International Nurses Day - May 12th

[Deepak Kiran]

Every year International Nurses Day is celebrated on 12 May to commemorate the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birthday. This day also celebrates the contribution done by nurses to society around the world.

On this day the International Council of Nurses organisation produces an International Nurses kit to educate and assist health workers globally with a different theme every year.

 

[Deepak Kiran]

IND is celebrated around the world every May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth.

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"; but 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. As of 1998, 8 May was designated as annual National Student Nurses' Day.