Celebrating Nurses During National Nurses Week
Drum roll please … It’s National Nurses Week! At Eisenhower Medical Center, we appreciate our nurse-colleagues 365 days a year; but we’d like to take the opportunity during National Nurses Week to give special thanks to our RNs for all that they do to improve the health and well-being of our patients and communities.
How It Began
National Nurses Week is celebrated each year beginning on May 6 and culminating on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale. Considered the founder of modern day nursing, Nightingale, of English descent, was born in Florence, Italy in 1820. According to nursingworld.org, she resisted the prevailing attitudes of her time, ignoring a marriage proposal and disobeying her parents’ wishes to pursue her love of philanthropy and education. Nightingale became a pioneer in the field of nursing practice while aiding soldiers during the Crimean War, and she went on to establish the Nightingale Training School for Nurses. Her devotion to nursing practice positively changed the perception of the profession and inspired young men and women to pursue nursing as an honorable career.
In the U.S., ever-increasing respect and appreciation for nurses led to formal recognition of the invaluable contributions they make to society at large. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan signed a federal proclamation establishing a national day of observance for nurses on May 6. The day of observance was later extended to a weeklong celebration. The American Nurses Association also designated May 8 as National Student Nurses Day.
Nurses Love What They Do — and We Love Them for It
The public trusts nurses more than any other profession in the U.S. For 14 straight years, Gallup polls have consistently ranked nurses as No. 1 in honesty and ethical standards. It’s no wonder: Nurses are well known for their dedication to patients. Without reservation, they serve as the ultimate patient advocates and work hard to ensure access to comprehensive, quality healthcare services for everyone under their care. Their job is a challenging one, but nurses dedicate themselves to their profession because they love what they do. A study conducted by Massachusetts Health and Human Services Department, for example, found that 60% of nursing students identified caring for other people as the most important factor that attracted them to a career in nursing. Throughout their careers, compassion, strong ethical standards and highly developed clinical skills drive nurses to champion the health not only of individuals, but also of the entire nation.
Nurses Are Our No. 1
At Eisenhower Medical Center and its many clinics, we could not be more proud to work alongside supremely skilled RNs who are committed to providing the highest quality patient care. Our nurses worked hard to achieve Magnet status for our organization. Only 6% of hospitals across the country have met the rigorous criteria of the Magnet program for measuring excellence in the strength and quality of nursing care. That excellence is demonstrated each day as our nurses offer their loyalty, expertise and compassion to our patients across the many healthcare services we provide. As leaders, teachers, selfless professionals (not to mention exceptional multitaskers!), nurses at Eisenhower Medical Center build important, trusted, lasting bonds with our communities and the people we serve.
The dedication and skill of nurses deserves recognition throughout the year; but during National Nurses Week, we at Eisenhower Medical Center offer a little extra well-earned spoiling of our nurse-colleagues. We treat our nurses to gift boxes and special events throughout the week, including luncheons, stress-reduction treatments and guest speakers. We want our nurses — and everyone — to understand the importance of showing appreciation for the nurses we hold in such high esteem. We are grateful for the nurses who take such excellent care of our patients and help make Eisenhower Medical Center such a great place to work.
We hope you’ll take a moment during National Nurses Week to also recognize the vital contributions that nurses make to our communities. Give a shout out to nurses this week and show how much you, too, value all that they do!
Originally posted on 6/5/2016