May 9-15, 2022: The National Nursing Week annual celebrations take place from the Monday to the Sunday of the same week as Florence Nightingale’s birthday, May 12.
In 1971, ICN designated May 12, the birthday of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, as International Nurses Day. In 1985, CNA members passed a resolution to begin negotiations with the federal government to have the week containing May 12 proclaimed as National Nurses Week annually. Soon after, the federal minister of health proclaimed the second week of May as National Nurses Week. In 1993, the name was changed to National Nursing Week to emphasize the profession’s accomplishments as a discipline.
The theme this year is #WeAnswerTheCall and was developed by CNA to highlight the many roles that nurses play in a patient’s health-care journey. The pandemic brought to light the courage and commitment that nurses work under every day and showed the significant role that nurses play in the community. This year, Johnson and Johnson, the world’s largest and most broadly-based health-care company, has sponsored National Nursing Week to showcase its commitment to the well-being of Canada’s health-care professionals.
(From National Nursing Week 2022- Canadian Nurses Association)