Nurses week is May 6th-12th.

A Brief History

Although proposals had been sent to President Eisenhower in 1953, and submitted to the US Congress in 1955, it was January of 1974 when the International Council of Nurses proclaimed that May 12th, Florence Nightingale’s Birthday, would be “International Nurse Day.”

In February of 1974, the White House designated that there would be a National Nurse Week and President Nixon signed a proclamation.

In 1978, New Jersey Governor Brendon Byrne declared May 6th as “Nurses Day” and New Jersey resident Edward Scanlon took up the cause to perpetuate the recognition of nurses in his state.

There were other triumphs along the way, and in 1982 the ANA Board of Directors formally acknowledged May 6th 1982 as National Nurses Day. This action affirmed a joint resolution of the US Congress that designated May 6th as “National Recognition Day for Nurses.”

President Reagan signed that proclamation.In 1991 The ANA Board of Directors chose to expand the recognition of nurses to a week-long celebration. In 1993 they designated May 6th-12 as the permanent dates that National Nurses Week would be observed each year.

May 6th - National RN Recognition Day
May 8th - National Student Nurses Day

Click here for exclusive Nurses Week 2008 gifts.