Nurses Week and Month Celebrate the pioneers, give attention to the longer term

Notable national and international organizations intend to honor these nurses in addition to draw attention to current nursing issues to foster change and progress within the career.

ICN calls for motion

Every 12 months, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) commemorates International Nurses Day on May 12 – the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. The theme of this 12 months’s International Nurses Day campaign is titled “Our nurses. Our future,“underscores ICN’s efforts to focus on the future of nurses and patients.

ICN CEO Howard Catton said on International Nurses Day that the council plans to publish a new report and action charter that focuses on the future needs of nurses and healthcare workers. Catton added that ICN will present a copy of the report to the World Health Assembly in late May and at the ICN Congress in Montreal in July.

“There will be activities focused specifically on nurses and nursing staff, but there will also be recommendations on what our health care systems should focus on and prioritize,” he said. Catton said the Covid-19 pandemic had exposed weaknesses in health care systems, such as a lack of personal protective equipment and widespread staffing shortages.

He said as the world emerges from the Covid-19 crisis, health systems are starting to see more health issues unrelated to Covid-19, such as patient surgeries or treatments for diseases that have been delayed due to the pandemic, further increasing global investment in nursing. critical.

“We believe that the support, protection and investment of our nurses is essential to enable us not only to recover from the pandemic, but also to rebuild and meet future health needs,” he said.

In addition to publishing the report, ICN will celebrate nurses in another way in May. For the second year, Aster DM Healthcare will award a $250,000 cash award to a nurse who demonstrates excellence. More than 52,000 nurses from 202 countries have registered in the program Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award 2023. Catton will attend the awards ceremony and will be one of the judges on this year’s International Nurses Day, which will be held in London.

ANA honors nursing pioneer

In May, the American Nurses Association will begin a lecture series on Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first licensed African-American nurse. This event is one of many events that ANA has planned to honor nurses during Nurses Month.

ANA, along with the Central Virginia chapter of the National Association of Black Nurses, is hosting the Mary Eliza Mahoney Lecture Series to highlight the historic contributions of nurses of color, said Katie Boston-Leary, PHD, MBA, MHA, RN, NEA-BC, ANA director of nursing programs.

The first lecture in the series will take place on Monday, May 8, the day after Mahoney’s birthday, and will focus on her personal and professional life and work as a visionary leader, organizer and civil rights defender. The ANA plans to host future lectures on Mahoney’s contributions to nursing to mark her birthday (May 7).

“We haven’t done this before and it’s really symbolic,” Boston-Leary said. “This is a really sore point for nurses of color: Why don’t we celebrate the first Black nurse?” This is the fourth year in a row that ANA has organized the month-long celebration National Nurses Month in May. ANA chose the theme “You Make a Difference” to honor the diverse roles of nursing and highlight the positive impact nurses have.

“Each year, it becomes increasingly important to take time to celebrate Nurses Month and honor those of us healthcare professionals who diligently serve as trusted patient advocates, leaders in our organizations, and influencers who shape healthcare policy decisions,” said Jennifer, ANA President Mensik Kennedy, Ph.D., MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN.

“It is with great appreciation and gratitude that we also pay tribute to those nurses who came before us, like Mary Eliza Mahoney, who led the way in shaping the nursing profession,” said Mensik Kennedy.

The monthly celebrations are divided into four thematic areas: self-care (May 1-7), nurse recognition (May 8-14), professional development (May 15-21) and community involvement (May 22-31). Activities are planned throughout the month and focus on these topics.

Boston-Leary said the first week of Nurses Month highlights the need for nurses to engage in self-care, including ensuring adequate sleep, exercise and proper nutrition, due to the extreme stress and pressure they have experienced in recent years.

“We want to make sure nurses are taking care of themselves,” she said. “The data is really clear: burnout is indeed driven by many of the workload issues that exist in practice today.”

She added that organizations also have a responsibility to support their employees by providing adequate staffing and a healthy work environment. ANA will also focus on supporting nurses by organizing a free webinar titled “Asking for and Advocating for Nurses’ Needs.”

Boston-Leary said: ANA survey found that nurses often feel like their voices are not heard. The webinar will discuss current challenges in the workplace and what nurses can do to advocate for better working conditions. It will look at issues such as workplace violence, working practices and conditions, grassroots and state-level support, and legislation.

“This sets the stage for nurses to share their ideas about what they need from employers, organizations and policymakers to improve their work environments,” she said.