Why We Celebrate Nurses Week

National Nurses Week is a time dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the incredible contributions and sacrifices nurses make in our healthcare system. From bedside care to community health leadership and innovative ways to improve outcomes, nurses are the first point of contact for many patients. Nurses act as a constant source of support, advocacy, and healing when it comes to our health, and they deserve all the love and support we can give. 

When is Nurses Week 2025? 

Nurses week begins on May 6 every year and runs through May 12 — the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. The dates of Nurses Week remain the same each year, regardless of the day of the week on which May 6 falls. But, where did Nurses Week originate, and why do we celebrate it?

The Origins of Nurses Week

Nurses Week can officially be traced back to the mid-20th century, though the push to formally recognize nurses began much earlier. Here’s a brief timeline of how Nurses Week came to be:

• 1953: Dorothy Sutherland of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare proposed to President Dwight D. Eisenhower that a “Nurse Day” be proclaimed in October. The proposal wasn’t approved, but this sparked awareness about the need to recognize nurses.
  
  
• 1954: A National Nurse Week was observed from October 11–16, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s mission to Crimea, where she laid the foundation for modern nursing.
  
  
• 1972: The House of Representatives introduced a resolution to recognize National Registered Nurse Day, but it didn’t pass.
  
  
• 1974: President Richard Nixon issued a proclamation designating a National Nurse Week, finally giving nationwide recognition to the profession.
  
  
• 1982: The American Nurses Association (ANA) successfully advocated for May 6 to be recognized as National Nurses Day, and President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation to formalize it.
  
  
• 1990: The ANA expanded the celebration to a week-long event, starting on May 6 and ending on May 12, which marks the birthday of Florence Nightingale, often considered the founder of modern nursing.
  
  
• 1993: The ANA officially made Nurses Week an annual celebration, solidifying the tradition we now observe each year beginning on May 6.
  

Why We Celebrate Nurses Week

At Achieve, we truly believe that nurses are the backbone of the healthcare system. They work tirelessly as caregivers, educators, advocates, and innovators. Nurses Week gives us the opportunity to recognize and appreciate the hard work and dedication nurses bring to their roles every day.

Nurses Week allows us to raise awareness about the challenges nurses face and the impact of their contributions to patient care and public health.

Nurses Week is a great time to encourage future generations to consider nursing as a meaningful and impactful profession. There are many programs available to help people who may already have a background in healthcare to enter the nursing profession. Some of these programs, like the CNA to RN Bridge program, Medical Assistant to RN, Paramedic to RN, Surgical Tech to RN, and Respiratory Therapist to RN from Achieve, provide busy healthcare workers the opportunity to pursue a nursing career while they continue to work a sometimes unpredictable schedule. 

Nurses Week is also a perfect time to celebrate nursing excellence by encouraging those currently working in the nursing field to continue learning and growing through advanced nursing education, such as LPN to RN Bridge programs, LPN to BSN Bridge programs, LPN to Nurse Practitioner programs, RN to BSN programs, and others. 

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How to celebrate National Nurses Week 

Nurses Week is a time to celebrate nurses for their dedication and commitment to our care. It’s also a time to do something special for the nurses in your community to make them feel loved and show them how much you appreciate them. This could mean writing a thank you card, dropping off treats or flowers at a nursing station, reading about and familiarizing yourself with some of the issues impacting nurses today, writing a letter to your congressman about their needs, or anything you can do to show nurses how much you appreciate them.

How to celebrate Nurses Week as a nurse yourself

No matter where you work, your role as a nurse is important to the individuals you serve. You deserve recognition, and so do all the nurses around you. You can not celebrate, but also recognize your fellow nurses during National Nurses Week. 

Many companies provide Nurses Week discounts and some even give Nurses Week freebies! Keep a lookout for these special offers in stores or when browsing online. Achieve Test Prep even has special offers for nurses May 6 - May 12. (Call 888-858-1897 to learn more)

If you are a nurse, make it a priority to do something special that’s just for you this week. Reflect on the past year you’ve spent working as a nurse — embracing the times you made a difference and letting go of the times the outcome wasn’t what you wanted. 

You could connect with someone who has made a difference in your nursing career to let them know how important they are to you. And you should do something fun with your coworkers whether it's going out for a meal after work or simply placing a special treat in the breakroom. You can do little things that don’t cost a lot of money, but that have a big impact on making someone’s day. 

More Than Just a Celebration

Nurses Week is more than flowers, thank-you cards, or social media shout-outs (though these are always appreciated!). It’s a chance to reflect on the essential role nurses play and advocate for better support, fair compensation, and safe working environments. As healthcare evolves, so too does the nursing profession, and this week serves as a platform to recognize and support that growth.

You can help promote the nursing profession by engaging with the community and educating others about the important role nurses play in healthcare. 

Make this a special week for nurses

Nurses truly have the power to transform health. Whether you’re a nurse, know a nurse, or have ever been cared for by one, Nurses Week is a time to say thank you. It’s a moment to honor the compassion, resilience, and expertise that nurses bring to their work. As we continue to navigate an increasingly complex healthcare system, one thing remains constant: the unwavering commitment of nurses to care for their patients and communities.

Happy Nurses Week — and thank you to all the nurses who make a difference every single day.

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