National Nurses Day in the United States
National Nurses Day is celebrated annually on May 6 to raise awareness of the important role nurses play in society. It marks the beginning of National Nurses Week, which ends on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale.
What Do People Do?
On National Nurses Day celebrations and receptions are held across the United States to honor the work of nurses. Among the most popular activities are banquets, state and city proclamations, and seminars. Many nurses receive gifts or flowers from friends, family members, or patients.
National Nurses Day and National Nurses Week are observances but they not a public holidays in the United States.
May 12, the final day of National Nurses Week, is the birthday of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910). The English nurse became known as the founder of professional nursing, especially due to her pioneering work during the Crimean War (1853-1856). Due to her habit of making rounds at night, Nightingale became known as "The Lady with the Lamp".
National Nurses Week was first observed in October 1954, the 100th anniversary of Nightingale's mission to Crimea. May 6 was introduced as the date for the observance in 1982.
National Nurses Day Observances
|Weekday||Date||Year||Name||Holiday Type||Where It is Observed|
|Thu||May 6||2010||National Nurses Day||Observance|
|Fri||May 6||2011||National Nurses Day||Observance|
|Sun||May 6||2012||National Nurses Day||Observance|
|Mon||May 6||2013||National Nurses Day||Observance|
|Tue||May 6||2014||National Nurses Day||Observance|
|Wed||May 6||2015||National Nurses Day||Observance|
|Fri||May 6||2016||National Nurses Day||Observance|
|Sat||May 6||2017||National Nurses Day||Observance|
|Sun||May 6||2018||National Nurses Day||Observance|
|Mon||May 6||2019||National Nurses Day||Observance|
|Wed||May 6||2020||National Nurses Day||Observance|
Quick FactsNational Nurses Day is an occasion to honor the work of nurses.
National Nurses Day 2018Sunday, May 6, 2018
National Nurses Day 2019Monday, May 6, 2019
Name in other languages
|National Nurses Day||English|
|Día Nacional de la Enfermería||Spanish|
|Nationaler Tag der Krankenschwestern||German|
Other holidays in May 2018 in the United States
- Law Day – Tuesday, May 1, 2018
- Lag BaOmer – Thursday, May 3, 2018
- Kent State Shootings Remembrance – Friday, May 4, 2018
- Cinco de Mayo – Saturday, May 5, 2018
- Truman Day – Tuesday, May 8, 2018
- Ascension Day – Thursday, May 10, 2018
- Military Spouse Appreciation Day – Friday, May 11, 2018
- Mother's Day – Sunday, May 13, 2018
- Peace Officers Memorial Day – Tuesday, May 15, 2018
- Ramadan starts – Wednesday, May 16, 2018
- National Defense Transportation Day – Friday, May 18, 2018
- Armed Forces Day – Saturday, May 19, 2018
- Pentecost – Sunday, May 20, 2018
- Whit Monday – Monday, May 21, 2018
- National Maritime Day – Tuesday, May 22, 2018
- Emergency Medical Services for Children Day – Wednesday, May 23, 2018
- National Missing Children's Day – Friday, May 25, 2018
- Trinity Sunday – Sunday, May 27, 2018
- Memorial Day – Monday, May 28, 2018
- Corpus Christi – Thursday, May 31, 2018