Happy Nurses Week! (May 6-12)

Home Health Columnist / Guide · May 7, 2005

today i got to participate in a rare nursing event: the celebration of a fifty year nursing career that's still going strong part time after "official" full time retirement in 2000!

in checking my staff''s license date to ensure active license, i realized last month that nancy was first licensed in 1955....and i was only 4 months old at the time. so i discussed with hr a need to something a little special for our nurse day celebration. with our thinking caps on, we set out to create a memorable event.

as an addition to our wonderful breakfast spread and gift (insulated luinch bag this year), we decided to compile a nursing staff list which included date of initial licensure and # years of professional practice: rn and lpn. the info was readily available from pa state's license verification website. this revealed that our 120 nurses have a combined 2,500+ years of nursing expertise. forty rn's (1/3 of staff) have over 25 years with the average nurse in our homecare agency having 15 years experience.

i mounted this info on centered on a trifold display board. left side placed pictures of "modern" nursing from origins in 1880's, 2nd section 1950's practice:classroom, student nurses in med room with glass syringes and 3rd section current practice pics including our telemedicine project featured on nursing spectrum's november 13, 2000 cover telemedicine connects patients and home care nursesand introduction of laptop computer medical record in 2004.

right side of board was picture's of nancy with career synopsis.

this was display was strategically placed on top of the filing cabinets where our remaining field charts are located (soon to be extinct) which the field staff pass by daily. of course these ugly grey cabinets are the only flat surface to take pictures in front of but these got transformed with discover nursing's "dare to be a nurse" movie size posters that my staff strategically placed.

the local newspaper was contacted and agreed to do a story on nancy's career. yesterday i faxed out a press release to philadelphia tv stations--(after all we do have to toot our own horns) didn't hear back but was pleasantly surprised when the vp of patient services pulled me out of my office this morning as "action news" the biggest station had arrived to tape us!

i'd created a certificate of appreciation that the ceo and vp signed which was framed. the ceo presented nancy with a lenox vase on behalf of the agency. my staff gave her a rose bouquet. many memorable photo''s were taken to record this event. one rn brought in her philadelphia general hospital (nancy's alma matter) doubled ruffle nursing cap which nancy posed in.

the poster display really got the nurses talking about how they couldn't belive so many years had passed since graduation and started reminiscening about their student days and career. the positive vibes were strong throughout the day.

dh was called and taped the evening news: our 15 seconds of fame was aired tonight and will be repeated on am news. boy that display backdrop and nursing poster looked good on camera along with the certificate. the news anchor even quiped that dwight eisenhower was president when nancy's career started, a nice touch re longevity.

gail guterl editor of philly edition, advance for nurses, agreed to run the story in the may 16th edition. also, our state reperesentative is issuing a legislative proclamation to honor nancy.

yep, "tooting our own horn" works !

koffeelover · May 7, 2005

that is a fantastic accounting, and one that makes me proud to be a nurse. my hospital does not do anything special for us. this gives me some ideas we can pursue for ourselves. i join with you in honoring nancy, and hope she continues to practice and be such an inspiration to us all.

today i got to participate in a rare nursing event: the celebration of a fifty year nursing career that's still going strong part time after "official" full time retirement in 2000!
in checking my staff''s license date to ensure active license, i realized last month that nancy was first licensed in 1955....and i was only 4 months old at the time. so i discussed with hr a need to something a little special for our nurse day celebration. with our thinking caps on, we set out to create a memorable event.
as an addition to our wonderful breakfast spread and gift (insulated luinch bag this year), we decided to compile a nursing staff list which included date of initial licensure and # years of professional practice: rn and lpn. the info was readily available from pa state's license verification website. this revealed that our 120 nurses have a combined 2,500+ years of nursing expertise. forty rn's (1/3 of staff) have over 25 years with the average nurse in our homecare agency having 15 years experience.
i mounted this info on centered on a trifold display board. left side placed pictures of "modern" nursing from origins in 1880's, 2nd section 1950's practice:classroom, student nurses in med room with glass syringes and 3rd section current practice pics including our telemedicine project featured on nursing spectrum's november 13, 2000 cover telemedicine connects patients and home care nursesand introduction of laptop computer medical record in 2004.
right side of board was picture's of nancy with career synopsis.
this was display was strategically placed on top of the filing cabinets where our remaining field charts are located (soon to be extinct) which the field staff pass by daily. of course these ugly grey cabinets are the only flat surface to take pictures in front of but these got transformed with discover nursing's "dare to be a nurse" movie size posters that my staff strategically placed.
the local newspaper was contacted and agreed to do a story on nancy's career. yesterday i faxed out a press release to philadelphia tv stations--(after all we do have to toot our own horns) didn't hear back but was pleasantly surprised when the vp of patient services pulled me out of my office this morning as "action news" the biggest station had arrived to tape us!
i'd created a certificate of appreciation that the ceo and vp signed which was framed. the ceo presented nancy with a lenox vase on behalf of the agency. my staff gave her a rose bouquet. many memorable photo''s were taken to record this event. one rn brought in her philadelphia general hospital (nancy's alma matter) doubled ruffle nursing cap which nancy posed in.
the poster display really got the nurses talking about how they couldn't belive so many years had passed since graduation and started reminiscening about their student days and career. the positive vibes were strong throughout the day.
dh was called and taped the evening news: our 15 seconds of fame was aired tonight and will be repeated on am news. boy that display backdrop and nursing poster looked good on camera along with the certificate. the news anchor even quiped that ike eisenhower was president when nancy's career started, a nice touch re longevity.
gail guterl editor of philly edition, advance for nurses, agreed to run the story in the may 16th edition. also, our state reperesentative is issuing a legislative proclamation to honor nancy.
yep, "tooting our own horn" works !

nursemike, ASN, RN · May 7, 2005

today i got to participate in a rare nursing event: the celebration of a fifty year nursing career that's still going strong part time after "official" full time retirement in 2000!
in checking my staff''s license date to ensure active license, i realized last month that nancy was first licensed in 1955....and i was only 4 months old at the time. so i discussed with hr a need to something a little special for our nurse day celebration. with our thinking caps on, we set out to create a memorable event.
as an addition to our wonderful breakfast spread and gift (insulated luinch bag this year), we decided to compile a nursing staff list which included date of initial licensure and # years of professional practice: rn and lpn. the info was readily available from pa state's license verification website. this revealed that our 120 nurses have a combined 2,500+ years of nursing expertise. forty rn's (1/3 of staff) have over 25 years with the average nurse in our homecare agency having 15 years experience.
i mounted this info on centered on a trifold display board. left side placed pictures of "modern" nursing from origins in 1880's, 2nd section 1950's practice:classroom, student nurses in med room with glass syringes and 3rd section current practice pics including our telemedicine project featured on nursing spectrum's november 13, 2000 cover telemedicine connects patients and home care nursesand introduction of laptop computer medical record in 2004.
right side of board was picture's of nancy with career synopsis.
this was display was strategically placed on top of the filing cabinets where our remaining field charts are located (soon to be extinct) which the field staff pass by daily. of course these ugly grey cabinets are the only flat surface to take pictures in front of but these got transformed with discover nursing's "dare to be a nurse" movie size posters that my staff strategically placed.
the local newspaper was contacted and agreed to do a story on nancy's career. yesterday i faxed out a press release to philadelphia tv stations--(after all we do have to toot our own horns) didn't hear back but was pleasantly surprised when the vp of patient services pulled me out of my office this morning as "action news" the biggest station had arrived to tape us!
i'd created a certificate of appreciation that the ceo and vp signed which was framed. the ceo presented nancy with a lenox vase on behalf of the agency. my staff gave her a rose bouquet. many memorable photo''s were taken to record this event. one rn brought in her philadelphia general hospital (nancy's alma matter) doubled ruffle nursing cap which nancy posed in.
the poster display really got the nurses talking about how they couldn't belive so many years had passed since graduation and started reminiscening about their student days and career. the positive vibes were strong throughout the day.
dh was called and taped the evening news: our 15 seconds of fame was aired tonight and will be repeated on am news. boy that display backdrop and nursing poster looked good on camera along with the certificate. the news anchor even quiped that ike eisenhower was president when nancy's career started, a nice touch re longevity.
gail guterl editor of philly edition, advance for nurses, agreed to run the story in the may 16th edition. also, our state reperesentative is issuing a legislative proclamation to honor nancy.
yep, "tooting our own horn" works !

awesome! and kudos to you for recognizing someone's contribution, and sharing it with us.

Brian, ASN, RN · May 7, 2005

That's a wonderful story Karen, thanks for sharing! I'm sure there are hundreds of stories that others can share as well. Don't be shy :)

a-rose · May 8, 2005

:balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons:

happy may 12

:balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons:

lpnstudentin2010, LPN · May 8, 2005

what nurses mean to a patient,

compassionn

understanding

care

safety

empathy

there is more that a nurse means to a patient then can be put into words. a soft touch, a kind word, a reassuring smile. nurses help the patient to feel better, not just by doing "what the doctor ordered" but also for being there and caring. this is what has made me want to be a nurse. thank you to all the nurses i have personally had throughout my many hospital visits (though you probably are not reading this) and thank you to all of you for doing what you do. it really does make a big difference

i am not a nurse yet. i am not even pre-nursing so some patients atleast recognize your worth

Home Health Columnist / Guide · May 10, 2005

from ana's nursing world:

read how national nurses week is being celebrated!

sherylchaynes · May 10, 2005

: I too would like to say Happy Nurses' week to all the Nurses worldwide. We do so much and get so little recognition. We know each other's value even if others do not recognise it.

Enjoy the week especially International Nurse's Day on Thursday May 12th.

jennyanydot · May 13, 2005

i'm not a nurse but have been a patient many times. i came to this site almost a year ago (may28) to try to understand why a nurse i had

in the pacu (4 hours) acted the way she did. instead i found nurses who care very much about their patients and their patient's pain, etc. i have been a loyal reader ever since. and it stopped me from changing my opinion about nurses just because of one rotten apple. i thought of all of you this week and wanted to wish you not just a happy nurses' week but a year blessed with the 'support' you need and 'deserve'. whenever you get

discouraged, remember there are those of us who appreciate your intelligence, compassionate care and kindness.

happy nurses week!
since 1953, national nurses week has been observed to recognize the work and commitment of nurses. the week begins on may 6, marked as rn recognition day, and ends on may 12, the birthday of florence nightingale, founder of the nursing profession.
the celebration of nurses week is a time for reflecting on the rich sense of community that draws us together as professionals and sustains us as we engage in the practice of nursing. this years theme is nurses: many roles, one profession.
nurses week provides an opportunity to nurture relationships among your nursing colleagues and your local community. why not take time during nurses week to talk to your nursing colleagues and the people in your community about nursing. share your stories and experiences, discuss contributions made by nursing to society, and begin to dialogue about ways nursing might be supported now and in the future. this is a time to celebrate what nursing is and can be in the future.
although this nursing week is an recognized in america may 6-12th, i'd like to extend good wishes to nurses worldwide, so from one nurse to another.
:balloons: nurses, thank you for all your do!
please reply and share your stories and experiences, let's celebrate our profession!

nursemike, ASN, RN · May 13, 2005

I'm not a nurse but have been a patient many times. I came to this site almost a year ago (May28) to try to understand why a nurse I had
in the PACU (4 hours) acted the way she did. Instead I found nurses who care very much about their patients and their patient's pain, etc. I have been a loyal reader ever since. And it stopped me from changing my opinion about nurses just because of one rotten apple. I thought of all of you this week and wanted to wish you not just a happy nurses' week but a year blessed with the 'support' you need and 'deserve'. Whenever you get
discouraged, remember there are those of us who appreciate your intelligence, compassionate care and kindness.

Thank you. Although I haven't actually started working as a nurse, yet, I've been in healthcare several years--enough to see the good parts and the bad parts of patient care.

We have a bit of a tendency to get on here and rant about the bad parts, so it's good to be reminded about the times when your efforts are appreciated. I would imagine just about every one of us has had a moment when it seemed like everything was going wrong and it just wasn't worth it, then a patient or visitor became the caregiver and said or did just the right thing to remind us why we do this.

Heaven only knows how many other patients haven't been suffocated, because of someone like you.

eltrip · May 18, 2005

I know that nurses' week was last week but I just have to share what happened today. I work in a nurse-advice call center in the PR/Marketing department of our hospital. There are 4 of us who take calls plus our supervisor (who wears many, many hats) - all RNs. Year after year, no one has remembered us for nurses' week. Well, ten minutes ago, our supervisor brings in these baskets - one each - from the best chocolate shop in town, bidding us a "happy nurses' week. I realize that she's late but she's also the new mother of twins & sick as well. I am just in shock that they did something so nice just for us!

Thanks for letting me share.

regards,

eltrip