recognition: 68%. Enhanced communication: 67%. More work breaks: 64%. Monitoring nurse distress and proactive outreach: 62%. Easier access to support resources: 60%. Seeking help made easier and more acceptable: 59%. Greater access to mental health resources: 54%. Encouraging personal connections between nurses: 50%.
National Nurses Week gives the public and the health care industry an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the work and careers of nurses in all areas of the profession as those that will soon join their ranks. For example, May 8 is designated as National Student Nurses Day, the Wednesday that falls within National Nurses Week (May 10 in 2022) is celebrated as National School Nurse Day, and May 12 is International Nurses Day.
Organizations take many different approaches to thanking nurses for their dedication to treating the sick and protecting the health of individuals and families in their communities.
Social media campaigns, such as #NursesWeek2022, make it easy for people to express thanks to nurses via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Another popular way for individuals and organizations to show their gratitude to the nursing profession is by donating to nonprofit organizations that support nurses and other health care workers.
Individuals and organizations have many options for expressing their gratitude to nurses during National Nurses Week 2022 from simple, heartfelt thank-you notes to elaborate celebrations replete with balloons and tinsel. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the most practical way for us to demonstrate our appreciation for nurses is by taking precautions that public health officials recommend.
The typical tchotchke gifts of key chains and coffee mugs with witty nurse-related messages don’t truly convey the high regard held for nurses and the nursing profession. Instead, choose a thank-you method that communicates a deep and abiding gratitude for the important and dangerous work nurses take on every day.
ANA’s National Awards Program promotes outstanding accomplishments and significant achievements in nursing and health care. The awards are bestowed in four categories:
Caregivers of children with cancer know all too well the value of the nursing staff who help their children manage toxic cancer treatments. The challenge of nursing has been made more complicated with the Covid-19 pandemic. Many nurses experience burnout. So take a moment to recognize the immeasurable value a nurse has on the lives of others. Show them kindness, respect, and compassion. Let them know you appreciate them. You never know when you may need a gifted nurse to bring you or a family member through a medical crisis.
National Nurses Week was established in 1982 by then-President Ronald Reagan in honor of the pioneering work of nurse Florence Nightingale. The annual International Nurses Day is celebrated on her birthday, May 12. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was born in Florence, no doubt attributing to her name; her parents were from England, and she was born while they were traveling. Florence Nightingale was a social reformer and statistician best known as the founder of modern nursing.
Her experiences as a nurse during the Crimean War were foundational in her view of the need for sanitation. In 1860, she laid the foundation for professional nursing by helping to establish the nursing school at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, which is now part of King’s College London. In recognition of her pioneering work in nursing, the Nightingale Pledge, taken by new nurses, was named in her honor. So, too, is the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve. Her social reforms included improving healthcare for all sections of British society, advocating better hunger relief in India, helping to abolish prostitution laws that were harsh for women, and expanding female participation in the workforce.
Julie Walden, R.N. is a retired nurse from UCLA where she worked for over 25 years. She worked as a bedside nurse helping ICU patients. She was also a preceptor helping train young nurses during that time. Leaning on the challenges she faced as a young nurse, Julie’s compassion spilled over into her training style of younger nurses. Julie has a charming and calm demeanor; she went into nursing to help others, a trait intrinsic to her nature since she was very young. Coming out of retirement to work in home health care has been brought back the satisfaction she missed from direct patient care. She has recently decided to retire once more to take care of her mother, who now needs full-time care.
Some of the challenges she shared were the emotional toll of feeling compassion for every patient. She learned to compartmentalize and keep her personal life balanced with her work life. As the years went on, lifting heavy patients in ICU began to take its toll on her body. She decided to retire to enjoy travel, gardening, sewing, and creating mosaics. When asked if she would do it all over again, it was a resounding “yes!” When asked how we could best show our appreciation to nurses, she said, “If patients would just wear their masks, get vaccinated, not be mean to nurses, and thank them, they are doing what they need to do.”
• January 24-30, 2021: CRNA Week
• January 25, 2021: IV Nurses Day
• March 19, 2021: Certified Nurses Day
• March 22-28, 2021: GI Nurses & Associates Week
National Critical Care Awareness and Recognition Month
Oncology Nursing Month
• May 1, 2021: International Nurses Day
• May 6, 2021: National Nurses Day
National School Nurse Day
• May 6-12, 2021: National Nurses Week
• May 9-15, 2021: Neuroscience Nurses Week
• June 1, 2021: National Healthcare Recruiter Recognition Day
• September 5-11, 2021: Vascular Nurses Week
• September 8, 2021: National Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day
• September 12-18, 2021: Nephrology Nurses Week
• September 13-19, 2021: National Neonatal Nurses Week
• October 3-9, 2021: National Midwifery Week
• October 4-8, 2021: Pediatric Nurses Week
• October 12-18, 2021: Emergency Nurses Week
• October 13, 2021: Emergency Nurses Day
• October 17-23, 2021: International Infection Prevention Week
• October 30, 2021: International Orthopaedic Nurses Day
National Hospice and Palliative Care Month
• November 1-7, 2021: Medical-Surgical Nurses Week
Urology Nurses and Associates Week
• November 8-12, 2021: Forensic Nurses Week
• November 7-13, 2021: National Nurse Practitioner Week
