Nurse's Day Gifts & Nurses Day Gift Baskets

Nurse's Day

National Nurses Day is celebrated on May 6th which also starts National Nurses Week. National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6th and ends on May 12th.

National Nurses Week is one of the nation's largest health care events which recognizes the contributions as well as commitments that nurses make. The education they provide to others is also celebrated. The American Nurses Association (ANA) both supports and encourages National Nurses Week. The week-long celebration is designed to accommodate the variety of different schedules nurses are required to work so that everyone has a chance to enjoy the holiday.

National Nurses Week activities include recognition dinners, continuing education seminars, state and city proclamations, and other community related events. Nurses are usually given Nurses Day gifts, dinners, and flowers by friends, family members, co-workers, and even patients.

The history of Nurses Day goes back to 1953 when Dorothy Sutherland of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare sent out a proposal to President Eisenhower in order to proclaim a "Nurse Day" in October of the following year. That proclamation was actually never made, but the following year National Nurses Week was observed from October 11 – 16.

President Nixon, in 1974, had proclaimed a "National Nurse Week." A resolution in 1981 was started by some nurses in New Mexico to have May 6th declared as "National Recognition Day for Nurses". The proposal was promoted by the ANA Board of Directors and the United States Congress eventually designated May 6th to be "National Recognition Day for Nurses". The proposal was later signed by President Reagan, making May 6 the official day to honor nurses. It was later expanded by the ANA Board of Directors to a week-long celebration known as "National Nurses Week".

National Student Nurses Day is celebrated each year on May 8th. At the request of the National Student Nurses Association, the ANA Board of Directors designated May 8th as National Student Nurses Day beginning in 1998. And as of 2003, the ANA has declared that National School Nurse Day is celebrated on the Wednesday within National Nurses Week.

International Nurses Day today is celebrated around the world. The International Council of Nurses commemorates this day every year with the production and distribution of the International Nurse Day Kits which includes both educational and public information materials for use by nurses.

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