National Nurses Week runs May 6–12, 2027, ending on Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Hospitals, schools and families use it to thank the nurses who carry so much of health care.
May 6 to 12, Every Year
Every year, from May 6, National Nurses Day, through May 12, Nightingale’s birthday. The dates never change, so the week can start on any weekday.
The American Nurses Association, known as ANA, set the week up in 1991 and made the dates permanent starting in 1994.
Special days sit inside it. May 8 is National Student Nurses Day, a date nursing students’ own national group asked for. The Wednesday of the week is National School Nurse Day.
Decades of False Starts
Getting there took decades. In 1953, Dorothy Sutherland proposed a “Nurse Day” to President Eisenhower, but it was never proclaimed.
A first Nurse Week did happen in 1954, October 11 to 16, for the 100th anniversary of Nightingale’s mission to Crimea. Representative Frances Bolton sponsored the bill.
Another try failed in 1972, when a House resolution for a National Registered Nurse Day never took effect.
Momentum came in 1974. A global nursing federation named May 12 International Nurse Day that January, and President Nixon proclaimed a National Nurse Week.
States pitched in. New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne declared May 6 Nurses Day in 1978.
President Reagan signed a proclamation on March 25, 1982, making May 6 a national day of recognition for nurses.
That single day became a week in 1990, declaring May 6 to 12, 1991, as the first National Nurses Week.
Why Nurses Get a Week
Registered nurses form one of the country’s largest workforces, with about 3,465,400 jobs in 2025, BLS reports.
Most work in hospitals, which employ 59% of RNs.
Pay and demand are both solid for the profession. The median RN earned $97,550 in May 2025.
Jobs keep growing too. BLS projects 6% growth from 2025 to 2035, with about 180,800 openings a year.
Representing nurses since 1896, ANA uses the week to celebrate the profession. Student nurses and school nurses get their own spotlight days.
Globally, the picture is bigger still. The International Council of Nurses counts about 30 million nurses worldwide.
Its 2026 theme for May 12 was “Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives.” It built on the council’s reports from the two previous years.
Other ANA dates have come and gone. In 1996 it launched a National RN Recognition Day on May 6, and in 1997 it set May 8 aside for nursing students.
Ways to Thank a Nurse
Nurses often work holidays and nights, so a thank-you can reach them any hour of the week.
- Write a note to a nurse who helped your family through a hospital stay, and send it to the unit.
- Thank your child’s school nurse on Wednesday of the week, perhaps with a card from the class.
- Encourage a nursing student you know on May 8, Student Nurses Day, with a note or a coffee.
- Bring a team meal to a hospital unit, after checking its food policy.
- Share a story about a nurse who made a difference, with their permission.
- Read about Florence Nightingale on May 12, the week’s final day.
- Ask a nurse what drew them to the job, and really listen to the answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is National Nurses Week the same every year?
Its dates are fixed, so only the weekdays shift.
Which global day overlaps the week?
International Nurses Day, set by a worldwide nursing federation, falls on its final day.
Do school nurses get their own day?
They do. School nurses get the midweek spotlight.