National Nurses Week Highlights Importance, Challenges of Nursing
For decades, National Nurses Week has honored those who commit themselves to the nursing profession while also highlighting the challenges and rewards of the nursing field. Perhaps most importantly, the week provides people the perfect opportunity to remember a nurse who made a difference in their lives.
National Nurses Week runs each year from May 6 to May 12, ending on Florence Nightingale鈥檚 birthday. Within the week, Wednesday is celebrated as National Student Nurses Day.
The week honors nurses for their compassion and dedication and the specialized work skills and knowledge they acquire through education and experience. It鈥檚 a special time for Houston Christian University, where the bachelor鈥檚 degree and聽master鈥檚 degree programs in nursing聽attract both on-campus and online students every year.
Why Are Nurses So Important?
More than 3 million people work as a nurse in the United States, including 217,630 in Texas. The nursing profession is one of the fastest-growing jobs in one of the fastest-growing industries in the country.
The COVID-19 pandemic focused the public spotlight on nurses鈥� essential role in safeguarding public health. Nurses across the country worked on the聽front lines聽in the battle to save lives, placing their health and safety at risk.
But even during 鈥渘ormal鈥� times, nurses display great diversity and strength through various crucial skills. Depending on where they work, a nurse鈥檚 duties might range from educating people on living healthier lives to ensuring a patient gets the most accurate diagnosis at their doctor鈥檚 office.
Nursing duties in every specialty typically include:
- Performing physical exams and making critical decisions
- Providing health promotion, counseling, and education
- Administering medication
- Coordinating care
鈥淒ue to the vast range of specialisms and complex skills in the nursing profession, each nurse will have specific strengths, passions, and expertise,鈥� the American Nurses Association聽聽about nurses. In all specialties, nurses聽look beyond test results聽to evaluate the patient, using their judgment to consider both objective data and their subjective assessment of each patient鈥檚 biological, physical and behavioral needs.
The Challenges Facing Modern Nurses
The ANA calls nurses 鈥渢he glue that holds聽a patient鈥檚 health care journey together.鈥� They added that 鈥渨herever there is someone in need of care, nurses work tirelessly to identify and protect the needs of the individual.鈥�
That鈥檚 an apt description of nurses today. But while more nurses than ever work in the U.S. and around the world, the profession faces a set of .
- Staff shortages. In Texas, the state continues to聽expect a sizeable nursing shortage聽in the coming years.
- Long work hours. Nurses work long hours, especially in places experiencing a nursing shortage. Some may also face mandatory overtime requirements or have to work back-to-back shifts.
- Professional burnout.聽Whatever the reason for long work hours, the consequence is the same. More than most professions, nurses risk quickly experiencing聽burnout and fatigue.
Ways to Thank Nurses
Both healthcare employers and patients have the opportunity to express their appreciation for nurses during National Nurses Week.
For employers, it鈥檚 a time to let nurses know their importance in running an effective healthcare operation. They can honor nurses during National Nurses Week by hosting an event for the nursing staff or setting up a peer-recognition program.
For patients, it is a chance to thank a nurse who saw them through a difficult delivery of a newborn, calmed their concerns about a suspicious symptom during a doctor鈥檚 visit, or greeted them when they first awoke after surgery. A handwritten thank you note is always appreciated, as is giving a nurse something to help them through their days like coffee, snacks, and gift cards.
Nurses play a critical role in everyone鈥檚 life at some point. They also play a central role in running a successful healthcare operation. National Nurses Week gives people another reason to show appreciation to nurses for what they do.