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Feature Article

Hail Nursing Heroes!

Welcome to Minority Nurse’s 2009 National Nurses Week Celebration.

May 6-12 is National Nurses Week, but a mere seven days hardly seems long enough to honor all the extraordinary work nurses do to improve the health and well-being of individuals, families, communities and the entire nation. That’s because nurses contribute to building a healthy America (the theme of this year’s Nurses Week) in so many different ways: as clinicians, educators, researchers, executives, entrepreneurs, military personnel, policymakers, advocates and more. To truly give America’s nursing heroes the national shout-out they deserve would require a 365-day week...at least!

National Nurses Week is a time to celebrate the unprecedented diversity of America’s nursing profession in the 21st century: Nurses of all races, ethnicities, cultures, genders, ages, abilities, sexual orientations, educational levels and specializations, all with their own unique skills, knowledge and perspectives. And because you can’t have great nursing magazines without great nurses, Nurses Week is a time for Minority Nurse to publicly say “thank you” to our readers for all you nurses do, all year long, week after week after week.

How can you celebrate National Nurses Week in your own community? Here are some suggestions from the American Nurses Association (ANA):

 

• Hold a special celebration or reception to recognize an outstanding nurse or nurses in your community.
   
• Create a National Nurses Week display at your hospital, nursing school or in the community.
   
• Organize a candlelight vigil or other special event on National RN Recognition Day (Wednesday, May 6) to honor the nation’s nurses for the important work they do.
   
• Organize a free blood pressure, cholesterol and/or diabetes screening in your community.
   
• Let everyone know you’re proud to be a nurse, by wearing your nursing uniform and/or RN pin in your community. Or wear a nursing t-shirt, button or other item that promotes nursing.
   
• Host a Nurses Week fund-raiser and donate the money to a local charity.
   
• Invite your local print and broadcast media to cover your organization’s National Nurses’ Week events.
   
• Know any nurse heroes? Post a comment at the bottom of this article and let us know all about him or her!

To learn more about National Nurses Week 2009, click here.

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MEET OUR SPONSORS

This special National Nurses Week edition of the Minority Nurse newsletter is sponsored by:

The National Black Nurses Association

NBNA salutes all nurses for their dedication and commitment to providing culturally competent care and eliminating health care disparities in our communities.

Visit www.nbna.org to win a registration to our 2009 Conference in Toronto, Canada.

 

St. Petersburg College

Congratulations to the St. Petersburg College RN to BSN graduates and faculty! As you celebrate Nurses’ Week, plan to continue your education in our online degree program, one class at a time! Call today — 727-341-3402.

 

Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc.

Celebrating 77 Years
Community Service, Developing Leaders, Education, Scholarships, Health Promotion...

60th Boulé and Educational Conference
July 5-11, 2009
Dallas — Fort Worth

Thanks Members and Partners
www.chietaphi.com

 

The Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing

The Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing is a private, non-profit, fully accredited, distance education, graduate nursing school offering DNP, ADN-MSN Bridge and MSN degrees in Midwifery, FNP and Women’s Health NP. www.frontierschool.edu

 

SAIC-Frederick, Inc.

SAIC-Frederick, Inc. has rewarding nursing opportunities in support of clinical research conducted by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, both major research components of the National Institutes of Health.

 

Medtronic

Clinical Specialist
Support key Medtronic groups by providing products and equipment for surgeries and implants and by educating physicians and other hospital staff. Required: BA or an AS with 4+ years of patient care/clinical experience.

 

KNOW ANY NURSE HEROES?

Post a comment at the bottom of this article and let us know all about him or her!
 

Pam Chwedyk is senior editor and editorial manager of Minority Nurse.