Happy Nurses Day!

International Nurses Day (IND) is celebrated around the world on 12 May (the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth) of each year, to mark the contributions nurses make to society.

The Background 

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has celebrated this day since 1965.

In 1953 Dorothy Sutherland, an official with the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, proposed that President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaim a "Nurses'Day"; he did not approve it.

In January 1974,12 May was chosen to celebrate the day as it is the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Each year, ICN prepares and distributes the International Nurses' Day Kit. The kit contains educational and public information materials, for use by nurses everywhere.

Celebration in China

Each year nurses in Chinese hospitals recite the Florence Nightingale Pledge.

Nightingale Pledge

I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly,

to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully.

I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous,

and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug.

I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession,

and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling.

With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work,

and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.

Many people seem to think that the most important people in the healthcare system are the doctors, but actually nurses play a key role in all of our medical institutions, being responsible for the welfare, safety and recovery of patients.

Happy Nurses Day!