This week, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) will join millions across the country to celebrate National Nurses Week. Beginning Monday, May 6, and culminating on the birthday of legendary nurse Florence Nightingale on Sunday, May 12, National Nurses Week marks a time for all of us impacted by nurses’ selfless work to celebrate together and express our appreciation. FNU honors all nurses during this holiday week, especially the thousands of FNU nurse-midwifery and nurse practitioner alumni and students dedicated to serving women and families and carrying out the legacy that Mary Breckinridge set forth.
The theme of this year’s National Nurses Week, led by the American Nurses Association (ANA), is 4 Million Reasons to Celebrate – “a nod to nurses’ sheer numbers and an open invitation to thank a nurse for enriching our lives and the world we live in.”
The 4 million registered nurses comprise the largest group of health professionals in the United States. Nurses have been ranked as the professionals with the highest honesty and ethical standards by the American public for 17 consecutive years.
Here are several ways for FNU students, faculty and alumni to participate in National Nurses Week:
1. Attend the FREE Nurses4Us: Elevating the Profession! Webinar
Presented by ANA’s president Dr. Ernest Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN, the webinar will provide insider strategies as experts discuss ways to increase nurses’ professional presence beyond hospital walls. Join the conversation on Twitter with #NursesWeekLive, where you can follow highlights from @ANANursingWorld and take part in a special Q&A session with nurse leaders. For more information and to register, visit the National Nurses Week website.
2. Organize an Event For Your Colleagues
Make the week special for the nurses you work with every day. Positive Promotions has rounded up 50 ways to celebrate National Nurses Week, including organizing a “Nurses Night Out” event, kicking off a “Nurse of the Month” recognition program and putting on an ice cream social.
3. Honor a Nurse (or Treat Yourself!) with a Unique Gift
The ANA has partnered with Jim Coleman to offer a wide variety of products through its Honor a Nurse program. Shop totes, shirts, water bottles, notebooks and more to find the perfect gift for your favorite nurse! View the entire product line at JimColemanStore.com.
4. Keep Up with Your 4 Million Fellow Nurses on Twitter
Follow @RNAction, @ANAEthics and @HealthyNurseUSA on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the nursing world, and see ways other nurses are celebrating #NursesWeek.
How do you plan to celebrate National Nursing Week? Share a photo on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and tag Frontier Nursing University so that we can see how our students, faculty, preceptors and alumni are celebrating one another! Use #FNUAnswerTheCall so we can see how you and your colleagues are truly answering the call to serve your communities.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).