International Nurses Day
International Nurses Day is an international day observed around the world on 12 May each year, to mark the contributions that nurses make to society.
Background
The International Council of Nurses 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"; but 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, the founder of modern nursing. Each year, ICN prepares and distributes the International Nurses' Day Kit. The kit contains educational and public information materials, for use by nurses everywhere. As of 1998, 8 May was designated as annual National Student Nurses' Day in the US.
Themes
The themes for International Nurses Day have been:| Year | Theme | Ref. |
| 1988 | Safe Motherhood | |
| 1989 | School Health | |
| 1990 | Nurses and Environment | |
| 1991 | Mental Health – Nurses in Action | |
| 1992 | Healthy Aging | |
| 1993 | Quality, costs and Nursing | |
| 1994 | Healthy Families for Healthy Nation | |
| 1995 | Women's Health: Nurses Pave the Way | |
| 1996 | Better Health through Nursing Research | |
| 1997 | Healthy Young People = A Brighter Future | |
| 1998 | Partnership for Community Health | |
| 1999 | Celebrating Nursing's Past, claiming the future | |
| 2000 | Nurses – Always there for you | |
| 2001 | Nurses, Always There for You: United Against Violence | |
| 2002 | Nurses Always There for You: Caring for Families | |
| 2003 | Nurses: Fighting AIDS stigma, working for all | |
| 2004 | Nurses: Working with the Poor; Against Poverty | |
| 2005 | Nurses for Patients' Safety: Targeting counterfeit medicines and substandard medication | |
| 2006 | Safe staffing saves lives | |
| 2007 | Positive practice environments: Quality workplaces = quality patient care | |
| 2008 | Delivering Quality, Serving Communities: Nurses Leading Primary Health Care and social care | |
| 2009 | Delivering Quality, Serving Communities: Nurses Leading Care Innovations | |
| 2010 | Delivering Quality, Serving Communities: Nurses Leading Chronic Care | |
| 2011 | Closing The Gap: Increasing Access and Equity | |
| 2012 | Closing The Gap: From Evidence to Action | |
| 2013 | Closing The Gap: Millennium Development Goals | |
| 2014 | Nurses: A Force for Change – A vital resource for health | |
| 2015 | Nurses: A Force for Change: Care Effective, Cost Effective | |
| 2016 | Nurses: A Force for Change: Improving Health Systems' Resilience | |
| 2017 | Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals | |
| 2018 | Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Health is a Human right | |
| 2019 | Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Health for All | |
| 2020 | Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health | |
| 2021 | Nurses: A Voice to Lead - A Vision for Future Healthcare | |
| 2022 | Nurses: Make a Difference | |
| 2023 | Our Nurses. Our Future. | |
| 2024 | Our Nurses, Our Future: The Economic Power of Care. | |
| 2025 | Our Nurses, Our Future: Caring for nurses strengthens economies. |
National activities
Australia
The Australian Nurse of the Year is announced at a ceremony at one of the state capital cities. Additionally, in each of the Australian states and territories, various nursing award ceremonies are conducted during the week.China
In 2007, 5000 nurses gathered in Yichun, East China's Jiangxi Province.Ireland
Since 2012, Nurse Jobs Ireland launch a week long pro-bono campaign to celebrate nurses on the 6–12 May every year. This week long celebration uses digital platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to promote the great work nurses do using the hashtag #CelebrateNurses. The public leave their positive comments and thanks on the Celebrate Nurses website where they are collated into an ebook which is shared in medical facilities throughout Ireland.Singapore
Singapore celebrates Nurses Day on 1 August. Back in the 1800s, a thriving Singapore found itself in need of providing better healthcare and medical services to a growing population. While there were several hospitals, there was a lack of nurses to support the doctors. French nuns from the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus were trained to become nurses to fulfil this need, as they were seen as the only educated European women in Singapore who could undertake this challenge. 1 August 1885 marks the beginning of the development of nursing in Singapore when these nuns began their nursing duties in the General Hospital at the Sepoy Lines in the Outram area.Taiwan
In 2003, after the outbreak of highly contagious SARS, President Chen Shui-bian visited a hospital on International Nurses Day to express admiration for 3 nurses who died of SARS, among other medical personnel fighting on the frontline. He conveyed wishes to nurses for their devotion to duty of caring and reminded hospital staff that they should adopt strict precautionary measures to protect themselves before contacting with patients.File:05.12 總統出席「106年國際護師節聯合慶祝大會」，與傑出護理人員獲獎者一同合影.jpg|thumb|President Tsai Ing-wen, with the Minister of Health and Welfare, attends International Nurses Day celebration