See Nurses Week Schedule

National Nurses Week is held annually to celebrate the hard work, compassion, and dedication of nurses across the country. This year, the celebration will be held May 6-12.

The designated theme from the American Nurses Association is “Nursing: The Balance of Mind, Body, and Spirit.” It is vitally important that nurses find time to take care of themselves. As Rich Bluni, RN, a speaker with the StuderGroup, noted during a CHI St. Vincent Leadership Development Institute: “You can’t make a difference for other people if you aren’t taking care of yourself.”

View full schedule.

In Inspired Nurse, Too, Rich suggests three “little things” nurses can do to take care of themselves and stay connected to the passion that brought them into healthcare in the first place.

  1. Do one little thing to pamper yourself today. Shift your thinking toward taking better care of yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Even small changes can have a big impact. Some examples include:

    • Say one prayer.
    • Meditate for one to five minutes.
    • Take one vitamin.
    • Eat one serving of fruits or vegetables.
    • Listen to one song that makes you smile.
    • Call one friend and tell them you love them.
    • Order one book you’ve been dying to read.
  2. Think about who lifts you up and who brings you down. Time is precious. Make a list of the people you spend your time with. How do they make you feel? Do they make you feel better about yourself? Or do you feel drained when you are with them? For those that don’t lift you up, consider what your next step should be – leave the friendship as is, work on it, or walk away.
  3. Set a little goal for yourself – then take a little step toward achieving it. Stop beating yourself up over all the big goals you haven’t yet achieved, and start setting some little, manageable goals instead. Want to lose weight? Take it three pounds at a time. Want to save money? Spend one less dollar a day. As you start to see progress with your little goals, you might find that your overall motivation increases, too.

We are grateful for every nurse who is working hard to deliver excellent and compassionate care in our hospitals and clinics.

Watch for more details about celebrations, including chapel services, lunches and RICE project collections.

We will also soon announce the Coworker Appreciate Celebrations (formerly Hospital Week).