Celebrate through Education: National Nurses Week 2012

How will you celebrate National Nurses Week 2012 through education? Drop us a line at editor@care2learn.com and let us know, and we’ll post your response!

May 6 marks the beginning of National Nurses Week, which begins on National Nurses Day and comes to an end on May 12—the birthday of Florence Nightingale. The celebration honors the more than 3 million nurses in the U.S. who work tirelessly to ensure the health and well-being countless individuals.

This year’s theme is “Nurses: Advocating, Leading, Caring” and it focuses on the many roles nurses play in our daily lives—from “staff educator to nurse practitioner and nurse researcher”. Indeed, education is an integral part of the nursing profession. It encompasses not only the years spent learning to become a nurse, but also the importance of continuing education as well as mentoring our fellow nurses and caregivers, and promoting awareness about the value of nursing in the clinical setting and beyond.

According to the annual Gallup poll ranking professions for their honesty and ethical standards, Americans voted nurses “the most trusted profession in America” for the 12th time in 13 years, and the honesty and ethics of nurses were rated "very high" or "high" by 84 percent of poll respondents. The American Nurses Association (ANA) says:

“Now more than ever, RNs are positioned to assume leadership roles in health care, provide primary care services to meet increased demand, implement strategies to improve the quality of care, and play a key role in innovative, patient-centered care delivery models. The nursing profession plays an essential role in improving patient outcomes, increasing access, coordinating care, and reducing health care costs.”

On their site, the ANA offers a list of ways in which nurses and other healthcare professionals and support staff can celebrate National Nurses Week 2012, such as working with local hospitals, schools and libraries to set up a display, or hosting a hearing before city council to discuss concerns about recent trends in healthcare (including safety and quality of care issues).