The U.S. celebrates National Nursing Week each year from 6 May to 12 May (the birthday of Florence Nightingale). Canada celebrates National Nursing Week each year during the week that includes May 12, which is Florence Nightingale’s birthday. The Canadian Minister of Health instituted National Nursing Week in Canada in 1985.

In the U.S., National Nurses Week was first observed from October 11–16, 1954 in honor of the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s mission to Crimea. President Nixon later proclaimed a « National Nurse Week » in 1974. In 1982, President Reagan signed a proposal officially designating May 6 as « National Recognition Day for Nurses, » now known as National Nurses Day or National RN Recognition Day. In 1990, the American Nurses Association (ANA) expanded the holiday into the current National Nurses Week celebrated from 6 May to 12 May.

In 1997, at the request of the National Student Nurses Association, the ANA designated 8 May as National Student Nurses Day. In 2003, the ANA designated the Wednesday within National Nurses Week as National School Nurse Day. The National Association of School Nurses, however, claims that National School Nurse Day has been recognized since 1972.

Source: Text: Wikipedia; images: shoestring.agency