This week is International Nurses’ week. The week is celebrated around the world in early May of each year, to mark the contributions nurses make to society. International Nurses’ Day is celebrated on 12 May 2013 (the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth).
Background
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has celebrated this day since 1965. In 1953 Dorothy Sutherland, an official with the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, proposed that President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaim a “Nurses’ Day”; he did not approve it.
In January 1974, 12 May was chosen to celebrate the day as it is the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, who is widely considered the founder of modern nursing.
In 1999 the British public sector union UNISON voted to ask the ICN to transfer this day to another date, saying Nightingale does not represent modern nursing.
As of 1998, 8 May was designated as annual National Student Nurses’ Day. As of 2003, the Wednesday within National Nurses Week, between 6 and 12 May, is National School Nurse Day.
US & Canada Nursing Week
The U.S. and Canada celebrate National Nursing Week each year from May 6th to May 12th (the birthday of Florence Nightingale). It was established in the U.S. by President Richard Nixon in 1974. The Canadian Minister of Health instituted National Nursing Week in Canada in 1985.
UK Celebrations
Each year a service is held in Westminster Abbey in London. During the Service, a symbolic lamp is taken from the Nurses’ Chapel in the Abbey and handed from one nurse to another, thence to the Dean, who places it on the High Altar. This signifies the passing of knowledge from one nurse to another. At St Margaret’s Church at East Wellow in Hampshire, where Florence Nightingale is buried, a service is also held on the Sunday after her birthday.
Australian Celebrations
The Australian Nurse of the Year is announced at a ceremony at one of the state’s capital cities. Additionally, in each of the Australian states and territories, various nursing ceremonies are conducted during the week.
International Nurses Day
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