National Nurses Week 2018 Giveaway
For National Nurses Week 2018, Best Nursing Degree wants to help you celebrate the special nurses in your life. If you’ve worked with, personally know, or have been a patient of an innovative, influential, or inspiring nurse, use our simple form to nominate him or her for Best Nursing Degree’s “Nurse of the Year” Award. The three winning nurses and the people who nominated them will each receive a $50 gift card. Two winners will be chosen in each nominating category.
See terms and conditions.
[contact-form-7 id=”27449″ title=”NNW Form”]
Thank you for nominating a nurse for our Nurses Week Giveaway!
Take some time to read about the other nurses being recognized below, and remember to thank a nurse for all they do! You can also find more information on the nursing profession and additional resources here.
Happy Nurses Week 2018 from all of us at BestNursingDegree.com!
What and When is Nurses Week?
Nurses Week is exactly what is sounds like; a week-long celebration and appreciation of nurses. Many employers give gifts, swag, or professional benefits to their nurses during Nurse Appreciation Week. If you’re a patient or friend of a nurse, Nurses Week is a good time to reach out and tell the nurses in your life that you appreciate them and what they do.
The push for an official week to recognize and celebrate the contribution of nurses started in 1953, but it wasn’t until 1974 that nurse appreciation week became officially recognized through a presidential proclamation by President Nixon.
National Nurses Day is on May 6, which kicks off National Nurses Week and lasts until May 12th. The 12th of May was explicitly chosen as the end of nurses week because it is the birthday of Florence Nightingale, one of the most influential and well-known nurses of all time.
Within that week, National Student Nurses Day falls on May 8. National School Nurse Day is May 9, and International Nurses Day is on the 12th, the last day of Nurses Week.
Nurses Week 2018 Theme
The theme for this year’s nursing week is “Inspire, Innovate, and Influence.” Famous examples throughout history of nurses demonstrating these traits include:
- Inspire: Mary Eliza Mahoney was the first registered African American nurse. Her desire to be a nurse led to her working as a janitor, cook, and laundry woman at New England Hospital. After 15 years in those roles she was finally admitted to the nursing school at the hospital. She was one of only three graduates from the rigorous program. After Mary, black nurses were allowed in medical training programs. Her fight against racial discrimination also led to her co-founding the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses in 1908.
- Innovate: Clarissa Harlowe Barton was a nurse in the Civil War, often risking her life to attend to the wounds of injured soldiers. She later went on to found the American Red Cross, which provides healthcare to not just in war zones but in any area that needs disaster relief.
- Influence: Margaret Sanger, a nurse once exiled from America for her stance on birth control, eventually went on to found Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of women’s healthcare in the U.S. today.
Nurses Week Recognition Ideas
Besides nominating your favorite nurses for a gift card with Best Nursing Degree, there are plenty of other ways you can show appreciation to the nurses in your life during Nursing Appreciation Week. Depending on how you know the special nurse in your life, we’ve outlined a few ideas below.
Some nursing week gift ideas for friends and patients of nurses include:
- Writing a letter of appreciation
- Baking or buying a “thank you!” cake
- Sending flowers
- Writing a note to the nurse’s supervisor telling them about your experience with the nurse and why he/she was so great
Gift ideas for employers of nurses include:
- Swag such as pens, coffee cups, business cards, t-shirts, etc.
- Professional development opportunities like extra learning and classes, bringing in career counselors, and shadowing superiors
- Raffles and games with giveaways such as a designated parking spot, gift cards, extra PTO, etc.
