National Nurses Week is one of the nation’s principal health care calendar events, giving recognition to all those in the nursing profession and sharing nursing education with the public.
Supported by the American Nurses Association (ANA), this week-long celebration of the nursing community occurs during the same week every year, commencing on National Nurses Day, May 6 and culminating on May 12, the birth-date of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale.
Nurses do more than put bandages on cuts and bruises.
The ANA defines the profession of nursing as “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations.”
The California Department of Consumer Affairs, through the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) and the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT), licenses professional nurses.
Both boards encourage industry members and partner organizations to use this week long celebration as an opportunity to engage with their surrounding communities to promote the array of career opportunities available to everyone, regardless of sex, ethnic or socio-economic background.
The California Department of Consumer Affairs along with BRN and BVNPT, salute nurses in California, across the nation and beyond.
For more information about nursing careers, visit the Board of Registered Nursing www.rn.ca.gov and the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians www.bvnpt.ca.gov.