Nurses Day

The World Honors Nurses By Celebrating Nurses Day


The National Nurses day is usually celebrated around the world on May 6.
It is a one week celebration that starts from the 6th day of the month of May and ends on the 12th, which is also the birth date of Florence Nightingale.

It has been celebrated by the International Council of Nurses since 1965 but the history of the Nurses Day can be hunted down in 1953. An official of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare Dorothy Sutherland proposed to President Eisenhower to proclaim a “Nurses day” but eventually he didn’t approve it.

In 1974, the decision was made to celebrate the day on May 12 as also to commemorate the birth of Florence Nightingale, who is known as the founder of Modern Nursing. In 1981, nurses in New Mexico started a resolution that on May 6 would be announced as the “National Recognition Day for Nurses”.



The ANA Board of Directors encouraged this proposal and in 1982, the United States Congress assigned May 6 to be the “National Recognition Day for Nurses”. Eventually it was then expanded to a week-long celebration.

National Student Nurses Day was designated to celebrate annually on May 8th and as of 2003, the National School Nurse day has been declared by the ANA to celebrate on Wednesday within National Nurses Week each year.

Every year a kit is being distributed by the International Council of Nurses which is called as the International Nurses’ Day Kit. It contains materials that can be used by nurses everywhere they go.