Nursing Week showcases contribution to health challenges

National Nursing Week 2020 is May 11-17, aligning with the birthday of Florence Nightingale on May 12. “Nurses: A Voice to Lead — Nursing the World to Health” is the theme developed by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) to showcase how nurses are central to addressing a wide range of health challenges. ICN says the theme will help raise the profile of the profession and attract a new generation into the nursing family. “National Nursing Week is a great opportunity to recognize the leadership role of all regulated nurses in Canada,” Canadian Nurses Association president Claire Betker declared in a statement on the ICN website. The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife in honour of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. “2020 will be dedicated to highlighting the enormous sacrifices and contributions of nurses and midwives, and to ensuring that we address the shortage of these vital professions,” WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated. The week is intended to draw attention to nurses, increase the awareness of the public, policy-makers and governments of the many contributions of nursing to the wellbeing of Canadians. “Having the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife coincide with Florence Nightingale’s bicentennial raises the exciting prospect of nurses finally being recognized for all the good they do. All around the world, nurses are working tirelessly to provide the care and attention people need, whenever and wherever they need it,” stated ICN president Annette Kennedy In 1971, ICN designated May 12, the birthday of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, as International Nurses Day. In 1993, the name was changed to National Nursing Week to emphasize the profession’s accomplishments as a discipline. Article courtesy of Canadian Nurses Association www. cna-aiic.ca.