A worldwide celebration of Nurses Day takes place on May 12 every year to commemorate the birth of Florence Nightingale. She was the founder of modern nursing. The International Council of Nurses commemorates this important day every year with the production and distribution of the International Nurses’ Day resources and evidence.
Theme of International Nurses Day 2023
The theme for International Nurses Day 2022 is “Our Nurses. Our Future“.
History of International Nurses Day
For the first time, the day was celebrated by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in 1965. Dorothy Sunderland, a United States health, education, and welfare official, proposed ‘Nurse’s Day’ to President Eisenhower in 1953, but he did not approve it.
In 1974, the International Nurses Day was chosen to be celebrated on May 12. It is also the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, who was born on this date in 1820. She is considered the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale was an English nurse, social reformer, and statistician.
Read More: Important Days and Dates in May 2022
The story of Florence Nightingale
During the Crimean War between Russia and Britain in the 1850s, Nightingale gained prominence. With her team of 38 women, she cared for British soldiers who faced terrible sanitation facilities in addition to battling Russian forces. Historically, injured soldiers had dirty bandages covering rotting wounds, there were rats at their bases, and only one bathtub per 150 personnel. Adding to the problem, a dead horse had been left to rot in the water supply.
Florence Nightingale also made various efforts to improve the health condition of all sections of British society during her lifetime. It was she who advocated for better hunger relief for India and helped to abolish English prostitution laws that were extremely harsh.