If there is one person that has become synonymous to nursing this would be Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. And in her honor, the National Nurses Week is held annually from May 6th and ends on May 12 which is her birthday. 

May 8th has been designated as the National Student Nurse Day since 1998. 

As of 2003, National School Nurse Day is celebrated on the Wednesday within National Nurses Week (May 6-12) each year which falls on May 11th this year.

International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world on May 12th of each year.

The theme for National Nurses Week in 2011 is "Nurses Trusted to Care."

The theme for this year’s National Nurses Week certainly says it all. Nurses of all gender, colors, size, age, and shape are trusted and expected by their patients to give them the best care they can receive. Of course there are cases when these brave women in scrubs uniforms can also be so intimidating but I guess they need to be in order that patients follow the doctors’ orders as well as theirs. 

Getting to know your nurses or your loved ones nurses is just one way of showing them their efforts and patience with us are all appreciated. But if you want to do more, then let them know you treasure them by giving them a gift or a poem as a tribute this National Nurses Week. Recognize the special nurses in our lives – mother, sister, brother, daughter, son, cousin, aunt, friends, and colleagues – with a special gift or a simple thank you card.

When did we really start honoring these brave men and women in the nursing profession? Nurses have only recently been recognized with their special day. Although there have been so many efforts including that by Dorothy Sutherland of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in her 1953 proposal but this did not come into fruition until 1974 when President Richard Nixon issued a proclamation for National Nurses Week. By then the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has been celebrating International Nurse Day for almost 9 years. 

From 1978 to 1981 various personalities moved and took up the cause for the recognition of nurses in their states. It was in 1982 when the American Nurses Association (ANA) Board of Directors formally acknowledged May 6 as National Nurses' Day. President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation on March 25, 1982 proclaiming May 6 to be National Recognition Day for Nurses. 

In 1990, the ANA Board of Directors expanded the recognition of nurses to a week-long celebration, declaring May 6 - 12, 1991, as National Nurses Week.

In 1993, the ANA Board of Directors designated May 6 - 12 as permanent dates to observe National Nurses Week in 1994 and in all subsequent years.

In 1996, the ANA initiated "National RN Recognition Day" on May 6, 1996, to honor the nation's indispensable registered nurses for their tireless commitment 365 days a year. The ANA encourages its state and territorial nurses associations and other organizations to acknowledge May 6, 1996 as "National RN Recognition Day."

In 1997, the ANA Board of Directors, at the request of the National Student Nurses Association, designated May 8 as National Student Nurses Day.

This year, the American Nurses Association has selected “Nurses Trusted to Care” as the theme of this year’s National Nurses Week. As it had been for the last decade, the week is devoted in highlighting the registered nurses invaluable contribution to our society and to the unwavering devotion to the healthcare needs of the American people by caring for the sick, educating the public on health issues, and continuously promoting wellness.