National Nurses Week was first celebrated in 1954, in observance of the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s mission to the Crimea. Today we should use the occasion to pay honor all nurses everywhere. The week should be used to recognize the contributions nurses make to patient safety and better clinical outcomes. Attention should be paid to the conditions under which nurses work, safety in the workplace, staffing patterns, the practice environment, supportive management, adequate resources, collaborative relationships, and the link between those working conditions and patient well-being.

For those who would like to pay homage to nurses, here is what I would advise:

• Stay away from the “Hug a nurse PRN” or “Nurses call the shots” mugs and T-shirts.
• Stay away from the infantilizing valentine hearts and teddy bears.
• Treat nurses with respect and dignity.
• Take them to see The American Nurse - The American Nurse Project http://americannurseproject.com/
  
• Buy them a copy of Suzanne Gordon’s When Chicken Soup Isn’t Enough: Stories of Nurses Standing Up for Themselves, Their Patients, and Their Profession http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100021500
  
• Buy them a copy of Diana Mason’s Policy and Politics in Nursing and Healthcare https://www.elsevier.com/books/policy-and-politics-in-nursing-and-healthcare-revised-reprint/mason/978-0-323-24241-7
  
• Take them to dinner.
  
• Say thank you.
  
  Happy Nurses Week to all of us!