Aloha Colleagues!
As Nurses, we celebrate the tradition of caring every single day, when we extend ourselves to meet the needs of our patients and their families with courage, skill, and kindness. Now, the time for a different sort of celebration is approaching and I would like for all to consider.
Since 1993, the American Nurses Association has designated May 6 – May 12 as National Nurses Week. This year’s theme is “4 Million Reasons to Celebrate!” Referencing the 4 million practicing nurses in the US. May 12 is the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of professional nursing, and designated International Nurses Day. The week may pass unnoticed in your workplace. Or, the contributions of our profession might be acknowledged with lunch or small gifts. A patient or family may give you a greeting card or thank you. But the real celebration of who we are as nurses needs to come from us! Take a minute to celebrate yourself, other nurses, and the friends and mentors you have known. Celebrate the new nurses and students coming along behind us and the energy they bring.
Did you know that there are 30 million nurses & midwives in practice around the world? Or that nurses are designated the # 1 most trusted profession in the United States, year after year?
Are you aware that the only reason a patient can be admitted to the hospital is to receive care from a registered nurse at the bedside 24/7? Or that higher nurse-to-patient staffing results in rapid recovery, reduced length of stay, high patient satisfaction, and low staff absenteeism & turn-over?
Take a moment to recognize yourself for all the good you bring to the little piece of world that surrounds you. Stand tall, take a deep breath, and know how important you are. Smile at a colleague. Let another nurse know how much you value him or her. Share a compliment, food, a story or something you have read
That will be the real gift in Nurses Week.
Mahalo for all you do, today & every day!
Leslie