Nurses Week Honors Nurses Contributions

From the time of Florence Nightingale to the present, nurses have contributed to quality healthcare. Take the opportunity to honor the contributions of nurses this Nurses' Week May 6-12, 2004.

(PRWEB) April 5, 2004--In 1954 National Nurse Week was celebrated in October to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's work in Crimea. In 1996, the American Nurses' Association designated May 6-12 as permanent dates for Nurses' Week so that the celebration would end on Florence Nightingale's birthday.

Nurses Week was originally designated to celebrate the life and works of Florence Nightingale. What would Florence have to say about the problems facing nurses today? Her response would probably be the same as it was during her tenure -- a refusal to accept the status quo as being acceptable and cut through the hype to get to the real problems.

Florence Nightingale chose nursing during a time when nursing was only an acceptable profession for prostitutes. Talk about oppression. Just imagine how she was treated by physicians! Instead of focusing on the negative images and problems, Florence focused on her patients and on solutions. Talk about dedication. She refused to accept the status quo, instead believing that change was important and necessary.

Nursing has changed substantially since the time of Florence Nightingale, but some things havent changed that much. According to the Gallup Poll in 2003 nurses are highly valued by society, but nurses are still undervalued by the healthcare system. Many nursing functions are deemed unimportant and responsibility transferred to ancillary personnel. In addition, nurses are working short-handed in many institutions.

Take the opportunity this Nurses Week to honor nurses you know. Send them a thank you card, or call them to express your gratitude. A few simple words of thanks go a long way to energizing nurses to provide better care. Nurses Week e-cards are available to send at www.ed4nurses.com/nursesweek2004.htm.