As Nurses Week is winding down, I am honored to share this excerpt from “The American Nurse.” Created by Carolyn Jones, this book explores the unique lives of nurses using photographs and personal stories. 

This infographic was shared with us by Erica Moss, who is the community manager for the online nursing programs at Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies.

National Nurses Week ended last week and now many are celebrating National Neuroscience Nurses Week. I feel that these "scheduled" days of recognition are a nice way to celebrate the hard work that nurses do everyday. I also think that these days bring us in touch with associated professional organizations and in some cases, even one step closer to certification. On that note, I thought I’d compile a list of special nursing celebrations planned for the rest of this year. Here we go:

• Oncology Nursing Month ~ May
• National Critical Care Awareness and Recognition Month ~ May
• National Neuroscience Nurses Week ~ May 15-21, 2011 (3rd full week of May each year)
• Vascular Nursing Week ~ 2nd week of June
• National Nurses in Staff Development Week ~ July 2-9
• Nephrology Nurses Week  ~ September 11-17, 2011 (2nd full week of September each year)
• National Gerontological Nurses Week ~ October 1-8
• Emergency Nurses Week ~ October 9-15, 2011
• Pediatric Nurses Week ~ October 9-15
• National Hospice/Palliative Care Month ~ November
• Medical-Surgical Nurses Week ~ November 1-7
• Forensic Nurses Week ~ November 7-11, 2011 
• Perioperative Nurse Week ~ November 7-13, 2011
• National Nurse Practitioner Week ~ November 13-19, 2011

I tried to be thorough in my search for these special days of recognition, but I’m sure there are more to add to this list. Just let me know!  My wish is that no matter your specialty or area of practice, you feel recognized and appreciated each day throughout the year…you deserve it!

National Nurses Week starts tomorrow and continues until May 12th, the birthday of Florence Nightingale. This year we are celebrating all that you do by opening up some of our journals for you to read free and offering coupon codes for free articles and continuing education credits. I hope that you'll check back to our National Nurses Week page each day to access our content and use your coupon codes. Here's what we have in store:

Friday, May 6th ~ Read the current issue of Nursing2011 free!
Saturday, May 7th ~ Take any CE test up to a $21.95 value for free!
Sunday, May 8th ~ Get your coupon code to purchase any non-CE article (up to $9.99)!
Monday, May 9th ~ Read the current issue of Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! free!
Tuesday, May 10th ~ Get your coupon code to purchase any non-CE article (up to $9.99)!
Wednesday, May 11th ~ Read the current issue of AJN, American Journal of Nursing free!
Thursday, May 12th ~ Take any CE test up to a $27.95 value for free!

I hope that you'll take advantage of these exciting offers. You must be a NursingCenter member and logged in to access the free journals, take the CE tests, and use the coupon codes. Not yet a member? Click "register" at the top right of this page. Membership is free and has many benefits! Have a great week everyone!

When I first became a nurse, I really looked forward to National Nurses Week. We got the pens, free lunch (or whatever meal coincided with your shift), and one year, even T-shirts. It didn’t matter that I had many pens of better quality, ate the free meal while charting or grabbing bites in between patient care, or that my T-shirt drawer was overflowing. I was a nurse and I was valued by my employer. Those little things really did make me feel special. Did I feel less recognized on other days or weeks of the year? Not really. I was fortunate to work with a great team of nurses and managers.

This year, I’m really looking forward to National Nurses Week again! We’ve got a week of puzzles and quizzes planned here at NursingCenter.  Each day one lucky winner will win open access to NursingCenter.com for one full year. This includes access to our journals, CEs, Focus On collections, and more! Also, 5 lucky winners each day will win a Free CE! Visit our National Nurses Week page every day from May 6th to May 12th for a new challenge and a chance to win!

I hope that wherever you work and whatever your role, you feel appreciated every day for the work that you do.  Happy National Nurses Week!